A minor hindrance perhaps.

Yesterday work was horrid. I dont even wanna talk about it! I guess it just wasn't my day. Moody the whole time (untill customer approaches and i smile lol). The cashier even asked Melvin why i was "so quiet" - well he should know! Maybe seeing Rei (my new friend) woulda cheered me up, but he had a test yesterday and couldn't turn up. Gee of all the days for me to feel bad ya? lol... Just hope today isn't so bad. A little prayer will help i guess. It always does. Actually that was the main reason i felt bad yesterday - for those of you who understand.

I've been thinking about playing GE again, though i know i shouldn't, and that i have to focus on my studies this time round. Afterall, it was GE that made my grades drop the last time. But it is seriously the best game i have ever played! - Best graphics, best effects, best RPG characters, even the fact that there are Recruitable NPCs (RNPCs)! But yeah when i am in doubt i cross check with the bible to search for answers i need. I know that things that give you temporary pleasure are just that - temporary pleasures. This hinders me from studying cuz i'd prolly be thinking about playing it the whole time, and teacher's words will go in one ear, come out the other. May the good Lord help me then. that's all i can ask.

signing off, it's pay day today!
aj

A New Friend.

Yeah its past 12 already here in singapore but hey i aint asleep so it's still the 28th to me! haha. I woke up pretty late so nothing much happened before work, except for the fact that i realized how much i like the Ellen Degeneres show, lol.

Work is where everything happened today. Was a little late so melvin punched and declared in for me (keep this a secret lol). Juz to make sure, i went in to check if he did, and boy i must say, he has horrible handwritting! lol - no offence melvin. I happened to notice a new guy in the store room (where we punch in), and my first comment was "wow" after i heard his voice. Many guys working there (the sales staff that is) dont have very 'masculine' voices. At least he did. I packed as per normal today and since it was T2 i didn't have to run around sending items to the gates. Me and this cashier Nor Ain discussed about the perfumes. "Chanel is expensive but good, Le Male is masculine during work, sexy during night parties", blah blah blah. Halfway through that, the new dude appeared! He came over and introduced himself - the first staff who introduced himself without me asking! Then the 3 of us started talking and i found out much about him la. Cool guy really. Hard to believe that he is only 19 cuz he looks much older. Once in a while after that he'd drop by and talk to me at the counter and i'd teach him stuff.

I happened to wait for him after work cuz the supervisor asked me to teach him how to declare your things and exchange pass. I was glad to. And here's the best part; he said that 'because i accompanied him down to the pass office', he was gonna accompany me to the train! I'm like wow! U know it is great to have guys that are willing to do that, especially since nowadays every guy is like afraid of acting 'gay'. He then said he'd take the train home with me instead of the bus. Cool. We talked for a bit in the train and then he said he wanted to take me out to lunch on friday to celebrate my last day working there. Can you believe this? And i only met this guy today! hahaha. some people are nice i guess, but some people are really nice. I'm glad i met him la. He made my day i guess. Gave him my msn address, hopefully he didn't take it down wrongly. He said he'd add me tonight, but i have yet to see the add. lol. I'll wait i guess, afterall, how often do we come across people like that right? Sad that i wont see him tommorrow and on wednesday, he's got school. I'll only be seeing him on Thursday, but that's when i quit my job. Good enough la. hahaha.

p.s. i put up a new perfume commercial below. do comment on it in my cbox ya?

signing off here,
aj.

A special day in the life of me.

Sundays are my favourite. Mainly its cuz i go to church and learning about God makes me feel so at peace. Woke up a little late but managed to reach church in time. The bus was seriously crowded though. A friend labelled it 'the indian invasion'. lol. u can imagine then, how it was. i joined the youth class today for the second time. the jump from follow-ups to youth classes are supposed to be huge, but Peter (follow-up teacher) is confident that i'm spiritaully mature to handle it. Plus i'm way overage already haha! Spent a little bit of time telling people from church about my results. They weren't as suprised as my friends in school were prolly cuz they dont know me as much, yet. I'm supposed to be one of the 'better' students from my class anyways.

After church Eddie invited me to tea with him, and i really love his hospitality. He's a great guy. We went to the McDonald's at Aljunied, near his mom-in-law's place, while his wife and kids stayed over at her place. Me and Eddie had a great chat, over stuff like my results, his job, and he answered my burning questions on God's law like why pork is edible to christians when the bible says the pig is unclean and u shldn't eat it. About demons and the demon possesed. The fact that being a belever in Christ will make you impervious (if im using the word right) to possesion and such makes me feel very secure. Got home and almost immediately engaged my mom in a ... - i wont say debate, more like arguement, over religious belief. this happened once before - nt sure if i blogged abt it but, this time i didnt have 'nothing to say' at her ramblings and not neccasarily-true truths. I had an adequate knowlede of the scripture to "defend" myself. haha. Felt happy that i was finally able to stand my ground as a Christian and that her 'prophet' is not an equivalent to Jesus Christ.

