friends for life

disgust

2009-06-18T01:25:00.001+08:00

i was walking across to united square from novena square via the underpass and as usual this man in his late fifties probably sixties would be standing there with his guitar singing hymns of praise...

then came the common song in the background, "see if you dont study this is what you would be doing." in disgust my eyes started to scan through the underpass and soon enough centered onto this mother dragging her child by the arm across the underpass as her child slowly absorbed his mothers teachings. well it isnt a far cry from what my mom used to tell me "if you dont study your friends would be sitting and enjoying in the restaurant whilst you serve them." yea sure that may possibly be the result of not studying or it may not be... for my case, that was the result of studying... such an irony eh but that is another story.

the thing that i feel disgusted about is how that man was looked down upon. objects of power and success have they become the reason of living? aspiration and drive to life? so what happens once they have been reached? then what?

the day i pass one of these buskers with my own, this would be what i would tell them. "see that man over there? there is nothing wrong with what he is doing. he is doing and honest day worth of living and there is nothing to be ashamed about. if one day you were to fall into his shoes, there is nothing wrong. however his life is not an easy one, he would not earn much in a day and would not be able to afford what he really wants, but it is nothing to be ashamed of it is honest. studying would help you get a job that pays better, but if that job is not an honest one, then do not even dare look that man in the eye."

i believe that being honest and walking right in the eyes of God is definitely better than in the eyes of men. it definitely isn't the easier path but it is the most rewarding.

back

2009-03-17T18:11:00.002+08:00

the sun rose above the cityscape throwing a blanket of gold over the entire area. I threw myself into the air, allowing my body to succumb to the laws of gravity, and fall lazily onto the bed bellow. surveying my surroundings i realised the trees around have grown forming silhouettes against the sunlight. we made our way out as the game of charades began; requests for saucers were mistaken for ash trays. flies seemed to be treated just like any normal customer that walked into the restaurant as they were given their own private space to feast amongst the food sprawled across the table. well all i can say is, it is truly great to be home...

thinking of you...

JojO's life

2009-03-13T01:53:00.002+08:00

well i seriously dont know what i am still doing up at this time... am pretty tired actually... recently i have been having a roller-coaster of emotions not really knowing what to feel anymore... its kinda strange it is like i am both happy and sad at the same time... i know pretty weird right...

well life update... i shall be making my flight periods once again... i shall be escaping to vietnam on the 17th of this month, be back just in time for grad night on the 24th then fly off to aus on the 2nd of apr then be back on the 16th just in time for the graduation ceremony after which i should be flying back to vietnam again probably hanoi or something... not too sure on the dates yet but i am thinkin atound 25th of apr... and wait there till my enlistment... yeps thats the quick update of my life...

sighs... taking each step at a time hopefully something beautiful would outshine the grey...

cheers

2009-03-05T23:42:00.002+08:00

endless datelines, sleepless nights, dreadful mornings, tests within sight... that was the life that i drew accustomed to throughout my 3 years in poly... the mounting load of work, the bitchy complains and gossips, the forgotten meals and the burned out keypads... thats what i learnt to love and embrace... blarring tampers, strained relationships, strengthened ties, memories made... thats what i learnt to accept and learnt to cherish...

i loved every day in my poly life now looking back... the good the bad and the ugly they all helped me to grow to become a better man than who i was before... the many stranuous days and late nights made me realised that it was truly mind over matter...

but amongst everything i know i will definitely remember the relationships that i have developed and grown to love... every kind gesture and heartfelt words of support, i remember them all so vividly and i will never forget... i have grown to learn to cherish friendship more than ever and learnt to protect it...

there were many times throughout poly that i felt that like it was impossible for me to accomplish any of the goals set or for that matter even move on to the next step... in fact i felt that way every semester... and every semester, my friends and family would always be there spurring me on, more importantly, God has never let me fall... every time that i lost faith and lost sight of hope, He has remained faithful and brought me through thus far...

this has truly been a journey for me and has been the greatest so far... cheers to 3 years of training...

for now i have felt love and lost love i can move forward and embrace love

remarkable

2009-01-22T22:56:00.002+08:00

at the beginning of this semester, i looked into the future and all i saw was a foggy mist of which i had no idea of how to get through... the pathway out of this surreal nightmare of mine seemed to have been just so clouded and hidden from my vision... the workload had doubled and datelines brought closer... everything honestly seemed impossible and i was just praying that i could somehow just make it through and later just shove it under the rug... there were many times i just felt like giving it up totally and throwing in the towel... really didnt care about education and graduation but rather immediate relief from stress...

but hey i am here i am still alive and everything is done... many of the projects that my group and i have done are one of the better few that i have ever contributed in... i am honestly so so so proud of what my group has achieved... results no longer feature an importance for me because i have grown and put in every ounce of effort i had into the work... i can safely say that the projects this time round are the best quality of work that i am able to produce at this present time... above everything else, He has been faithful in guiding me through this and helping me with the impossible... i would not have been able to even think of completing this wave of projects without His help... thank you Lord...

Joel

2009-01-17T01:44:00.003+08:00

well finally a big bulk of work is over and done with... i can finally take a breather and relax for a while... this is the first time that i could really slack for a complete day or actually 2... and it feels great... a much needed break... time for the final leg of the race... one more project to go and then the exams and it is off to defend the country... =)

disgusted

2008-12-24T23:06:00.002+08:00

i think singaporeans are seriously disgusting... over a stupid pitch of a few men running around after a ball, fights, newspaper articles and comments all showed the true character of singaporeans...

like seriously look at this:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20081224/tap-261-aff-suzuki-cup-local-fans-unspor-231650b.html

singaporean fans booing at the vietnamese national anthem, fighting with them after we lost... come on our team is definitely not the best...

SHAME LIONS you let loyal fans like these down... splashed on the newspaper the day after? like seriously so much for education... i am so disgusted and embarassed...

JojO

2008-11-09T23:13:00.002+08:00

ok i dont know about you but i am seriously sick of seeing that morbit post... first thing i come to my blog and i see that work... DEATH.... bleahs... like that is so sick.... yea so other than trying to push that post as low down as possible well... LIFE UPDATE....

ok so whats on with me... i think school is trying to kill us seriously.... 6 subjects, 6 projs, 3 case studies, 6 tests, 3 field trip reports... i think i might have missed out a few here and there... ok but anyway... you know that when there are so many number 6 put together it cant be a good thing.... didnt anyone tell them wat it means.. haiz.... well still surviving...

i think i am going to need to do my field trip report soon to destress... sounds ironic doesnt it... but hey when you report is to go experience a therapy at the spa for at least 30mins thats a whole new issue... well before you get all jealous.... it aint free... yeps so thats the catch... but hey just some excuse to go pamper myself a bit....

hmm going out wise... nahs not been going out... been glued to this darn monitor, cleaning up the house, doing projs yea i guess that basically kept me occupied till now... man i think i need to go for my excercise again i think my stamina is like totally gone....

well so far Ahni seems to be doing all right... gave her a leafcut today.... get it haircut... leafcut... ok nvm.... surprisingly she is still alive... muahahaha seems like i have green fingers afterall....

ok so school tmrw is going to be long so would tues weds oh thurs is off but packed with projs fri back to schl hmm sat projs sun rest a bit but more or less projs... yeps thats my life...

SPA BABEH TIME FOR ME SPA COME AND TOUCH MEH!!!! WOOOOOTSSSSSSSS I NEED TA DESTRESS WOOOOOOTSSSS.... okok that sounded wrong..... ok i shall shut up now before i get even more high... ok i think this post is long enough too... ciao

Death

2008-10-21T15:11:00.002+08:00

okies time to touch on a taboo... but honestly there is nothing taboo about death... i think it is alright to think about it i mean after all it is part and parcel of living... understand death and you will understand how to live... thats how i feel...

anyways i woke up today and was getting ready for school... was in my room of enlightenment where most of my thoughts and ideas are formulated... yea my toilet... i dont know about you but seriously speaking there is something about the toilet... its like when i need inspiration i go there and *BING* i manage to think of a solution...

okok back to topic... so i was there and i was wondering about this question... what is the difference between a man on his death bed or a healthy man walking around the streets... honestly there is only one difference... one knows the chance he has to see the sunrise tomorrow whilst the other thinks he does...

there is honestly nothing very different... we can go anytime anywhere and that is a fact of life... if someone could tell you when you are about to die, you probably would live life differently... that is the sadness of it all... you would either go into depression or you would start meeting up with loved ones or both...

nowadays we go around the place thinking oh death wont be so soon... for people like me we would probably think oh perhaps i might die when i am 75 or 80yrs old... but the matter of fact is that death has no age... no one has an expiry date printed on their backs... no one knows for sure...

i dont know about you but i think i want to live my life now in such a way that if i die at this very moment, i would have no regrets at all and die happily... then comes to the topic of funerals....

you know i have been thinking what would my funeral be like... haaha sometimes i get really bored and i start to wonder.. would there be alot of people to pay respects? would the people that care for me be there and would i be pleased if i knew who came and who didnt? isnt it funny? you spend your whole life living and when you die, people come to say how the respect you and how much you impacted their lives... but you never got to hear it... it is like giving a medal to a fallen soldier... it comforts the family but the person himself is unaware of it all...

you know something you know how i would love my funeral to be? sounds a bit morbid but... hahaha since we are on this topic already and went so far in might as well yea... you know i say i wanna do a free fall on my dying bed just incase the parachute doesnt open but honestly i think ill prefer it to be with the people i love... not in a hospital though... i would love to be outside on my own legs, walker, wheelchair whatever... and when i do pass on i would love my funeral and wake to be a happy occassions... hahaha contradiction to traditions eh... but i would really love that...

people dressed in bright vibrant colours... a white canopy tent (always loved white tents) with cilli red, sunset orange and pure white balloons covering the pillars of the tent... lively music being played over the speakers... tables drapped with white cloths, fine bone china plates with silver wear highlighted with orange napkins folded in a triangle ontop of each plate... great food being served, champagne and wine... festoon the walls with the photos i took, line the tables with photos of me and loved ones happy together...

doesnt sound like the traditional funeral huh... haaha... oh and as for me... well just put me somewhere doesnt matter.... ahhaha... when i describe this it kinda sounds like a celebration doesnt it? well thats the idea... i want it to be a celebration... good music, good ambience, good food and good company... that is what i would love... celebrate not the passing but celebrate the legacy and life...

and well if no legacy was left... i dont mind being cremated on the day itself and tossed into the sea... hahaha... because honestly then i see no point... i personally feel funerals shouldnt be a sad occassion but an occassion where people come together and remember the deceased and celebrate his/ her life together...

well thats my little thinking... ok enough of this morbid post...

Shanghai

2008-10-17T20:04:00.002+08:00

dont feel like commenting much so yea here are some pictures...

Joel goin bye bye

2008-10-05T13:08:00.002+08:00

well recently I have obviously not really been in Singapore much... was just calculating the time that I spent out of Singapore and I realised that most of my time was spent out of Singapore...

Vietnam, Singapore
Vietnam, Singapore
Yunnan, Singapore
and now Shanghai, Singapore

yea been travelling quite a fair bit this holiday... I guess I am pretty lucky... these trips have been great for me, a period where I can relax and consolidate my thoughts... a period where I can be away from everyone and take a refreshing breath of air... a period where I get to know myself better too.. it feels good...

well time to prepare for my departure on tuesday... missing people already...

Foot Prints In The Sand

2008-10-01T01:15:00.003+08:00

when i walk, you are beside me
when i think i dont, you knew i did
when i needed you, you carried me
when i ran from fear, you appear to embrace me
when i stumble, you catch me before i fall
thank you

joel ~ Yunnan

2008-09-23T13:16:00.003+08:00

you knw wat i really wanted to come up with a really long post about my trip to yunnan but i decided nahss.... pictures are better... so bon apetit...

well these are some of the photos i took.... i seriously loved yunnan... beautiful city so much culture heritage and heavenly scenery... it was worth the wait...

Joel~M.I.A.

2008-08-26T23:32:00.004+08:00

well yea i have disappeared for quite a number of days now... ok weeks... erm maybe a month? i dont know but here is a little post... =D

ok life update....

came to vietnam on the 10th of aug, flew back on the 17th

worked at AIPA (Asean Inter Parliamentary Assembly) from the 18th till the 24th

so what has happened to me between the 24th till now, let me tell you...
i was incharge of the delegates from vietnam... high end officials, just a few directors, vice presidents of foreign affairs committee, chairwomen of social affairs and vice president of national assembly... yea really high end delegates... very nice people... so you see at 0003hrs on the 24th of aug, mom called...

she asked, "hey when are you coming over to vietnam? dad has a long weekend off?"
my reply, "erm dont know maybe on the 27th or something..."
bla bla bla, phone was put down....

0005hrs 24th aug...

i called back... "hey mom i think ill fly today at 7.30pm"

yea she thought i was mad which in real fact everyone that met me for that day thought so too... my delegates yea they thought i was mad too... but i guess it is the spontenity that makes life fun... so yea i am now in HCMC....

so if you can be bothered read about what AIPA was all about well read below... bon apetit...

the leaders

the delegation

my leader

the ladies

Arriving at work in suit and tie, going for meetings, attending dinners, entertaining guests and your own Mercedes Compressor with driver at your disposal, young executives for a week we were. Well at least that was the illusion that we had during the many hours we had sitting around waiting for our delegate’s meetings to end.

We did go through all the above however, life wasn’t a bed of roses all the time. Day to day, one would have mistaken us training for a marathon through the corridors than just merely trying to organize a meeting or plan a last minute request. At times a lack of planning on the side of the organizer also led to a catalytic reaction of “unforeseen” events. Then of course there were the many times that we wondered what the point of having us around was.

I guess the purpose of having us around was not to be useful to the delegates all the time, but rather to be there when they needed us. Our job scope was simple, act as a medium between the delegates and the organizers. Play host to the delegates and make them feel welcomed. Solve all unique problems no matter how bizarre they may be. When things went wrong in the planning of the event, make sure that it went seamlessly well from the view point of the delegates. This was our job scope, we were Liaison Officers. We were each attached to a country, as for me I was attached to Vietnam.

There were many things that I learnt from this event; the many subtle undercurrents and gestures that require a critical eye to detect. I learnt that it is alright for a lady dignitary to leave the procession before the Guest of Honor does. When my delegates from Vietnam stood up to dance with the new host of AIPA 2009, Thailand, it signified acceptance on the Thai’s side of Vietnam becoming the host of AIPA 2010. These and many more gestures formed the base of being diplomatic and politically safe.

Throughout the seven days that I was attached to my delegation, it seemed as if I had been immersed into a new culture. Hierarchy and respect for superiors was something that was evidently present in every move that was made. The wrong seating position in the car could bring an insult to the superior. Though however stringent and serious it may sound, it wasn’t really that bad. Most of the times, the delegates were quite forgiving if minor mistakes were made.

The time that I really started to enjoy myself was probably on the night of the closing day. That night, a dinner had been arranged for all delegations in Sentosa. Though there were a few hiccups in the planning process, the events really interested me. Each delegation was required to move up on stage and perform for everyone else. Though the vocals and choreography were far from perfect, we were able to sample what another country’s culture was like, and that brought a smile to my face.

The delegates soon started to let their hair down a bit as the atmosphere was now no longer centered on work but rather, where is the best place to shop. I then decided to bring them out on a shopping spree that Saturday. We shopped and talked like as if we had been friends for the past four years. Topics such as marriage, culture, ethics and my little eyes surfaced.

The AIPA meetings had ended too fast, at the point when relationships were starting to develop, it came to its end and before you know it they were on the plane home. Well, a quick exchange of emails and photos are just about all that remains of my delegates from AIPA 2008. Aside from that here are some comments that they made, that I will keep with me for a long time.

“One thing that Vietnam must learn from this is the organization of the event. It was well planned and the staff are very hospitable…” Mr Ngo Duc Manh, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Vietnam.

2008-08-14T18:35:00.001+08:00

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ end of SIP

2008-08-06T11:11:00.002+08:00

well right now i have officially been off work for about 2 weeks already... i am really glad that i was able to gain experience within rasa sentosa.... i have met many people in the course of my work some nice, some not so nice... however, they have all helped to facilitate my learning within rasa sentosa... i have been asked to return as casual during my 3mnth long holiday however my reply is always, i dont know.. truth be told, i most likely may not return... there is so much to do, so much to see, so much to learn... when it is time to move on, i think i should...

well i have been to the front desk, concierge and guest relations during my stint... which one do i prefer, i would be lying if i said i liked them all as much... i really loved guest relations... my colleagues there are such fun to be with... on my last day, when i went back to do my clearing, i made an appointment to meet up with my GM to bid farewell... when i met him, the only thing i could say was that i really learnt alot and was really glad to be given the opportunity... because there was really so much that i couldnt pin point one lesson that had a great impact on me...

i spent many nights thinking what is the one lesson that i learnt the most throughout my internship... if asked now, i can say that that would be, humility and sincerity... without these two factors you are no body...

well yea so here are some pictures during my crazy times in rasa sentosa...

DEPT BBQ

TAKE A BREAK

GM's COCKTAIL

BYE BYE

Joel ~ Bday BOY =D

2008-05-27T20:11:00.003+08:00

well for those who dont know yea my birthday just passed yesterday... and man was it a great one... lets shoot ourselves back to saturday where it all began....

SATURDAY
so that day was a really scortching hot day and finally after so long i had an off so decided to meet up with my friends... decided to go to settlers for lunch and some games... was actually quite fun kinda enjoyed myself... but man i think they have too many games to choose from...

later we hung around bugis and then went to brian's bro's shop where i met his bro's pet parrot or rather parrot like thing... was a really cute thing =D it decided to hop all over me i was actually scared it's claws would dig holes in my shirt but oh wells =)

SUNDAY
it was quite a tiring day for me... i was really really exhausted from work... so many groups arrived that day, 2 SOTC groups and 4 bus loads of japanese school kids... 249 check ins and 202 checkouts... it was a mad day for me but well the thought of the next day being my birthday, being my off day made things better.... and of course the thought of meeting Evon, Zoe and Nikko for dinner... but sadly because of the number of groups, i didnt make it in time to catch Nikko... but dinner with Evon and Zoe was amazing =) the dinner was good and the company was better =) thoroughly enjoyed myself =)

MONDAY!!!! (THE BIG B DAY)
the big day finally had arrived... it was quite hard to believe that i had turned a year older... i could still remember last year's celebrations so vividly i guess time flies doesnt it... well that morning i decided to go down to sentosa... yea i know 6 days of sentosa aint enough... so anyways went there earlier, met up with laura and grace for lunch =) had a simple one at koufu and chatted till their lunch break was up... dropped by rasa to drop off some stuff for a guest and soon met up with my mom and bro at vivo... and of course the best part about a bday is being able to do what you want, when you want... so i decided to sleep... yea exciting huh... haha ok i was tired from the entire week so i needed to rest for my dinner later at night... and now i shall talk about the dinner...

we decided to go to AURUM for dinner... they serve molecular gestronomy... dont know what that is? well lets let the pictures do the talking...

ok this atap chee looking thing is actually olive juice... what they did was to drop it into stabalizers such that a jelly forms on the outside and encapsulates the juices within, developing a olive bomb...

next was the foie gras with armangac jelly and spice crush which i forgot to take a picture of but well lets skip that... third was this, pink shrimp raviolli with vinegar air...

the raviolli skin is actually 100% olive oil, no flour no eggs... dont ask me how they did it but they did... and it is not oily at all... it taste really springy, smooth and light... really good...

this over here would be the lychee caviar... this is not real caviar but what they did was similar to the olive juice but instead they used lychee juice... what else was that they sprinkled gold dust over the whole thing that made it shiny which was quite interesting...

then next came the electric cotton candy... this cotton candy is actually flavoured with curry and spear mint... interesting and sweet =)

this dish when it first came out reminded me to tang yuan... and you would never believe what it is... it is liquified ham... yea i was stunned when i heard it... haha... well this too exploded in the mouth but it was really good... it was warm and tasted like cabonara sauce...

so that was our starters... =X

now the soup man was it good... it is probably the best soup i have ever had... it was so concentrated that you can actually jiggle the soup... very very very good... what i had was a deep fried tempura langoustine with a japanese clear broth and injected noodles...

what they did was they served the bowl dry with the tempura and poured the hot soup into it at the table... and well yea this too had gold dust in it... curious what injected noodles is right? well see the white long thing around the tempura, thats it... what they did was they gave us each a stryinge with this paste inside... when injected into the soup, it became noodles... it was good... oh and yes the noodles is also 100% olive oil...

now its time for the main course

i decided to throw caution into the wind and try their signature dish, deconstructed pork... the big cube up front was the crispy deconstructed pork... dont ask me what they did but it was good... that little bundle on the left is kurobuta pork belly with pineapple salsa and the the one to the right was pigs ears wrapped in a pasta kind of skin... that was the one that freaked me out, the pigs ears... but oh well its their signature so i decided to try it... it wasnt too bad but just the thought of it, i wont order it again...

i think i said enough... watch the video to find out about my dessert... Chocolate Nitro...

and the final product...

white chocolate ice cream, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with the sweet harmony of chocolate sauce and pistacho coulis...

oh and they gave me a cake...

for once i felt like a baby... that meal had barely any solid food... everything was weird... haaha... my bro called it mind games... but it was nice.. and like all that food wasn't enough, my mom suprised me with a ice cream cake when we got home...

i couldnt resist it... eventhough i was so full, i ate a nice big slice =X

(dont worry i am ending soon... one more day to go...)

TODAY
well today met up with my old friend An ren of whom i didnt meet for a long time... had really good nothern indian food at sicc and went for our usual fishing trip out... went up to pasir ris.... An Ren was so lucky lah... he had 2 strikes... like wth!! and i got none... haha but he was really nice he let me pull up one... and it was a fat barramundi... i think it weighed about 3kg.... big fish that one was...

oh here is a picture of An Ren and his fish... a darn right huge Partin

what really made my day werent the presents or the outtings but the smses and well wishes i recieved... really really appreciate everyone of you that made my birthday special... now to thank you all, that made time to celebrate with me though i couldnt meet everyone that i would love to, i had a few suprises that really brightened my day... thank you all so much =) oh there is still tmrw... meeting ari for lunchie... yay... looking forward to it...

Joel

2008-05-20T20:33:00.003+08:00

you know there are many nights where i just sit back and feel like calling someone to talk to but somehow cant find a number... its a weird feeling actually... anyways... today wasnt that great for me at work... i think it could have been better but i guess we all need to improve yea and the only way is to stumble... so here i go... *trips*

anyway work has been tiring for me recently... i finally decided to use up some of the public holidays that i have back logged... thinking of taking off on monday tue and weds... i just hope that my off is approved... oh wells im goin off already...

Joel ~ idiot

2008-04-12T23:58:00.002+08:00

you know there are some times that you just feel like beating some guy up along the street.... maybe it is his hairdoo or maybe its his face or some really bad fashion sense... ok maybe not for your case well neither is it for mine... because those are really uncalled for.... but there are some times when it is really called for... LIKE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TODAY DAMN IT... BE CAUSE OF THAT @*& )@&( i nearly started swearing all over again i nearly made his face look like his backside.... idiot...

i was happily exploring telok belangah because i was early for dinner and i so happened to chance upon red dot museum and started walking the entire area... so there i was admiring the architecture and rustic feel of the place when this old guy comes up to me and asks me in chinese, "i am hungry do you know of anywhere where i can eat, i am not familiar with this place." and yes i understood him perfectly well my chinese has improved... so i replied IN CHINESE "there is a hawker just down the street." then he said thank you then introduced himself and asked me to introduce myself... so yea ok... bla bla bla... then he asked if he can just talk to me for 5mins like a friend so i was like ok... i was starting to think this guy is weird... but oh well i jst played a long for a while just to be polite... then he stared to say, i think you are very handsome so i was like ok thank you... "it is good you know i like looking at handsome guys and i think you are beautiful do you like looking at handsome guys?" i was like oh shit what is he getting at so i just kept quiet and gave him that... what the hell are you saying kind of face...

then he said "its ok if you know i was born like that i like to see handsome guys do you? i like you you know..." at that point i knew perfectly well what he was getting at so i told him i had to go bla bla bla... he tried to persuade me to stay and talk but i managed to wiggle my way out so he said "ok it was nice meeting you.." and extended to shake my hand so i was a bit weary whether i should or not but any way i did because i had my left fist aimed to break his nose already if he tried anything... then once we broke the hand shake, he asked, "can i hug you?" i was like cursing and swearing in my head and i just said turned and walked away and said no... bloody hell this is the second time this happened...

i think it has something to do with the way i dress... do you think i look gay? yea you the one that is reading this... damn it... and i have been spooked out since then till now.... damn it if not for the damn laws of this country he would have two butts one on his rear and one on his face... sorry for the crude language but i seriously need to let it out... damn it bloody gay... buy a can of hotdogs and knock yourself out... damn it.... brrrrrr.... anws thats for today after that i rushed to the restaurant to find some form of safety...

well work update: screwed up big time. did double check-in. commited the worst sin a receptionist could do. lucky i still have job. the end.

P.S. sorry for the crude language again....

Joel ~ Fulfilling

2008-04-01T20:41:00.002+08:00

the service industry pays peanuts and guests look down on you and shout down your neck because they think you are servants... we may be there to serve them but we are not their servants...

well other than all that i must say the serivce industry is really fulfilling when you do make someone's day... i actually feel really happy when i get home... though tired, i feel really really good about what i did in the day...

there was once this little girl threw up at my counter... and man did i feel like puking too... like really... i was trying not to think about the stench and check the guest in asap so that they could attend to their daughter... but seriously i nearly threw up... well other than that... i said my farewell and handed a littly lolly to the girl and you should have seen the smile on the mother's face... that was enough to brighten my day... but i still didnt have any appetite after that...

then earlier on today i managed to upsell a superior room to a deluxe suite... haha the family seemed really contented about it... and man was i contented when i heard i get commission muahahhaa... tried doing it again this time trying to push up a pool view room to one category up which is a garden terrace but oh well... twice i tried twice i failed... well but it was worth the try...

there were many other situtations that just the smiles from our guests can change how you feel about the day.... ohhhh... and there was this guy... a few days back... checked him in and his room wasnt ready... typical singaporeans would be screaming their heads off but all he did was give a serious face said calmly, i am really tired and i need a room... and man that scared me more all the screaming... so i tried to rush a room... got him a drink but an hour later the room was still not ready... i wanted to provide him with a rest room first but he didnt want... all he said was, without shouting, let me talk to your manager... i was freaking out then... man he is good... bla bla bla... managed to get him another room but today he called me by name, joel i would like to check out now... that kinda felt really good actually... but sadly i cant check him out because i am a trainee and well what ya knw his bill had problems... damn... and i didnt know... i went over to ask him casually how his stay was... my collegue wispered in my ear... its not ok.... i was like sheshhh damn should have kept quiet...

well but i must say i do have a disadvantage in this industry... believe it or not, size does play a role in the way guests treat you... it is easier to shout scold and scream down a guy that is smalled size than some one that is bigger... in literal translation, looking down on someone... i guess thats how the phrase came about... and it really is true... oh wells... i guess i need to buff up....

anws i am tired... going to do the shift i dun like the most, B2 shift... 2 - 11pm... start late, end late... and it seems as if the shift is longer than normal... you see the sun above you when you go to work and it is pitch black when you end work... oh wells i am off...