The fact that i'm gonna repeat the year has already sunk in. What's more is that i feel MUCH more prepared this time than last. People say i'm handling it pretty well. I guess i am, cuz i'm not moaning about it and blaming the whole world like those emo kids do. And it's all because i have the Lord to fall on for my support! =) I'm going to spend this time reflecting on myself and this time really set a path for me to follow so that i dont juz go through it for name sake. Think it all out and set my priorities straight. Think of a REAL career to fund my choral dreams and aspirations. Gonna set apart a few days for it untill i get paid, then go shopping for my school stuff. Then get prepared to start school again. I've already briefly examined my weaknesses in the subjects i took and i guess i can further examine them and plan appropriately. This time i am prepared. All i can ask this time is really that the Lord guide me and help me.

growing up, becoming more mature with every challenge that is put before me.
aj

backtrack one day.

yesterday (26/01/08):

went to work in the morning. the cab came to pick me up at 430 am. Yup, you guessed it, i woke up at 3 that day. The driver was the one that picked me up the first time. The arrogant conceited brat who thinks he owns the road. He couldn't drive, didn't have manners, and didn't even bother to give a greeting. What a perfect start to a day yeah? anyways it was my last day at T3 so i put that aside and got into the service i was supposed to do. They ran outta runners and packers so i had to double as a runner/packer (packers are the most versatile; they do everything). Sent the perfumes and cosmetics to flights SQ223 and SQ211. Ran around the terminal untill very tired. A cashier that worked with me before said she'd miss me when i said it was my last day. "Your face so cute!" - that's what she said.
after that Harold invited me to go to the poly with him and Jian Kai. This was the exact reason he skipped work that day, the exact reason i covered for him that day (He repaid me with half a coke can lol) Though i aint goin to a poly, i offered to follow them. They are afterall the 2 friends that stuck with me since secondary 2 (Harold frm primary 5!). I was really suprised at their ignorance at poly admission and course details. I know more than them and i aint even going to poly! Sheesh! Had to explain to them what higher-nitec courses are and how the cut off point & private O's system works. What the people from the poly said wasn't new to me; i already knew it. I'm suprised that i'm better prepared for poly then i initially thought! lol. Juz that i couldn't get in cuz of my maths. All the Lord's plan really. The rest (and i seriously mean REST) of the day was spent sleeping. 14 hrs of sleep and i didn't wake up once from it. Wow! - yeah that was for yesterday.

was sleeping this time yesterday,
aj

taking a step to having a good life.

well, the day came - and passed pretty quickly, but it was basically a mini-judgement day for us all. O level results are important and really determine the outlook of your life cuz its the first step to a good career for ya. I got mine too. Didn't do so well actually. i gt 24 points. 24 points allows u entry into poly, but i failed my maths and i didnt qualify for any poly course. that's the sad part. funny thing is that i got distinction for my english (A2) yet i didnt get any course and its all cuz of maths. gee that sux, i know. im goin to repeat the year and try to improve on my maths. i know of a friend who had distinctions for most of his subjects, but he failed his english (D7) - that means his entry into poly is limited as well, and to think that fella aimed for JC. At least a D7 is the MINIMAL grade u need to enter certain courses. No one's gonna take me for an E8 in maths. really juz bad coincidences. Harold didnt like his resutls either, he got 20 points, but he passed what he needed to so he's movin onto poly. kim yong got 28 points, and he is considering retaking as well.

as to my very favoured class of 5n2, wei bin topped it with a score of 13 points! grats to him man! followed by wei leong who gt 16 points and haikel who had 18 points. really congratulate those who had below 20 points; its good points and will almost guarantee a course for u in the poly. just whether u like it or not. my 3 close buddies; amos, matt and eraidie, didnt do as well however. lets juz say they had higher points than me la (higher points aren't good juz so u know). mos and matt wanna go shatec, but eraidie is caught in the dillemna of having to decide between shatec and sec 5. crappy results for most of us. kinda sad abt it really, cuz we really studied hard. it sucks really, to have studied so hard and ended up getting such high points (and for me who failed maths!)

never in my life have i had to think about repeating a year before. i mean, i'm always SUPPOSED to be the smart one; topping the class for certain subjects and doing well in all of my subjects blah blah blah. Perhaps some part of me gave up on my maths a long time ago and here, it brought me down. a serious blow to my ego u can say. but i'm ok about it. like i said, i dont live with regrets. God made it such a way that i failed my maths for a reason, whatever it is. i'm perfectly secure as long as i have Him to count on. In my life, God has taught me many things; he taught me i cannot be emotional and sensitive by allowing me to meet Whye Chiz, he taught me how to be independant by making me lose all my past yr frenz and putting me in sec 5, and i guess right now he's teaching me how to suck up my pride and throw it away. You know what they say, 'the eyes of the arrogant will be brought down' - quote frm the bible. a long journey and battle has been fought and some have won. some haven't. people like me will hopefully be given a second chance if God allows and the sch has a place for me. Nobody ever said that life was easy right? sometimes i have to be a bigger man, and do what is best. To me personally, what makes a man is what is unseen; his character, his decisions and such, and not what is seen; his body, his size etc. Imma really miss my class this year. So many friends i may not even see again. haha.