Joel ~ Service

2008-03-27T21:33:00.002+08:00

what brings about service excellence... i dont know whether you agree with me or not but here goes my little theory about it...

guests know when they are unreasonable, thats how you bring about service excellence

it is when they understand the situation, that they want flexibility

it is when they demand flexibility, that staff require empowerment

it is when they demand flexibility, that staff require integrated cooperation and teamwork with other departments

it is when staff attain teamwork, that they can deliver and please their guests

it is when the customers are pleased, that they want to return

it is when they return or use you as a benchmark, that service has reached excellence....

service excellence starts with you establishing the fact that there is no such thing as a difficult customers but rather customers with different needs... the greater the need the greater the opportunity...

Joel ~ cook me out

2008-03-23T20:22:00.002+08:00

before anything i wanna wish every one happy Easter =) woooots... and since its Easter and i am rather free today, i decided to try out a new dish... inspired from Hells Kitchen... hahhaa well actually i just felt like cooking... not really because of Easter... so here it is...

introducing my new dish, pan seared Toman fish served in a citrus herb sauce and accompanied with mashed potatoes... my verdict is..... ill give it a 7/10... the mashed potatoes was nice and the sauce was nice too... however, the fish was a bit too heavy for my liking... would have prefered it if i used cod... the sauce was nice on the first mouth but it was a little too sour towards the end... but overall not too bad... can still improve it...

oh and i decided why not have some soup... so here is my cream of carrot soup...

so here is the soup... it wasnt good today... i accidentally poured too much flour in... it was too thick.... but the taste was there =) so thats all folks... back to work tmrw....

Joel ~ SIP

2008-03-20T21:25:00.002+08:00

well first week is almost over for me... tmrw is my debut at the front office... first day to be presented infront of the guests... a test point to see if i have been paying attention to all the teachings taught to me in the past 2 years of my studies...

been having a great time with other fellow interns from HTB at work recently... haha i feel so weird i am like the youngest and the only singaporean there.... they are all from myanmar, china and korea... haha... but suprisingly communication doesnt seem to be a barrier... i must say their english is quite good very impressed actually... i honestly had the misconstrue impression that their english wasnt good at all... but well i guess i was gravely wronged...

well been busy most of the time trying to absorb like a sponge when i am barely as porous as a slab of granite... haha quite anxious about tmrw... this weekend would be my first off day and i really have no idea what i am going to do... oh well will find out... OH HAHAHA... almost forgot a wedding i have to attend... oh well i guess i only have one day left open i guess...

oh wells time to knock off... i have to wake up at 5 tmrw.... ciao...

Joel ~ SIP

2008-03-18T20:33:00.002+08:00

well i started my SIP not too long ago, been thrown into the classroom of reality and practicality.... well my location would be at Rasa Sentosa in the front office dept... though i have been on the job for only two days now man o man there is an overload of information... so much to remember and learn in such a short time...

1) sentosa attraction, operation hours, prices (luckily i visited most of them)
2) remember the various room types and their short forms
3) learn about their loyalty program
4) learn to take reservations & check ins
5) abreviations for inter dept messaging
6) a more advance step of OPERA
7) know the SOP for rasa sentosa

well these are just some of the things my little worn out mind can remember so far... but that is ALOT already.... well i have still got two more days of orientation before i am thrown into the deep pool with a float... friday i would be buddy to one of the full timers... i hope i dont get in his way =X

so far the people seem really really nice.. but haha like they always say many put on different fronts in a relaxed and worked environment... so we shall see what happens when i come back from work on friday... some of the stuff they are doing in there is really impressive i must say... they have this thing called break day or something like that... whereby a few people from a dept would go down to the pool side with plates of fruits just to interact with guests and talk to them... and you would be suprised to see what something so cheap and simple can do.... i think guests really appreciate it...

i also heard that every month there would be this GM's cocktail where our GM would invite various VIP guests for a cocktail party just to interact with them... i think its great... hahhaa i think our GM is someone that is very concerned over the welfare of his staff and guests... you see him all over the place... somehow every where you go you seem to just bump into him and this is really in contrast to what happens in other organisations... he is everywhere and it is always a pleasure to see him... full of fun and sincerity.... i think this internship would be a really interesting one cant wait till i start work proper...

Joel ~ bz bee

2008-03-05T23:24:00.002+08:00

well today being my last day, decided to run around and paint the town red... went out early early early in the morning... left the house at 11am =D haiz was so tired but what to do... up to my feet and off i went...

decided to run off to siagon square to buy some movies before i leave tmrw... infact i am watching them now as i blog hahahas... ENCHANTED and LIONS FOR LAMBS =D yay... after which we went to underground for lunch...

bla bla bla bla....

we then went down to metro to buy some stuff...

bla bla bla bla...

then came the awkwardly fun part =) we decided to hop on down to a spa for some R&R... hey after waking up so early you need some time to rest... but it was really awkward for me haha... went for a full body armomatherapy massage... i aint saying why here because that would be awkward too... but i think you can guess why... go and google aromatherapy and you would figure it out... but the initial bit was close to torturous for me... i had quite a heavy lunch and there was this masieur pounding and adding pressure to my back, squashing my stomach... all that went in my mind was... dont puke dont puke dont puke... but after that it was great... would have fallen asleep if not for the constant turning of my body...

oh wells after that i made long awaited journey to the tailor to pick up my shirts and others i made for some friends... and ARGHHHHH... all the shirts i that i made were alright except the two that were meant for me... one was way too big whilst the other... well the collar was just not right... oh wells... i guess it was inevitable... communication barriers + fancy shirts = disaster...

so yea thats all for now... beck to my movies...

Joel ~ pub pub pub pub pub

2008-03-03T01:21:00.004+08:00

ok today i did the dumbest dumbest thing one could ever do... some of my dad's collegues and our family went for lunch today at Legend hotel wanted to eat at crystal jade but well it was so packed so we decided why not have some drinks at the lounge first... so i ordered my drink... IRISH COFFEE... and yea i had a damn empty stomach... gey kiang lah... happily drink...

the group started to talk about how my dad's friend survived KK Koh's famous dinner at wan lok... remember mr goh was tellin us about this kk koh always visiting this restaurant late at night and the captain would wait for him... well yea my dad's collegue was with him durin these visits and he was telling us about all the happenings etc... so i was listening and drinking the beautiful coffee... then my head started to grow heavy... but the beautiful hot coffee, with a layer of whiskey wedged in between topped off with icy cold cream was too tempting so i continued to go at it... then i felt tipsy haha... first time i felt tipsy... and that was only after half a glass... haiz... well i was much better once the food came...

after lunch they wanted another round of drinks but this time i wanted out.. hahaha... too much for me... so bla bla bla... we walked around town to view some art galleries... my dad wanted to look for some art pieces to cover up our living room walls.. yea its that big... so 4 pseudo art connoisseurs started to move from gallery to gallery each having varied opinions about what should be hung up on the wall... my mom wants impressionistic... my dad wants heavy lacquer and i want contemporary... hahaha... so in the end we got no where...

to relax from all that walking and eye strain guess what... its back to the pub again... this time i took a mocktail... i kinda prefer the one served in top table... hahaha... didnt quite like mine... but man the ambience was great... its up on the roof of majestic hotel over looking the river... and they have a grill there and i must say the chef is quite gay... but who cares... so we just poped by for a drink...

above majestic hotel

we then decided to move off and had dinner at this greek restaurant... food was pretty good but i was too hungry to savour the food so yea cant comment much...

and next to end the day as usual, back to the pubs again... this time we went to caravelle hotel... and again its right at the roof... but this one over looked the city... quite nice too... they had a fillopino band playing some spanish songs... and man i think carmen is nicer for their music... the singers here were like shouting most of the time, off pitch, not syncronised... yea and they were tryin to be seductive in their own clumpsy ways... so yea... hahaha... but the ambience was nice... the birds eye view of the city...

view from caravelle

well thats all for today ciao =)

Joel ~ pictures

2008-03-01T18:03:00.002+08:00

PAST

PRESENT

Joel ~ weird wonderings

2008-03-01T17:53:00.002+08:00

well i have been wondering about some stuff recently... well last night i met up with some market development director of reeds pte. ltd. and we started to talk about the industry and about the potential growth of it, latest trends, etc...

well we were talking and it suddenly dawned on me later that evening, am i making the right decision on going into this industry? i look at all my lecturers, its like 90% of them are not married and i think it is mainly due to the nature of the job... long hours and little time to socialise...

haha my sound rather odd and absurd right now i agree but well thats why i called this post what it is... but i mean really... what if i dont find a life partner? what if i dont get married? what if i dont have children... hahaha ok i think i am starting to sound paranoid... ill just keep my thoughts to myself then.. hahaha...

2008-02-26T16:55:00.001+08:00

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ disappeared

2008-02-26T12:53:00.003+08:00

well today started off rather weird... its like everywhere i went in the morning, i encountered a weird situation... first person i met today was the cab driver... he was quite nice throughout the journey... started talking about where i was going what i was doing there etc... then when we were near the airport he asked me... "so how is the red light district there?" so i thought he was asking about the security level... i replied "oh it is everywhere they dont really have a featured red light district. but vietnam is just as safe as singapore." then we started talking about the safety and communism. then just before he dropped me he asked "so how are the girls there?" i was like "erm... i dont know" then he said "have you tried any of them are they good?" i was like a bit awkward and said "no..." then he said "oh then you wont know the price right?" then i said "no..." man that was so weird... it is like the first time someone asks me about prostitutes and actually meant it... like wth....

ok second weird man i met... i boarded the plane happily sat next to this nice malay man... we started talking and introducing ourselves... he was quite nice... i started telling him about vietnam, where to go, what to do... the usual... me and my blabbering about vietnam that you all should know by heart by now... but oh well... so we talked and talked... then he said "let me introduce you to something" started to fiddle around with his bag and stuff.. pulled out a dvd and a dvd player... and played the dvd... and no it was not porn... turned out to be some promotional video about how some guy started an organic farm his business grew to sell organic products and health products... so he was basically trying to enthise me to join some multi level marketing thing for the products... after he was done he showed me some more videos... so for about and hour i watched product promotional videos that housewives would watch.. like videos on their product and their effectiveness compared to other normal product bla bla bla... when the flight stewardess said " we are now preparing for our desend...... please put away all electronic devices..." i was like "THANK GOD!!!" and he leaned over and said... "actually the flight is not really long... when we chat like that we loose track of time" in my mind i was going "that was the longest one hour in my life."

ok then when i landed and came out of the airport, i met my dad's colleague... well he isnt thaaattt weird... he was quite nice.. except there i was lasting on 2hrs of sleep... traumatised from the cab driver and bored to tears by my the person next to me... all i wanted was to sleep in the car.... and he kept talking and talking and talking and talking and talking... haizzz... anws it was a nice chat haha... but man it was really tiring to smile for so long... and you may be wondering why he came to pick me... well my dad was still sleeping and he got huy to send his collegue to the office near the airport...

anyways... lets talk about vietnam... when i landed here today, i didnt realise it at first but only when my dad's collegue mentioned it, did i realise all the motorist were wearing helmets... i was shocked... the last time i was in vietnam not a single one wore a helmet... and that was 5mnths ago... and now every one is wearing a helmet... advancements and effectiveness of communism in enforcing laws... and i heard the ruling was only made in about january febuary... fast eh... scary at times but oh well... shant blabber any longer... ill upload the pics later today...

2008-02-15T22:43:00.000+08:00

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ valentines

2008-02-14T21:23:00.002+08:00

now people lets talk about this "wonderful" day called valentines... lets start of by saying that i think valentines is the stupidest, most insincere, ironic and disgusting day that people celebrate... yea i sound harsh, words are strong but that is what i feel and i mean every word... before you start condeming what i said let me explain...

there are only two reasons why people could possibly celebrate valentines...
1) to celebrate a day where lovers express their true love to each other
2) a great marketing campaign by the florists

either one it is just dumb but the second one makes more sense than the first... if you truely love someone, it would really be sad if you need a day to express your true love for the other... you would not need valentines day... true love cannot be shown through one action, one day, one year nor a life time... true love is an on going thing and if you need valentines day to express it then that is not true love... you are just blind sheep following a trend because some florist came up with a great marketing plan... if you love someone show it through your actions show it through the days, normal days that you are together... express it forever...

why spend money on a flower and give it to your lover? what does that signify? love? i doubt so... a flower is a flower... it is beautiful one moment and withers the next? how can that signify true love... the only thing that can would be the heart of a person something that gets stronger and stronger and more beautiful each day... and if you want to express your love why buy a flower? it is so easy to get... walk to a florist buy a flower for $10 and pass it to her... where is the sincerity in that? was there any effort put into it? hardly... love is not something that can be purchased you cannot use anything to represent love either... love is love and nothing is equal nor stronger than it... love is the binding force between people... love is what makes us human.... love is what we need in order to survive... love is love....

well yea i may say all this but as i walk around the streets, couples holding hands, flowers, balloons, kisses, hugs... my heart tears of acid and in each tear encapsulates a memory... i just wish i can occupy myself for the rest of the day and pray that it would come to an end fast...

Joel ~ culi & ssm

2008-02-13T19:52:00.005+08:00

well this week was the end of both my favourite subjects, SSM and Culi... it ended with our final project execution... well ssm didnt go too well for me so lets not talk about it... rather not rake up the past... so here goes culi...

PREPARE TO SALIVATE!!!

well as you can see above, IT ALL LOOKS SO SO SO GOOD... well today we our menu was:

1) Passion Fruit Eclairs
2) Fruit tarts
- strawberry
- peach
- mixed fruits
3) Doughtnuts
- Simpson's doughnut
- chocolate coated
- sugar
- chocolate with strawberry
- chocolate with coloured rice
4) Strawberry Fields cake
5) Fruit Fondue

well it all went quite well... haha other than the fact that chef scared us by telling us she didnt get our full marketlist and we didnt have the required ingredients... but well i guess after some treasure hunt we managed to get some ingredients to complete the menu...

well i couldnt do it with the help of my group =)
warren and carol my sous chefs that helped me with everything when i wasnt around...
warren and taihong ensuring the smooth delivery of the eclairs...
carol and suqin ensuring that we had pretty doughnuts that amazed everyone...
shane, greg and nicholas providing us with tarts that even mr goh noticed and so did the other service instructors oh and not to mention the sell out within 2hrs...
oh the reason why i have hardly any pictures of the tarts is because of shane, he made them too nice that they sold off too fast for me to take photos... blame it on him...
zoe and ivan patiently standing and waiting for orders for their fondue...
raudah helping me out with the production of the cakes...
and of course our chefs who "secretly" helped us through everything when they werent suppose to =)

WOOOTS OUR GrOUP ROX...

OH OH OH... this is something i am really proud of...

TADA

this was made by mua... well hahaha i had to make 3 of these strawberry fields cake and this was the last one... i needed quite alot of help from chef for the first two ones... i finally realised that icing the cake isnt really that easy as i thought...

well what can i say God truely blessed us...haha...well enjoy the pictures =)

Joel

2008-01-28T00:11:00.000+08:00

well as you might have noticed, i have not posted for quite some time... well its a combination of factors, lazy, tired, busy, nothing to post... yea so thus the long wait...

well nothing much has happened to me recently...

i was accepted by rasa sentosa to intern with them... they are trying to place me in front office and guest relations, however position wise it is not confrimed yet... i must say that i am really blessed to get this internship opportunity...

recently i have been wondering if i should take up a fight to stand firm to what i believe in or should i just let go...

this weekend i finally found some time to relax, watch american gangster with brian, went shopping today, bought two new shirts...

well as you can see i am not really in the mood to post... sorry about that but that is basically my life in a quick summary... ill post something better next time...

2008-01-15T22:10:00.000+08:00

Joel ~ PRESENTS

2007-12-31T18:33:00.000+08:00

well christmas is coming to an end... about 6 more days to go... and the new year is approaching... here are some pretty little presents i got =) weeee i love them all a mil thanks =)

oooooo beautiful teuscher chocolates and butter scotch candies =) wee.... so nice came in three flavours, coffee, chocolate and ginger =) haha i guess i have something to look forward to every christmas from now on... hints hints... ahaha =) i still think these are the best chocolates =) wooots when you bite into the macaroon shelled top, the shell caves in letting the smooth creamy filling caress your tongue as the flavours explode on your taste buds with great delight... doesnt that sound good =) well its better than it sounds =)

wah i tell you this one i felt really pai seh... this was given to me by a family friend the same one who's daughter gave the teucher chocolate... earlier on, she too gave a big box of teuschers and man are they good... and when we went to her house she still gave me these cuff links... so pai seh... take chocolates, eat dinner and then take cuff links... so pai seh... hehehe but i love her dog so cute... at first when i saw him i thought he was a coggi but in the end it turns out that he was a jack russell... hahaha... but very tame quiet and friendly...

well here is a mystery gift that i got from Grace's dinner... hhaha and do i see this as a sign... it is a sign telling me that i should decorate my room.. fill the walls with photos.. muahahahha... if only SOME PEOPLE in the household felt the same way... bleahx... o well...

ah now comes my favourite section of all =) weeeess... the cards =) i love them all i love keeping cards... i promise ill keep them in a safe little place =) thank you so much.. i always believed that cards truely bring out messages from the heart and i thank all of you that sent me these cards =)

=) this is zoe's card =) hehe i think the snowman is very cute hehehex... and erm i dun think it look like me... I AM NOT FAT!!! heheheex... but thanks so much for the card=) it was beautiful=)

hahas... this one is a really funny one... at first i thought it was mel's card because she handed it to me... but i was given a pleasant suprise when i found out later on it was paulina's =) hehex this teddy is really cute too... thank you for your heartfelt message =)

evon evon so sneaky =) at first i thought there was nothing more in that little paper container that you returned me, containing all the dvds i loan you... and to be honest i think i forgot to bring it with me when we were clearing up... it was only much later in the night that i stumbled upon the dvds when we were cleaning up the pool area of balloons... and luckily i found it =) i guess great things do come in small packages huh =) though short, your message was sweet=) oh haha notice the star on your card is glowing... hehehe kewl huh...

well i guess the cards sent do show a bit of the sender's personality... colourful, fun, vibrant, effort, and a warm message =) thanks mel cant imagine how long it took you to slowly do this card individually for me and everyone... was really sweet of you to send it to my house =) was the first time i recieved a christmas card via mail =) thanks so much...

thank you all for your cards this is the first year i have recieved cards from my friends and it truely has made my christmas all the better =) i thank God everyday that i have so many friends and loved ones that care and love me =) thank you all =)

Joel ~ MERRY CHRISTMAS

2007-12-25T00:16:00.000+08:00

merry christmas to one and all
merry christmas to all big, or small
merry christmas to families
merry christmas to friends
merry christmas to all the lands

may joy and laughter flow fast and free
may all your days be filled with glee
may you be blessed this year
and your heart be filled with this christmas cheer
gather with your loved ones
and lets sing out loud with all our lungs

put away your books of knowledge
put away your work of toil
come lets celebrate because christmas is here

haha isnt the best poem i have written but i hope it brings across the message =)well yesterday i celebrated my christmas with a whole group of my friends all thanks to Grace & Qingyun... THANKS GIRLS =) it was a great dinner... not because of the food not the little sprays that we dirtied ourselves with but the warmth and love that i felt during that dinner =)QINGYUN & GRACE THANK YOU =)

well here are some highlights from the dinner =) i will upload more photos when they come =)

haha our theme was to dress up to either old school or hollywood glam =) well its obvious which one i chose... glam is just too hot and besides hey i look glam in anything =P hahaha...

4 guys 7 girls =P man whats with my eyes...lol..

WOOOT OLD SCHOOL!!!

well decided to help Grace & Qingyun out with some dessert and yeps thats me doing it right there =) haha a banana flambe... i think the fire for this one went too high =P didnt realise it till now =) but man did i love doing it haha couldnt sleep for an hour when i got back was too busy thinking about it... haha... but cleaning up caramel sux.... bleahx...

well thats all for now... merry christmas once again to all...

P.S. Zoe, Paul, Evon thanks so much for the cards ill keep it with me forever =)love it more than any present i got =)

Joel ~ =)

2007-12-17T23:13:00.000+08:00

hmm actually i wanted to blog something but i cant remember what it was... errr.... hmm.... i really cant remember... bleahx... till i remember...

Joel ~ townnn

2007-12-08T01:05:00.000+08:00

well last night i checked my email and i stumbled upon this email that was entitled "you have been selected" sender was Noise Singapore... i was so excited because a few months back i submitted some photography pieces for Noise Singapore Competition... and well yeps one of my art work was chosen =) well so i was really excited and ready to see the showcase at heeren...

so i rushed on down together with ---- after school to have a look and to my dismay i couldnt find any art piece of mine... and realised that not all the pieces are put up for display... grrrsss... was so irritated... was so excited and geared up waiting to view it bec some guy in the publications department doesnt know how to put messages across properly.... so disheartened we walked across the road and wanted to watch Enchanted but well seems like we werent suppose to do either of the things that we planned to do...

so we had dinner walked around taka for a while and went back... well i came back to check out the website and here is the picture that made it through... its one of my favourites...

cheers...

p.s. i know you dont want me to mention your name... and guys please dont think too much i just went out with a friend thats all... not ready yet...

Title: Fishermen
Description:
"this is the first entry of my series on clouds. this picture is a silhouette of fishermen hard at work. at times we need to take a break and look up to the greater things above."

crap

2007-12-03T19:30:00.000+08:00

right now i just feel like crap... crappy crappy crap crap crap.... sighhs... everything that could go wrong went wrong on every single station today during service...

today i was suppose to have only my partical test but so happened that Head waiter was missing so assistant had to take over and soon i found myself being nominated to be assistant head... so well headwaiter, asssistant head, headwaiter, waiter... yeps thats my schedule... well i shant pick out what went wrong in my station i think we all know... poor Ailing was given the red card... so i had to take over... and it was a mess nothin went smoothly all except ms wilson's table... other than that all havoc broke loose...

and like everything during operations wasnt enough i had to screw up my test so badly ill be happy if i just pass...really sux... well mr goh was definitely pissed with us... i can understand why... but what i didnt like was that there was no closure for the day... i understand that we werent close to passable... however i felt that a debrief was needed as without it all of us are left in the dark... we know what went wrong in our own station but not in the others...

well i didnt like this other person called X... you know i respect mr goh when he shouts at us and scolds us because he leads by example and you know that what he is doing is for our own good... tough training is what makes you grow the fastest and that i respect him... however i dont know if X is trying to mimic him but X seems to be unreasonable rather than anything else... there is a fine line between being tough and unreasonable...

haiz... everything is really not great for me right now... just wish someone could brighten up what is left for my day...anws to all who served today... dont take his coments too hard... the restaurant is there for us to make mistakes... just learn from them and smile always =)

=S

2007-11-30T11:52:00.000+08:00

sighss i guess i havent posted for quite some time... well recently i dont know what has gotten into me i am forgetting to do things ever so often... on tuesday i forgot to go for one of my tutorials and today i forgot to go for a field trip... its like there are so many things on my mind right now that i seem to be forgetting stuff... i know that aint a good excuse... well decided to jot everything down on to an organiser i sure hope it works...

2007-11-28T22:49:00.000+08:00

...this is simply who i am...

I am Joel...

This is me...

What else could i be?

Understand this and you will understand me...

Joel ~ Hair

2007-10-28T22:57:00.000+08:00

well today we shall be covering on an interesting topic called hair... i know my blog does not have many interesting topics (right ariel?? JKJK)... but well hey im a nice guy so i am goin to have an intersting one today...

well this whole thing started when i was seated down last night ripping out all the split ends from my hair... i kinda have a fettish for doing it... so yea... was happily ripping then suddenly i felt a sharp pain on my finger... when i looked at it i was shocked i was terrified i was in pain... it seemed to me that my hair actually managed to find a way to penetrate my skin... dont ask me how that happened it just did... so i decided to do my ground research on this sinister little thing called hair...

i soon found out that hair dressers face the same problem and have to constantly pull out little strans of hair from their hands... what a painful teeth grinding experience... so i took it upon myself to eradicate this little terror in disguise...

i decided to start with myself... i made my way to the only place and person where i knew for sure they would be able to help me out... i walked down the dinly lit corridors to this little shop i sat on the chair as i awaited the verdict... i slipped a orange note into his hands and after which the rest was history... he was willing to come aboard this journey with me...

he started with the back...

then the sides...

lastly the front...

soon a little more touch ups to the top and the problem was all solved... i walked off with a smirk brushed across my face knowing that thats one last little terrorist to worry about...

i went home and was anionted with costumes of celebration... robes only given to those who confronted this enemy of ours...

come join me, spread the word and together we can change the world... together we can fight off this little parasite that feeds of the flesh of society... we can end this war...

Joel ~ simon and garfunkel tribute

2007-10-24T22:46:00.000+08:00

beautiful and meaningul songs... listen and read between the lines to the hidden meaning behind the songs...

Sound Of Silence

el condor pasa

Richard Cory

Joel

2007-10-24T21:55:00.001+08:00

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ busy

2007-10-20T00:07:00.001+08:00

well well well lets pull everything back through time and force ourselves back to yesterday... well it all happened quite as per normal... went to pick up my bro from camp, went for lunch and that was basically it... or so we thought... you see yesterday was my bro's birthday so we decided to bring him out... ok so there i was walking around town supposedly shopping for him but in the end finding more stuff for myself... heees... what can i say i like pretty things... oh well so there i was and suddenly my mom popped the question... NOOO she didnt propose to me... she asked if i would like to do a dinner for my cousin of whom so happened to have the same birthday as my bro... and my bro was busy last night so everything kinda conditioned the situation to start yet another dinner... the only problem? TIME!!! HELLOOO?! 1HR?!!! she wanted me to clean and cook the dinner in an hour... grrsss.... well it was madness but hey what can i say i am mad... i enjoy a challenge... so i took it on... rushed home with our groceries... cleaned the chicken, marinated it... shoved it in the oven packed everything else and got ready to move out of the house... oh btw the dinner wasnt in my home which made things worse... so by the time the chicken was done, we just rushed out of the house... i prepared and cooked everything else at their house... did the same thrio that i did for grace and gang... bruchettas, steak, banana flambe... well the good thing was that they enjoyed the dinner... bad thing... i was tired once again and my nose was killing me... but i guess it was worth it... here are some pictures of the birthday boys...

well this morning we made our way down to sentosa for some sun sand surf sea... but sadly, the sea was dirty as usual, not much of a surf, sand imported and cigrette bud littered, no sun at all... but well we still had the fun we all deserved... so they played so rugby, frisbie, dog and bone, and some other weird games just to entertain ourselves... and as usual... well just look at the pictures...

yeps shawne got burried again.... haha... was quite hilarious.... took as quite some time before getting him out... and like that was not enough.... as his legs were tied up we had to find a way to get him freed... so bernard burned him with a lighter, qy cut him with keys... haha... hmm they both seemed to miss the string... lol... and to end it all off, our all time favourite, TAO POK!!! haha... poor thing... must be cursing us right now...

well after all that went to meet my parents for my bro's bday dinner... so have a look at the pics...

well yea we went to lawry's to eat... it is beef on a wagon style of service but i must say the service sux... it really does... from the start to finish... the dripped wine on the table, they didnt pour it correctly, the wine was too cold, the service staff were chatting and playing away, they made so much noise when laying another table and alot more... hmm if asked to ctitic about the place, i would say the steak is worth the money... it is really really good... but then i wont bring a visitor to the restaurant... there is no style to their service... if we are paying such a high price for it i expect optimum service but their service didnt even meet the basic level needed in any restaurant... AND THEY RUINED THE CREPE SUZETTE!!! ARGH!!!.... it is suppose to guridon style of service where it is prepared before your eyes but it seemed to be some training class for the staff there... there was an obviously more senior staff teaching a junior how to do it... well that is one... you dont do that in front of your guests... no class... then the way they did it made it look unappetizing... she used a metal dining spoon and fork to do the sauce, i dun knw the whole way they did it had not style... and their caramel wasnt ready before they added the juice in... so again if asked to rank, food - 10, service - 0....

but it was nice anw... haha...

Joel

2007-10-18T01:42:00.000+08:00

I know I wasn´t there
When you needed me the most
I know I didn´t care
and was afraid to get so close
tonight it´s getting hard to fall asleep
cause it´s becoming clear that I broke all into pieces
and I can not reverse it
so I´ve got one more thing to say

chorus:
I´m sorry for your pain
I´m sorry for your tears
for all the little things I didn´t know
I´m sorry for the words I didn´t say
but what I still do
I´m still loving you

I know I let you wait
I´ve been away for far too long
but now I can relate
to everything that I did wrong
stop breathing when I think I´m losing you
and there´ll be no excuse so I´m on my knees
so listen please
Let me hold your hand once again

chorus 2x:
I´m sorry for your pain
I´m sorry for your tears
for all the little things I didn´t know
I´m sorry for the words I didn´t say
I´m sorry for the lies
I´m sorry for the fights
for not showing my love a dozen times
I´m sorry for the things that I´ve called mine
but what I still do
I´m still loving you

That´s what I will always do

Joel ~ dinners

2007-10-16T12:55:00.000+08:00

well yesterday was the last night of my dinner marathon... well wasnt really a marathon it only lasted two nights... well heres the menu...

Dinner 1
bread w Prawns, mango, cherry tomato
salad
citrus salmon w white wine pasta
banana flambe

Dinner 2
bruchettas
steak
banana flambe

well haha dont really have any pictures to show... haha... was either too excited or busy to remember to take photos lol... but i must say out of everything my salmon has alot to improve on and the banana flambe SO TOTALLY ROX!!! woooot... love it.... v cool...

but i must say after those two dinners, I AM EXHAUSTED.... man it is tiring... esp the 1st dinner... took 5hrs to prepare it then after everything took 2hrs to clean up... well the next one wasnt too bad... took only 2hrs to prepare but still took 2hrs to clean up.... haha... hmms i think i am getting used to this washing routine... haha...

well what more can i actually say... pitty there arent any pictures to tell the story... o wells... thats all i guess...

p.s. To: Davin, Daphne, Jocelyn ~ thanks for the fruits and dessert wine =)
p.s.s. To: Grace, Han Bin, Laura, Si Liang ~ thanks for the sashimi
p.s.s.s. SI LIANG YOU LEFT YOUR STUFF BEHIND!!! lol... mine now... haha...

Joel

2007-10-13T23:51:00.000+08:00

sorry about the past few boring and depressing posts... well i hope everything goes uphill soon... for the next two days i shall be doing dinners back to back for two separate groups of friends so keep and eye out for it yea... =)

Joel

2007-10-01T23:58:00.000+08:00

Simply Red - So Not Over You lyrics

Don't know why I still slept on my side of the bed
The emptiness when you were gone kept ringing in my head
Told myself I really had to move along now
Stop regretting all the things I left unsaid, yeah yeah

So I tore up your letters
Took your picture off my wall
I deleted your number, it was too hard not to call
Felt a little better, told myself I'd be fine
Got to live for the good times up ahead, yeah yeah

[chorus]
'Cos everywhere I go
There's a love song that reminds me of you
And even though I knew I had to be strong
I was still not over you
'Cos I still believe and I could see how there's nothing left of you and me
That time is over
'Cos I'm so not over you

All my friends try to tell me better find somebody new
Why waste time being lonely when there's nothing left to lose'
Anything to get you out of my mind
I'm a fool if I thought I could forget
And I could not forget

[chorus]
'Cos everywhere I go
There's a love song that reminds me of you
And even though I knew I had to be strong
I was still not over you
'Cos I still believe and I could see how there's nothing left of you and me
That time is over
'Cos I'm so not over you

Now I found a way to keep you there beside me
To where my love won't be denied
I can only hope to keep you there and guide me
There's no more need to hide from all this pain inside
Chorus

So not over you
That time is over
'Cos I'm so not over you Not

Joel ~ ME

2007-09-29T00:49:00.000+08:00

well i chanced upon this in Ariel's blog so i thought it would be quite fun to do... and it is actually quite accurate.... except what they think i would be good at... ermm... just wait and see...

You Are An INFJ

The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow.You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support.

You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. (WTH?! ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE GURU?!... HELLOOO?! who on earth thought of this? gees....)

How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's" Your Personality Type?

Joel ~ PMS

2007-09-29T00:22:00.000+08:00

well yes words up Joel officially has PMS... and man are my mood swings horrible... well i decided to post today because, as you might have guessed, i am feeling better today and i dont know what i would be like tmrw so ya strike when the iron is hot... well recently i have been eating alot i feel like a pig... i think my record so far was eating non stop from 3pm all the way till 9pm... not too bad huh... lunch followed by Mac followed by mooncakes followed by cheng teng followed by dinner... hmms... hahaa... okaysss.... well i guess that was one of my down days... really weird i wonder how your thoughts and feelings can influence your gestronimic patterns.... have you ever wondered? i realised that when i am not feeling too happy or when i am stressed i just eat and eat and eat... man i sound like a pig.. oink oink... oops... there i am caught.... well i guess thats all for tonight i dont want to waste too much of my time posting esp when a good mood comes all too rarely for me during the past two weeks... so ciao...

P.S. do catch nannies diaries it is a hot hot hot hot show.... really good.... hehe... bring your mom along if you wanna hint something to her... so ciao...

Joel

2007-09-26T22:49:00.000+08:00

i managed to finally get the VCD for the show "secret" a beautiful show it was... the show had a few loop holes towards the end but in a whole it was really nice... well the show kinda brought back memories for me and as a result...

A Letter To Myself

Joel

2007-09-25T23:57:00.000+08:00

A Letter To Myself

2007-09-20T12:47:00.000+08:00

JOJOS KITCHEN IS NOW OPEN!!!!

time to make your reservations... go go go.... for any enquieries email me @ jojos_online@yahoo.com

Joel ~ viet 2

2007-09-14T12:14:00.001+08:00

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ viet viet viet

2007-09-12T12:21:00.000+08:00

well there is seriously too much to blog about so let the pictures start talking...

the people

well we decided to take the first day light... didnt do much on the first day... now time to blast off to the second...

SHOPPING

you know what you are gonna get when you have 3.5 of your travel partners are girls... SHOPPING.... man did we spend alot... can you imagine from the start of the day till the end... shop shop shop... brandon is amazing he practically bought up the entire of vietnam... we then went for some viet dinner and went back home...

whilst at home, i guess warren started to get curious with my camera... he tried one shot... then another... then another... and soon... well this is the result...

it resulted in a full blown photo shoot... well i cant possibly post up every picture that we took because there is a total of 200 SHOTS TAKEN IN 2HRS!!! and if you think that we stopped there, well... it carried on to the next day...

well we all kinda figured that after yesterdays running around we needed to relax and pamper ourselves... so... this was our schedule...

1)wake up
2)sun tan
3)eat
4)head massage
5)drink fruit juice
6)eat
7)manicure & pedicure
8)eat
9)CLUBBING

man you know that when you are with girls you will end up shopping... but you also know that when you are with warren... well you end up... erm... ya.... hahahhaa... WOOOOT.... but my nails are so pretty now....

well after all that beautifying.... we went to LUSH... woah the music was so loud i could literally feel the beat... the music was so loud to the effect that the lights seemed to be affected by it as they too danced with it... we together with the rest of the other people present seemed to be cast under a spell... for a moment i was wondering if the security would check us for ecstasy... haha... well when we finally made our way out of the pub i think i was deaf for a good 20mins till we reached home... and little did we know, Laura had a little show to put up for us... hahaha...

i think she was a little high... and her little antiques entertained us through out... haha...

well the next day started early... Laura and I decided to wake up early and get lost in the commotion of the wet market... we had gone down there to buy ingredients for our seafood feast... and man was she shocked... should have seen the look on her face... esp when she saw frogs crawling around without their head nor legs, dogs, battering of fish, soft shell crabs... she just simply looked tormented... haha... maybe i am exagerating a bit... but i dun think i am far off...

we went back and in no time at all left and made our way to the CU CHI tunnels once again.... woooot... and was it fun...

well other than all the grubling about warren and his nails getting dirty, i think we all had fun there... messing around with the exhibits... singing karaoke in the car... acting all emo and stuff... well it was a nice little road trip out...

oh and dont forget the seafood feast... here are the items we had...

- 1 lobster (bec we got cheated of 2)
- 1kg clams
- 1kg tiger prawns
- 1kg blue pincer prawns
- 1kg soft shell crabs
- 1kg squid
- 2kg grouper fish

well yeps i guess thats all that we had... wooot...

our last day started slow... we decided to walk the streets of dong khoi and do some last minute shopping... we rushed all the way back to pack up our stuff and made our way out the door just as fast... the trip to the airport was a sad one... well for me at least.... not sure about the rest... but i think they too felt it...

i didnt want to come back yet... didnt have enough fun... it somehow seemed like it all ended too fast... sighs... well guys i hope you enjoyed your short stint of living like kings and queens... i think this was the most fun holiday i had... this shan be the last yea...

well i shall be leaving for bali tmrw... not sure wat time my flight is... not sure how long we are going i think it should be about a week... i dun really want to go actually... wanna go back to vietnam... i guess was too busy running around that i didnt manage to sort out some stuff i wanted to... o well off i go then... ciao...

p.s. Laura appreciate the little heart to heart talks we had at night... dun worry yea... i think you will make the right decision...

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ issues

2007-09-10T22:25:00.000+08:00

A Letter To Myself

Joel ~ What did i do today?

2007-09-05T23:43:00.001+08:00

well first day is kinda gone and i seriously got no idea what i did... well actually today kinda started later... stayed up late planning the design of some dishes of mine... so i woke up just in time to go for lunch... and man did the darn sun remind me how irritating it was... it was so DARN BRIGHT AT 6AM!!! HELLLOOO!!! I AM SLEEPING HERE!!!! well i have no idea why i get irritated by the darn sun every first morning... okok enough complaining...

after all that i made my way down to metro in search of glass ware... managed to find shot glasses... so cheap leh... 8 bucks for 12 glasses... well was quite happy with my buy.... well tmrw the sun would kinda help me i guess.... would have to wake up around 6ish to get ready to pick up warren from the airport... so ya.... wooooot... here i go... till then... ciao...

Joel ~ to vietnam i go

2007-09-04T15:05:00.000+08:00

well off i go to vietnam... BUT WAIT!!! Dinner?

well last night i had a little dinner with Evon Zoe and Nikko... owed them this dinner for some time... here are some pictures of what they had for dinner...

Bruchettas

Beef Steak

Choc Mousse

well i hope they enjoyed the dinner as much as i did making it... oooo zoe and evon were so sweet... bought a box of mrs fields cookies for me... thanks so much =) loved the cookies.... well had a real fun time talking with one another... i realised that it had been some time since i actually sat down and relaxed... haha was so busy with projects and exams i sorta forgot what relaxing meant... well thanks guys for helping me to clean up as well... haha... we have to have another dinner soon yea =)

well i shall be flying off to vietnam today at 7.05pm... cant wait to go... will see my dad and mom... the rest of the gang would be coming on the 6th and 7th... woooot its gonna be a blast... well off i go ciao...

Joel ~ HOLIDAYS!!! TAS tribute pt 3 of 3

2007-09-02T11:46:00.000+08:00

woooot i have not really had a day to break since the holidays started... have been busy going out having fun and PLAYING WITH MY NEW TOY!!!! WOOOOOOT.... we shall get to that later...

OOOOH you guys have to catch No Reservations... its a very very good show... really nice...

hmm okok i think i am getting boring again... i am starting to bore myself right now...

well this is my new toy and I... a love made in heaven... woooot... i have spent the past 2 days with my darling... oh my... it is so so so hot... a Nikon D40x... woooot... love it so much.... small and compact SLR love it so much... but man did it hurt when i saw my card swipe the machine... man my bank really felt the pinch... okok i shall stop my blabbering alr...

will be going to vietnam on tuesday... till then... ciao...

Joel ~ exams

2007-08-26T13:22:00.000+08:00

man i ought to be studying now... AM is tmrw... o well... CHIONG....

Standing firm to these three phrases:
Try your best... Let God do the rest...
The battle is Mine declares the Lord...
Anything is possible through God Who strengthens me...

Joel ~ 4 THINGS!!!

2007-08-19T23:50:00.000+08:00

heh heh... Laura Laura Laura... hahaha... ok nvm hehehe shall tag you back later....

4 jobs I had in my life

- Sales Merchandiser (Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore)
- Suntec Singapore ( IMF, Boat Asia, Banquet Receptions)
- Changi Youth Ambassador (CAAS)
- Usher ( Red Cross Foundation Convention 2006)

4 movies I can watch over and over again:

- A Walk To Remember
- Windstruck
- The Last Samurai
- Daisy
actually i have alot more but these are a few of my favourites... i am kinda a movie bug... jus that i am restricted by time recently... actually these are the few shows that i cried haha...

4 places I've been on a vacation to:

- Korea
- Australia (3rd FAV)
- New Zealand (2nd FAV)
- Vietnam (MY FAV)

4 of my favourite dishes:

- Ayam Buakuluak
- Bakwang kepiting
- Mee Soto
- Bread

hahaha yes i am very asian... dont really like western food... but the ironic thing is that most of the dishes i cook are western... and yes i like bread... esp when it is fresh out of the oven and crispy... ooooo orgasmic... jus look at the up coming ratatouille the cartoon thing... i hope i spelt it right.... a bit lazy to check the spelling... when one of the kitchen staff broke the bread... oooooo... so sexy...

4 of my favourite dishes:

- Italy (top priority)
- Hawaii
- Israel
- Antartica
haha i aint joking about this last one... i really would love to go on a cruise to antartica... i have seen the pictures and all and it looks wonderful... but the price well... hahaha...

4 most overused words:

- Diao
- Dots
- Wah lao
- hello

hahaha i think the top three are very uncoothe... no style... so ya trying to stop... the last one... haha... well anyone who knows me will agree... hey but well i dont know if i should stop... should i?

4 tv shows I love to watch:

- Band of Brothers
- Desperate Housewives
- The Naked Chef
- Who's Line Is It Anyway?

I just love them all full stop.

4 bloggers I'm tagging:

- Laura (Didnt Break my promise)
- Manu (Final punishment muahahaha)
- Ariel (hehe)
- Jasmine (just for the fun of it)

oh i just realised that those that i tagged are all girls... kewl...

Joel ~ Tour of my school, pt 2 of 3 Sentosa Tribute

2007-08-19T09:47:00.000+08:00

hey guys... i guess to me my stint in TAS was quite a worth while experience... managed to try attractions such as the ludge, Fort Siloso, Southern Most Tip Of Asia, Cable Car, Merlion, Images Of Sentosa and Songs Of The Sea... i guess i didnt manage to accomplish my goal of visiting them all but hey i did see alot and learn alot from it all... now i can say i have studied in a tourism destination and sentosa is my school... let me bring you on a tour of my school, where i spent 116 days in... PREPARE FOR A PHOTO OVERLOAD!!!! OVERLOAD OVERLOAD OVERLOAD OVERLOAD!!!

Merlion

SCARRRRYYY Images of Singapore

Songs of The Sea

Fort Siloso

Cable Car

One Degree 15

Spa Botanical

here is a little snippet of Songs of The Sea

Joel ~ To TAS with love

2007-08-17T20:00:00.000+08:00

good bye good bye... 116 days ago i realised a dream a dream that i waited 3 years to attain and now today, that dream has come to an end... my journey in the Tourism Academy @ Sentosa has met its final day... somehow or another the skies above seemed to know as they seemed to pour out their tears for us as their small tear drops fell from the sky... they seemed to accentuate the feelings we have inside... i must say i really am very sad to leave TAS even though the food sux to the core, i must say i would choose it over any other school if given the choice... we had a little farewell ceremony at the end of all our classes today and i must say it was an emotional one for me... i have seen the video that they showed today quite a number of times however it just hit me even more this time... this was the last time i am going to set foot in this school today was the last day that our echos be embeded in the corridors and walk ways... our foot steps burried in the paths and parade square... our nonsensical humour and talks float and linger in the class rooms... it is the end... here are some pictures that we took to capture and retain what we held so close to us even for this short period in time, through out the abyss of time...

well life runs on goals huh... so i have came up with a new goal... my new goal is that if the university of hawaii does come down and stations itself in sentosa, i will be one of the first few studying in there...

TAS WE SALUTE YOU...

Joel ~ time

2007-08-13T20:42:00.000+08:00

hmmms... ariel thinks my blog is boring... im nt too sure but if i am not wrong warren thinks its boring too.... well... welcome to the boring blog... haiz my life is not interesting lah... hmms well whats gonna happen to me is that in two weeks time its going to be my exams then after that i am gonna spend 5 days with my friends then ill fly off to vietnam for about 7 days... will fly back then in two days ill fly off again to bali.... well ya... thats basically it... so ya.... my life would be boring and continue to be boring till i get to my hols... so try and bear with me yea... CIAO =)

Joel ~ Tagged

2007-08-12T14:52:00.001+08:00

well before i start i wanna say... MANU!!! GRRRR....

ok... 6 weird things about me...

1) I like to collect all sorts of stuff just for collecting sake... coins, basketball cards, notes, bottles, etc... well nowadays it is much less but ya.. thats me...

2) I keep going back to the same shopping centre and wonder why i get bored easily

3) I like to experience stuff i have not tried before.. on my list they are, free falling, diving, and erm well can only think of those two for now... AND I WILL DO ThEM BEFORE I DIE...

4) I am not ashamed nor affected to say or to be commented that I am short... haha... kinda used to it...

5) I love constructive feedback put in a blunt way... cut all the little icing on the top and just dish it to me straight...

6) I used to play with barbie dolls when i was young.... HAHAHHAA... really... used to play with my cousin... BUT THEY WERENT MINE!!!! hey i was a little kid okay....

so well i guess thats weird old me... heh heh... now for the most fun part of this entire thing, who should i tag next?

1) MANU (told ya you would pay)
2) WARREN ( sorry darling just want to know more )
3) QING YUN ( always my pleasure to sabo you)
4) PAULINA (jus felt like it)
5) ARIEL (hmm same reason as paulina)
6) MANU (couldnt think of anyone else so ya)

Joel ~ NDP

2007-08-10T20:14:00.000+08:00

wooooot NDP yesterday was the best... struggling with the crowd, sneaking past policemen hahaha.... really fun... well lets stop the talking and start the pictures rolling....

went with the group of them, Berns, Laura, Paulina, Melvin, Mel, Manu, Terrence, Brandon... we actually sat down since 1pm... managed to get the perfect seats upfront at the railings of one fullerton at the starbucks area... at 1pm we managed to get the last few tables... and at 3pm man we didnt bother to think about going to the toilet... it was way too packed.... but hey we had seats and no one could block us... wooot... so here are some highlights...

well but after all the fun and excitement... haiz.... what can i say... Singaporeans patriotic since 0000hrs on the Aug 9... once the last fireworks has exploded, well lets just let the pictures speak for themselves...

irresponsible, ignorant, disrespectful thats all i can say... amongst the scattered litter lay a mosaic of fallen flags... it almost seemed as if the flags and rubbish were one.... patriotisim.... i guess Singapore needs a lesson.... o well but that aside i guess our 7% GST was well used... the NDP was really good...

Joel ~ yellow ribbon

2007-08-04T16:51:00.000+08:00

well as i have promised, here is a picture of my puffys... wooot...

well last night the galla dinner was really nice... it started off with prawn brandade with roasted mushroom timbale and citrus pink pepper sauce... dont ask me what it all means... it was kind like mashed up prawns and mushroom baked with cream, presented very nicely... then came tom yam cream soup with seafood.... oh man the scallops were to die for... then a lychee sherbet very nice that one... then main course was pan fried stuffed chicken thigh with mushroom, white bean ragout and pesto king prawn and thai cream sauce... well lets just say it was nice... a little like fusion if you ask me... but then the dessert was a let down... coconut custard with mango... the mango and berries were nice lah but CHEF why oon earth did you have something so rich such as coconut custard as dessert after having such a creamy meal.... it was basically this bowl of nothing else but coconut custard with a bit of mango on top and berries at the side... it was too rich after such a dinner... haiz... but it was nice on a whole....

well the evening showcased performances by prison inmates... they were really good... good singing and good music... then an auction was held... man are singaporeans stingy... most of the time they didnt even go over what the product is offered in the market.... GUYS?! this is not GSS it is a charity event... HELLOO?! well thats pretty much it...

as take homes, they gave us each a copy of prestige magazine with a CD of songs sung by inmates, as well as some beautiful teuscher chocolates... the best i have ever tried... well time to go ciao...

Joel ~ fun

2007-08-04T00:12:00.000+08:00

ok first of all before anything... HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIEN CHI.... wooooot.... 18 yrs old.... well you know what that means? that means i am gonna get you drunk... hahha... jkjk... well heres wishing you many more years of happiness bro...

well yesterday and today, i spent a total of about 6hrs baking and making sure my cream puffs were perfect... 117 puffs in total... woah it was fun... beautiful Dreamy Cognac and Custard Custody.... oh man i loved it... well i took some shots of them shall upload it soon... actually i made these for a chalet thingy for K01... well i hope you guys enjoyed it as much as i did making them... sadly i couldnt attend the chalet... i had a dinner... a gala dinner at Ritz... man the food was good... shall cover tmrw i am too tired to do anything now...

hmm actually back to the topic of cream puffs... i am actually thinking of selling them during the hols at a minimum order of 30 puffs per flavour... it comes in grand menieur, cognac, chocolate and floral & berries... thinking of selling them at around a dollar each... dont worry guys this time round the puffs were really small... they would be 1.5 times the size next time... well this is come thing i shall ponder about... hey why dont you guys drop me a comment tell me how much you would pay... and remember my ingredients are expensive... hahaha... ciao...

Joel ~ another day

2007-07-30T22:52:00.000+08:00

well it has been yet another day in Joel's life... i have no clue why is it i was so tired today... kinda felt really sian during accounts... the lesson was so boring... well my test results werent too good either... managed to get a 26.5 / 40 for the paper... kinda expected it actually... balance day adjustments is my worst chapter of all... but what made me really irritated was that i made so much careless mistakes... argh... anw i shall try and push it up with my main exam...

well i went out with bev after school finally decided to use the starbucks voucher i won during sports day... bought a nice warm chocolate cake as well as their brownie... the warm choc cake was really nice... the brownie well it was ok... haha very chocolatey.... quite nice...

i went down to meet mom at plaza sing at about 7... was too tired to do anything and actually fell asleep whilst she ate her dinner... was really really shagged.... then i guess the highlight of the day was when we got to our car... so dumb $%&^ vandalised our car... must have taken a coin or something and scratched up the passenger door on the side of the driver... man mom was visably irritated... i on the other was too tired to show much of an expression but in my mind i was trying to subdue myself from cursing the guy... what an idiot right... dumb &*(&^7*(&%^%... sux man... argh...prob have to pay a few hundreds just to get the paint work done...

well i am off to start studying... i think i need to start haha... my subject status sux right now and exams are in 3 weeks... o well chows...

Joel ~ Family Gathering

2007-07-29T23:58:00.000+08:00

wooooot... today i just had a dinner with my dad's family... decided to cook 2 chickens of mine... my mom helped me out to do the parsley chicken... i on the other hand decided to try out a new recipe i thought of... MUSHRoOM CHICKEN... man it was good... the chicken's skin was crispy and the nice creamy mushroom sauce was perfect... oh my... i so love it... heh heh i dun knw wat to say alr.. o well BYE..

Joel ~ ponder

2007-07-28T16:52:00.000+08:00

if you were terminally ill, bed ridden for the past year and you meet a magician that is able to let you be normal for 24hours... what will you do in those 24 hours? well if you wanna know what one man's answer was, read tuesdays with morrie... it is an amazing book... the only book that can trigger my emotions... utterly wonderful...

when you know how to die, you know how to live - Morrie Schwartz

Joel ~ relaxed

2007-07-25T23:38:00.001+08:00

well i just realised something... in a matter of less than 2mnths, my dream of being in TAS would have come to an end... that means i wont be in sentosa any more that means that my dream has been completed.... wow... i fought for 4yrs in secondary school to get here and it is about to end in a few weeks... i will say goodbye to this campus and return back to mainland... something that i actually hope would not end will end soon... well i guess good things have to come to an end so that you realise that those were the good times... but i must say i think i have learnt alot from sentosa... apart of the lessons learnt, studying in sentosa has made me open my eyes to the tourism industry... i can now say that i have studied in one of singapore's top visitor draw... all i can say is that this has been a wow experience for me... wow...

well apart from school, i have finally found time to catch some flicks... lets review them together...

transformers
action is not too bad... fighting scenes are nice... however the story plot is a bit no brainer and the ending was quite anti climax... so upon 10 i give it a 6

Harry potter
action was good... a bit psychotic... quite nice actually... but i have not read the book yet and many say the show isnt that good as compared to the book... well but since i have not read the book the show was quite good... alot of suspense and action... i like... so i give it a 8...

Die hard 4
this show totally rocks... the plot was great... quite complexed at times but still easy to understand... haha i knw i just contradicted myself... the action scenes were great... alot of explosions and fights... OH AND MAGGIE Q IS HOT HOT HOT... bec of maggie q i give it a 100... WOOoOOT

well thats all... chow...

Joel ~ irony

2007-07-21T19:33:00.000+08:00

their huge chairs... when i stood up it was still about 4ft taller than me...

SHIRLEY TEMPLE!!!

hey hey... yesterday was fun... after school, i made my way down to the esplanade to have dinner with my parents and some of his subordinates... and since this dinner is considered a business dinner, well lets just say its paid by the company which meant NO HOLDS BARRED.... WOOOT.... we ate at My "Humble" House curious why i inverted coma Humble? well lets just say the only thing that is humble about the place is their name... if you guys dont know what restaurant it is, it is a fine dining restaurant serving modern chinese cuisine... not too bad...

oh and you wanna know what i wore into the restaurant? i have this nice white linen shirt that i tailored in vietnam... so that was ok... but i wore berms in... BErMS!!! INTO A FINE DINING RESTAURANT?! ya i did... and guess who's great idea it was... MY DAD's... haha.... nearly couldnt even make it into the restaurant.... after a moment of persuading, i managed to squeeze my way through....

well we then decided to try out the house specials... hey i mean after all dinner is free right? so why not... started off with two prawns... both deep fried, one coated in wasabi sauce the other... erm well i cant remember but it tasted good... decided to order a mocktail, a shirley temple really nice... then came my second appetizer... foir gras... beautifully pan fried crisp on the outside and soft and moist on the inside... beautiful... it actually melted in my mouth faster than ice cream... beautiful... after which came the third appetizer, coconut seafood soup... really nice... they double boiled shirmps, dried & fresh scallops and alot of other goodies... very tasty and nice...

after a little rest, our main course of tenderloin pan fried beef, chicken with yunan ham, chawanmushi with foir gras, scallops pan fried with asparagus.... oh they were all beautiful... well the food and ambience was all great... but now lets analyse the service staff...

well i must say, their uniforms are A1... nicest uniforms i have ever seen anywhere.. very modern yet very chinese... very nice.... however i felt that their service standards were lacking for a fine dining restaurant... the assistant manager was the one serving us and i felt he was too casual and lecked finesse... he used singlish and erm i dont know he didnt seem suave in the way he presented himself... the others i dont know they seemed so solemn.. their service wasnt THAT bad... but i mean fine tuning please....

Joel ~ song lyrics

2007-07-20T17:33:00.000+08:00

It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it's too late
Hits you when you're down
It's a fool's game
Nothing but a fool's game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown.
It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache.
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down.
It ain't right with love to share
When you find he doesn't care for you.
It ain't wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you.
It's a heartacheNothing but a heartache
Hits you when it's too late. . .
It ain't r'ight with love to share. . .
Oh it's a heartacheNothing but a heartache.
Love him till your arms break
Then he let's you down
It's a fool's gameStanding in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown.
It's a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he let's you down
It's a heartache. . .

sorry for being a horrible bf
i am sorry i hurt you so many times
i am sorry i am a disappointment
i am sorry...

Joel ~ ----

2007-07-19T15:58:00.001+08:00

If you love me, like you tell me... Please be careful with my heartYou can take it, just don't break it... Or my world will fall apart You are my first romance... And I'm willing to take a chanceThat till life is through... I'll still be loving youI will be true to you... Just a promise from you will do>From the very start... Please be careful with my heartI love you and you know I do... There'll be no one else for mePromise I'll be always true... For the world and all to seeLove has hurt... some lies softly spokenAnd I have had my heart badly broken... I've been burned and I've been hurt beforeSo I know just how you feel... Trust my love is real for youI'll be gentle with your heart... I'll caress it like the morning dewI'll be right beside you forever... I wont let our world fall apart>From the very start... I'll be careful with your heart

Joel ~ One Degree 15

2007-07-19T15:35:00.000+08:00

well yesterday we went on a little field trip out to One Degree 15 marina club... well yep i finally return after 4mnths away from that place... but this time my expreience was different... man was it hot hot hot.... wooot... the place is so nice... the best part was when they took us on a little ride out on one of the super yachts.... woot i loved that the most... and guess wat... I GOT TO GO ONTO THE YACHT OF MY DReAMS... the one that i have been eyeing since boat asia... haha... i think Jas and Weijie would know which one i am talking about... lets just say it costs 25 000 000 buckeroooss... well what does it have? i has a huge hall way, kitchen, 7 cabins, and a damn garage... yep i bet you guys know which one i am talking about... man was it really cool... it is really beautiful... well check out the pictures yea...

CRUISiNG...

TiTaNiC

2K02 WOOOOT!!!

Joel ~ Busy Busy

2007-07-17T00:56:00.000+08:00

hmm i have not been bloggin much recently... haha... have been quite busy...

well last wednesday, yaya i knw it is really long ago... haha... but i wanna bring this up bec i think that it is stupidly funny... well there i was tryin to get ready to practice the LRM mass dance with laura and the other demonstraters at block D... well we were at the basement enjoying the aircon and all... but it was rather dim and just at that point, johnathan was at this cute little button, immetating the game show, deal or no deal, as he repeated the tagline again and again, "deal or no deal" all the others were saying no deal no deal... so i thought they were playing around... and i kinda thought it was for the lights so i said deal deal deal... then i got irritated and said "would you just press the button before i go over there?!" so he still didnt press it so i walked over and he started to squirm away and then i said, "deal" and i pressed it... and guess that THE DAMN ALARM SOUNDED... then i looked at the small little note above the button it read, "PANICK BUTTON"... well yea kinda screwed isnt it... it was so darn loud...those in the block found it so noisy that they started to move out... those in the neighbouring com labs, having lab tut found it hard to listen... haha... well seems like i added some life to the day... haha.. well i was let off with a little warning not to press the button again... haha... that was crazy man... but kinda fun haha...

well last saturday was LRM's sports day... i was one of the dance demonstraters as well as the event photographer... i also took part in captains ball and actually managed to win... wooot... well lets just let the pictures do the talking...

WELL DONE LRMIG

soccer

captains ball

Joel ~ DiNnErS

2007-07-08T14:19:00.000+08:00

hey guys... just did a belated birthday dinner for Jasmine last night and man was it a blast... it was a pot luck dinner and she invited her friends along... 4 of them if i am not wrong... oh and guess what... they are all from PLMGS YES THAT SCHOOL PLMGS!!! SIGHS....oh and what more... 4 PLMGS girls not enough THEY WERE ALL EX CO PREFECTS... ahhhhhh.... hahhaa o well pl pl pl pl... hahha... but i must say it was great having them here... had so much fun...

well for food xuemin and winnie brough over some otah (quite nice actually) one of Jasmines friend Rachel, brought over some shepards pie and mash potatoes... and i did a parsley chicken for them... haha... well the pic is below...

towards the later bit of the evening, when we all started to get aquainted with each other and all warmed up, we decided on getting to know Jasmine better... digging out 5 things from her friends that we would never have guessed Jasmine did or would do... hahaha.. i cant tell you guys that they are but ya... hahaha...

well when everyone else left, winnie, xuemin, weijie and i decided to sit down for a game of pictionary... haha... i kinda think that pictionary is more fun than taboo... haha... you see all the weird things coming out... i finally finished washing up the downstairs by 1am and ya that was basically last night for me... chow...

Joel ~ please becareful with my heart

2007-07-07T00:28:00.000+08:00

some times i wonder i wonder i wonder i wonder... why is it that i wonder so much huh? why is it? can you help me answer? there are so many questions left unanswered... so many questions i need to be answered... what am i? what am i to you? just becareful with my heart yea... it is fragile and brittle... if only you could feel how i feel... i wish you just understand what i am going through...

Joel ~ tourism

2007-07-05T00:24:00.000+08:00

i just remembered something the funny thing of life... when i was younger, my parents kept warning me that i have to study if not i would end up serving my friends at restaurants... they would come to have fun whilst i be the one to serve them... well logical eh... well i decided to follow their advice i mean why not right... study hard do well score As get into a good school... i mean how bad could that be... well the funny thing is that i did that all and i just realised that later on in life i would still be serving them... hahaha... hmm something is not right... maybe i should not have studied so hard earlier on.. hahhaa.... well but i love it so TOO BAD.... woooooot...

well but then something else hit me during a lecture today... the sands resort in macau brought in US$240mil in a matter of 9mnths of opening... the wynns resort brought in 900mil in 10yrs... isnt that crazy... basically after 9mnths you and your next generations can retire and live off bank interest...

but isnt that sick too? 240mil in 9mnths imagine how many families were affected in those 9mnths... imagine what kind of society patrols the streets... it was said that a man fell from the 4th storey of the sands resort and into the casino and died... and yet no one twitched an eye brow... and this is a real account... and again on the 4th storey of sands, a man committed suiccide because he lost US$20mil... isnt that madness isnt that madness...

this just only confirms my stand... ill make sure i will never ever work in a casino... how can you take delight in knowing that your salary comes from the money taken away from others during a game, a man with a family of 4, a mans lifely savings... it is not right... people talk about humanitarian efforts... question is how can you stand there and watch people burn away their lives, savings, family all for your own income and say you are humane, it is not your fault, you didnt force them... forget about all that... question is... if you see a man on the streets dying from hunger would you give him a loaf of bread? if you know a man is a drug addict would you give him money when he begs you? if you see your SON walk into the casino will you give him pocket money? then why why why is it that people can allow casinos why is it that people can announce out into the open without qualms then why is it that we stand for it then why is it that we want to work in it then why is it that we want to be a part of it then why why why is it we want to make others suffer? our morals and values stood strong and resilient not too long ago, being against the casino but why has it all changed? one reason and it comprises of 2 four letter words... self gain... i wont be a part of this...i came into this line to bring joy, happiness and wholsome fun to all not suffering, guilt and adversity...

Joel ~ Promises

2007-06-30T23:16:00.000+08:00

i made a promise some time ago i would be loyal to my friends... i made a promise some time ago that i would protect my friends to the best of my capabilities... i made a promise some time ago that i will care for you... i made a promise i would keep my promises made some time ago...

i hope you understand i hope you listen i hope you know that i am doing this because i care... i hope you understand i hope you listen i hope you know that it hurts me when i do this.... i hope you understand i hope you listen i hope you know that i will care for you no matter what...

i may be wrong i may be right i dont know but can you tell me what you are doing is? i may be wrong i may be right i dont know but can you tell me what kind of friend i am if i dont try? i may be wrong i may be right i dont know but i am doing this because i care for you...

i hope you understand... i know i dont know you fully but do you? i know i dont know you fully but that doesnt matter to me... i am just here next to you being that special friend you requested me to be... how can i just sit there and pass you the blade that i think would hurt you? how can i do that? i cannot... emotionally, physically and mentally my body rejects it all... it does all this because of one simple four letter word starting with "L"...

Joel ~ finally

2007-06-27T21:36:00.000+08:00

well today marked the end of my resort ops project... such a relief... ok bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla... and so i went to class after handing it in... bla bla bla bla bla... in lect... bla bla bla bla... and then our lecture showed us these two videos... ( censored off all the boring bits...) well now people after all that boring stuff just sit back and laugh at these two hilarious videos...

Joel ~ humour

2007-06-26T23:17:00.000+08:00

well i just read this news flash about this baby in London been given 25 MIDDLE NAMES!!! yes i am not kidding which means that her name is a total of 27 words... haha... Autumn Sullivan Corbett Fitzsimmons Jeffries Hart Burns Johnson Willard Dempsey Tunney Schmeling Sharkey Carnera Baer Braddock Louis Charles Walcott Marciano Patterson Johansson Liston Clay Frazier Foreman Brown.... thats her name.... such a mouthful isnt it... hahaha... well wanna knw how it came about? basically her parents are boxing fanatics and they decided to name her after these famous boxers.... on top of that, they have a draft sense of humour... turns out that her mother also has a name something like that and she says it took her 10yrs to remember her name so if she is able to do it, her baby should be fine... hahaha.... wat funny parents huh... hahhaa...

Joel ~ tired

2007-06-24T14:25:00.000+08:00

i am tired i am tired I AM TIRED! sighhhh... i am just tired of everything under the sun... i am tired of looking after this house i am tired of looking after my brother i am tired of school i am tired of every single little thing... sighhh.... i am just tired... kinda feel like crap now and then it feels like everything of the house is dependent on me... i have to launder the clothes have to look after the pets have to cook have to wash have to basically do much of everything... i am just tired.... and there is still a foot pile of letters waiting i guess for me in which i have to clear before my phone and lights gets cut off... sighhh... and i still have projs tests and work to juggle with... i practically have no social life... i have not seen bev since the holiday started and it just sux ok.... it sux to the core... some times it is just weird you know at the end of the day, realising that you have been running around like a bumble bee but have not opened your mouth at all throughout the day... it sux it is brain draining and tiresome...

well i tried to escape off to church... escape from all of this... sermon was quite good... it was by the youth ministry.... the speaker was really good... i didnt really have enough sleep last night and had to drag myself out of bed but he managed to grab my total attention throughout.... the topic was basically about failure... this is one of the questions i have had for the world for some time and it was preched today... why is it that we cannot accept failure as a different form of success? like the chinese phrase goes, failure is the mother of success... then why is it we despise failure and trample it on the ground? how are we to achieve, attain and cherish any for of success if we do not go through failure...

well now i am back home goin to take a rest, escape from this world and go into the sureal realm of dreams and when i do make my return i shall start on my work...

i am tired.... can you help?

Joel ~ dreams

2007-06-22T15:51:00.000+08:00

well remember some time back i was thinking of starting my own little home restaurant? well i think the idea will soon take shape... i am intending to start my little idea during the next holiday... probably goin to spread via word of mouth to friend's friends... actually i am not intending to earn much money out of it... just want to try it out as a hobbie... thinking of charging at cost price and the guest shall top up what ever they feel is reasonable... i am probably going to start my only little online menu thingy so that they could have a look at the dishes and place their orders... it probably would only start on the last two weeks of my up coming holiday... goin to start compiling photos from now... i would really love to just try it out for fun... haha...

Joel ~ silence is it golden or is it deafening?

2007-06-22T01:33:00.000+08:00

it has only been about 3 weeks since mom left my bro and i alone... since then we have been almost fully independent... at times my bro would have to stay in camp for duties like tonight... and it makes me wonder... is silence golden or is it deafening?

when the family was around in singapore i was so easily irritated by them... all the noise and issues that arised... was quite stifling actually... however now i can go through an entire day without opening my mouth to anyone... and some how this feeling is communicated across to my friends whenever they come over... they always sense that the home was missing something that made it look deserted...

i guess it is missing a family... one that lives in it and makes it all roudy and irritates everyone within its doors... independence is a funny word isnt it? in - dependence... kinda agree with the word... it is when you are forced to be independent that you realise that you end up searching for dependence once more....

recently i have been trying to organise a few parties and dinners now and then in the attempt to lifen up the house... in the day the house is a flurry of activities... at night laughter and noise tear through the air... and when they are gone it returns to its solemn state of silence....

why is silence deafening? well it is jarring and irritating just like noise... it can drive you crazy and burst your brains just thinking of it, just like noise... there is a tolerance level for it just like noise... and some times it numbs you from all your senses... just... like... noise....

Joel ~ beefy

2007-06-21T21:03:00.000+08:00

wooooot yesterday was great... had some project meeting in the morning... was actually suppose to wrap the whole thing up but you knw murphy's law, what could go wrong will go wrong... so well nothin much just that smith's com crashed on us... and we lost a few reports...haha... was actually quite worried for a while... but then bernard and smith took on the task of redoing the missing reports which was a great help to us all... the other three of us, cheryl paulina and i then started on the presentation...

well i left to meet Weijie and Jasmine... met WJ at TM and Jasmine at compass point... both of them came over to my house and i whipped up a really fast meal for them... and man can the both of them suan each other... since the time we met at compass point which was about 6pm till 8pm the two of them kept suaning each other... hmmm i think they have something going on hahahhaa... jkjkjk... dun kill me yea... it is just an observation hahaha....

well i decided to do a simple dinner... appetizer was bruchettas... beautiful crispy bread topped off with chopped tomatoes marinated with the nice aromatic taste of balsamic vinegar... i then did some boiled tomatoes with cheese, asparagus wrapped with bacon and a black pepper beef steak with a red wine reduced sauce... it was great... and to end it all off, i grilled some banannas poured molten chocolate over it with a raspberry sauce and brandy... for decor and a little bit more taste, i added three raspberries on the top... it was wonderful...

well here are the two pictures we managed to take... hahaha...

Joel ~ happy fathers day

2007-06-17T22:29:00.000+08:00

heyyy guess what this dumb kid that is typing out this post forgot all about fathers day... well actually not quite lah... i kinda thought it was on tuesday... ARGHHH dumb huh... well it was not till 9pm that qingyun shocked me... haha...

so in the end when my parents came back from dinner, 21 hours into the day, i wished my dad happy fathers day... haha... but hey i guess everyday is fathers day right... i think it is kinda wrong to celebrate fathers day actually... because i think it should be celebrated everyday and not for this one "special" day and everyone is happy and jovile... haha but i guess it is just a special day set aside for people like me who forget once in a while how great their father has been...

well i poped the bottle of wine that i specially brought all the way from singapore... a beautiful louis latour, vintage 2002, from france - bourgogne - cote d'or... it was only a vin de bourgogne but hey its good enough for me... haha... well i hope my dad enjoyed it... took alot of effort to bring it across and ensure that it doesnt break... well to all fathers out there HAPPY FATHERS DAY... to all children out there, love them... they normally dont ask you for it but they sure deserve it...

Joel ~ irritating piece of @*#$

2007-06-17T01:33:00.000+08:00

ARGH i cant stand it some times... sometimes people just know how to peeve me... you knw wat some time i feel like just forgeting about the world forget about every darn problem it has and just move on and care about my own life... some times i just have got this strong urge to swear and curse and forget about that stupid promise i made... FreAk!!! argh.... just hate it some times... wth... WTH.... argh.... if there is anything i would like to do now, it is to slap myself and go woopie kiyay... how fun is that.... arghhh.... man i hate it when i am pissed... not only does my blood pressure rise which may resort in hypertension or blood clots or what ever dumb thing... it also shortens my life by 5mins and gives me damn wrinkles in the long run... ARGH... may be i should just forget about everything you know carry on along my path with my face stuck to the floor, ears stuffed with cement and sewn together, nose stuffed with whatever not... just shut me off...

Joel ~ rushing at the speed of light

2007-06-15T14:37:00.000+08:00

hey guys... well last night i was thinking to myself that i was going to go to vietnam all quietly without a sound without commotion... yea yea well all emo huh... well guess what i didnt even have a chance to think about that....

it all began like this....

the alarm was screaming its head off and i thought to myself man my bro has some weird choice of alarms... cant he switch that thing off... so i slowly started to drift away back to sleep... then suddenly something jolted me... "joel... joel..." i replied in a muffled slur of speach "yeeeeaaa" as i slowly processed the half drawn breath voice, i realised it was my brother calling me from the bed... then he replied "do you know it is 5.45?" for a split second i was stunned... then he continued... "my alarm rings at 5.45"... "OH CRAP" i literally jumped out of bed and rushed to get changed up.... you see my flight was at 7.25am and i had asked a cab to pick me at 5.40 and for the past 10mins my neighbour had been frantically trying to get my attention to the cabbie that had been waiting outside for some time now... i washed up, changed up, grabbed my bags, rushed out of the house, all in a matter of 10mins... cool huh =)

after i blurted out apologies like an overflowing dam, we got on our way to the airport... i was sitting in the cab trying to catch my breath when i suddenly felt myself going faster and faster and faster... suddenly all the cars seemed to move so slowly... then i moved my eyes over to the speeedometer... and in my mind went.." LORD PROTECT THIS CAR... PROTECT THIS CAR.." grabbed hold of the seat belt and buckled myself in as all that i could process at that point in time were those 4 words.... the taxi driver was driving at a neckbreak speed of 150kmph.... i have never gone so fast in my life... i actually managed to reach the airport in a mere 10mins... i was utterly stunned... and was really scared... haha....

from being late to having enough time to walk around DFS grab a bite and stroll to the gate... well lets just say that because of that even though i only had 4hrs of sleep, i am still wide awake...

well upon arrival in vientam, i headed straight for the market to buy some textiles... thinking of tailoring a suit and two shirts... and hey nikko i just found out that the suit would only cost me abt 80 or 90 sing plus material.... =) heees.... well thats basically all for today i hope my adreneline wont flow again...

Joel ~ yet another sleepless night

2007-06-14T11:58:00.000+08:00

well last night as you would have guessed from the title, i didnt really get a good nights sleep... took about an hour and a half to fall asleep... and i kept waking up at night... well during the one and half hours that i was tossing around, my mind was really active thinking about everything i could think of... actually more of the social aspect of my life...

kept thinking about friends and family... alot of what if what could be what is kind of scinerios popped out... it just got me thinking about my life and the people around me... actually i like thinking about all this but it sorta makes me a bit emo the next day... dont ask me why ... but well...

o wells tmrw i shall be flying off to vietnam for the third time... haha... cant wait to be there actually... thinking of making a new suit when i arrive... but this trip is gonna be slightly different... ill be going to vietnam as a study holiday... haha... so contradictory isnt it... study holiday... well i need to get the engine pumping again... test would start once more straight after the hols, one proj is due after the hols as well...

proj proj proj... sigh i dont know whats up with my projs... some how this sem i am not as confident in them as the last... last sem i was quite confident in what i would get and i was quite happy with it... but now this sem i keep on wondering how i can push up my projs... i dont wanna remain at the grades that i got last sem i want to push it up at least one level... but how? been pondering over this for a long time... now i am even scared that i might be over doing things if i push it too hard... should i just leave it as it is and let God do the rest? hmm i dont know... i just want the best that i can do i guess...

Joel ~ mission

2007-06-13T14:47:00.000+08:00

hmm well i have been thinking about my life as a christian what should i be doing what should i not be doing am i on the right path am i on the wrong path and lots more... and all this was kindled by ariels question "hmm but do you feel bad..like you are not actually down into doing something for Him.." well this kinda got me wondering and i started to think about it...

i realised something i am where i am for a reason and i am doing something for the Lord... it is not with the church nor with any christian group... i feel that he wants me to start a ministry with the people around me...

hmm i guess when God wants to use you it doesnt have to be a gigantic international thing but start with the person next to you that is good enough bec in God's eyes everyone counts and is clearly reflected in nehemiah 7: 5 - 73... the longest chapter in nehemiah but in it you realise how well or how much God treasures and knows each one of us...

Joel ~ meal

2007-06-13T00:05:00.000+08:00

well remember my post about my bryani? well i cant remember whether i stated this or not but well that was a prelude to what happened to night... my bro and aunt were basically my guinea pigs... today whipped up the same bryani for Joesph Qing yun Ariel Becks and Warren...

haha had a real blast... started preperation at 1pm and not too long ago, finished cleaning up the kitchen... but i really enjoyed myself... haha... thanks guys for having dinner with me... lifen up the house a bit...

hmm oooo i had an extra little something as well... managed to prepare a dessert for them... traditional style sago with coconut cream and gula melaka... hmm wasnt really good in my opinion... the sago was not springy and chewy... and the presentation well it needs alot of work... but hey they all enjoyed it haha.... well all i hope is that everyone had fun that is enough to make my efforts all worth the while... cya guys...

Joel ~ weird day

2007-06-10T16:55:00.000+08:00

well before i go into what happened today which i am still a bit freaked out about, lets go into what happened last night...

well yesterday i invited my aunt over for dinner thought of trying my hand out at cooking some asian dishes which i have never done before.. decided on whipping up some chicken bryani for her... and i must say it was really really good... i burnt 2 pots but hey it was worth it... haha... after alot of scrubbing the pots were like new... haha... but was cursing away... haha... but the curry wasnt spicy hot at all and the aromas from all the spices just infused with each other in harmony... really nice... the rice was so fragrant... it was grainy yet not dry, moist yet not marshy... it was perfect... but the irritating part about bryani rice is the picking out of all those stupid cloves and cardemon... so horrible when you bite into one... YUCK...

but it was a real success... haha... not too bad for my first attempt heees...

well what happened today... well i went to church as usual and decided to head on down to town... and i was feeling kinda bumped out bec i was walking all alone brother was still asleep... then as i walked around town man i passed so many strangers that reminded me about people i know, mostly people whom i care about... it is either their body language, wearing identical clothes, the way they speak, their facial features.... it was scary... so that kinda made me even more emo... o my i sound like a woman gettin all emo and stuff haha... and at the MRT i decided to listen to some music so swtiched on my MP3 and guess what the darn song was... LONELY by akon... WAH LAO and just before i took my MP3 out of my bag i was thinking how ironic it would be if THAT SONG were to play... o well... im tired now i am goin to take my afternoon siesta... chow...

my ministry that i think God wants me to be is with the people next to me...

Joel ~ self pitty? nah not for me...

2007-06-08T20:09:00.000+08:00

well today i played 2hrs of badminton with wei jie and jasmine at tampines stadium... after we ended at 3pm, i decided to come back home and rest a bit before finishing off with house matters and cooking dinner for my brother and i...

decided to cook one of my bro's favourites tonight... a simple dish, minced pork with black sauce fried with shittake mushrooms and chillies and this would then be mounted on top of some tau gua sliced into 1cm thick slices... today i decided to cook the tau gua a bit longer to make it a beautiful golden brown where by it is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside... really simple and nice dish... was kinda hungry after all that excercise so i decided to chow down my food before my bro gets home....

was kinda excited to present to him my hours worth of cooking but well thing is that i called him at 8 and found out he would be coming home late and wont be needing dinner... well at first i was on the bridge of self pitty... but i kinda thought to myself... i didnt do this for my own pleasure or anything i did this because i need to... hey i cant imagine what it would be like if my bro comes home and there is no dinner... he might then choose to stay out more often and hardly return home... well there was just this one simple instruction that my dad gave me, " make sure your brother comes home" and because of that, i will do this every night...

well yea i would love to go out and all but i think i kinda figured that my daily routine of doing the house work, do some proj, go out, come back do some house work, do proj, cook dinner, clean up... i think it is more meaningful... so well self pitty? pass it on to someone else...

Joel ~ alone

2007-06-08T10:37:00.000+08:00

well yesterday was day 1 that my mom wasnt ard in singapore... it was not till the nigh before that i realised that i had nothing planned and i would be sitting at home doing nothing at all... well in the morning i went to pass bev my tripod stand for her project... then after that i went on a desperate search for anyone to go out with me... hahaha... kept calling but somehow it seemed as if everyone had plans already fixed for them... but I FINALLY MANAGED TO GET SOMEONE WOOOOT... so at ard 2.45 i met up with jasmine and we walked around town helping her look for a present for one of her friends... after which she left at ard 4pm... hey i was desperate haha... i just needed to go out so badly... haha... well i then walked around town by myself in search of some shades... woooooot... and man did i find one... a beautiful ray ban... but sadly the price was a bit way over my budget... its damage was 400... after that came the funny turning point of my day... called up warren asking if he wanted to go out... he said no but then refered me to nikko who was said to be walking around town alone... so i decided to meet up with her... when i did, we started walking around and bumped into clara, judy and cheryl... and coincidentally they bumped into each other too... isnt that so weird??? well so from one we became 2, became 5... hmmm... haha... well that was yesterday in a nutshell... CHOWW...

Joel ~ read between the lines

2007-06-01T00:03:00.000+08:00

here i hang simple as i am... dangling from a soft string of gold of which i hold... bellow me, a pot filled with sorrows and woes... my face looking down from above and i start to ponder...

speaking out everything from my heart... do you listen or do you just hear? if you know me you will understand...

Joel ~ man of God

2007-05-29T19:52:00.000+08:00

if asked what i ever want for my birthday or for anything, my mind would be boggled between a few things... happiness, wisdom and the fear of God... i must say i really have started to admire this guy by the name of Eric Liddell... he is truely a man of God... in the bible there is this verse that goes " he (refering to God) who honours me I will honour"... and this was verse was clearly shown in the life or eric liddell...

eric was a top sprinter in the 100m and 200m... in the year of 1923, he ran in the 400m or 200m (cant remember)olympics and fell at the half way mark... there he sat till someone asked him to get up... when he did get up, he ran and slowly he regained his third position 20m from the line... and well the rest was history... he won that race... really a historic win it was... an impossible feat by any human standards...

then again in the year of 1924, he decided to take part in the 100m and 200m however, the heats fell on a sunday... because of this, he decided to skip it all together as it was the day of the Lord... and so he decided to take part in the 400ms... it wasnt his forte at all and this caused a stir in the media... well basically to cut things short, on the day of his race, he ran and ran with all his might and he broke a new world record...

and as what he says, he feels the glory and presence of God as he runs... and surely that day at the 1924 olympics, God was with him...