Here's to all : GOOD LUCK in whatever endeavour you undertake!

signing off,
aj

time flies, really.

yesterday i got he news that my O level results are gonna be out this coming Thursday, 24th Jan. the fact that when i heard it i got really nervous. I know i may not be the best i could be last year during my O's, but what's done is done. Really the Lord's plan at the end of the day and basically that's why i dont feel as insecure as most would be. I pray that i will do well and not disappoint those who have and still believe in me. During the mid-year exams i did horribly badly. My mom came down during the meet-the-parents session, and she basically cried her heart out to me. "aj, the other two (my two other bros) dont do well nvm, but YOU must do well. you're the only hope for the name of our family" - how'd ya think that made me feel?

looking back now, i'm sure there are stuff i could've done better, but that's in the past. alls' i can say is that i dont regret it, cuz i dont live my life with regrets. looking at everyone around me, all of my friends that i have so grown to be acustomed to and even prolly love to be around with, and having to think that i might not see them again after this thursday, really makes me appreciate how time doesn't wait for u. i realize now, why people always ask you to 'stop and smell the roses along the way' friend of mine, his name is Kim Yong, i have known him for 9 (10 this yr) and i am really amazed at ow much he has grown up. Kim Yong was always close to my family, back when we used to be neighbours. Another friend, Harold i have known for 7 (8 this yr) also has grown up ALOT. He's totally a changed man. i'm really proud of these people and glad to have known them all this time. i'm sure i wont totally lose contact with them, but times change and so do people. u nvr know how one will be in the next couple of years.

i'm sad but also excited at the thought of graduation; new life, new friends and a new sense of maturity. we're all grown-ups now haha. it's hard, when ur sitting through first period in school, to see the end of the day near by. But now, i would say i never would've imagined 17 years of my life would pass so quickly. Thank you God.

aj

simple plan!

i'm trying a new lifestyle now. i feel very unhealthy thats why. i take night shifts as an excuse to sleep all day. as a result, i feel more tired and i dont even eat so weaker! not something very good for someone who is severly underweight isn't it? im going to sleep at night right after my night shifts instead of 'chiong-ing' GE all the way to the morn. then when i wake up in the morn i allow myself to play GE till lunch (which i usually skip nowadays) and continue after that till i have to go to work. i considered adding my long time ago workout routine but i'd rather not in the off chance i feel more tired. maybe save that for weekends.

well anyways have you guys heard simple plan's new hit? it's called 'When I'm Gone' - its on my blog so u can check it out. I first heard it on the radio when Simple Plan came to singapore before their performance, on Perfect 10, 98.7FM. they performed live, so they sang it with an acoustic guitar backing and pierre and david singing. i was mesmerised. unfortunately i can find that version i heard on the radio prolly cuz it wasn't recorded. i was so impressed at how much their voices matured and their level of muscianship has increased! the band has grown alot, since their first album, in terms of performance, musicianship, quality and vocals. i'm so proud of them haha ^^
glad to have been a hardcore fan since their first album. lol. i'm not as nuts as i used to be about them, but that doesnt mean i dont like them still. still my favourite band. ~ what else can i say? go grab a copy of their album(s) and see what i mean by mature.

wish them lotsa luck and progress as a band. i'm sure they'll do great, they have lotsa potential.

aj

Christmas - the birth of Christ?

today i'm blogging a bit early if u noticed. the reason being i overslept for work today. lol. yeah didnt really wanna go to work after i woke up either. sides, dont think they need many packers in Terminal 2 anyways.

well today i was reading an article on Christmas which my friend from church passed me (i like to read during my free time), while my GE was down - still fixing it btw. It's about the origins of Christmas. Many may not know this, but Christmas isn't actually a Christian festival at all. It originates from the pagans and the jewish (read the bible or history books to find out who they were).

"The word 'Christmas' means 'Mass of Christ'. It is prinounced 'Christ-Mass'." - Interesting fact to know that Jesus Christ wasn't actually born on the 25th of December. This 'Mass of Christ' had nothing to do with Jesus Christ however.

You see, in the old days, people did not celebrate their birthdays; they didnt throw feasts and banquets like we do now. Only the sinners like Pharaoh and Herod used to do it. Thus if it is the birth of Christ, they would not celebrate it that way. Many authorities claim that Christmas was not celebrated by first century Christians either. The Western Churches had later ordered it be celebrated forever, on the day of the Old Roman Feast of the birth of Sol as people did not know exactly when Jesus was born. (Sol means 'sun' and not 'son') Their excuse for calling it the birthday of Christ, the birthday of the sun-god ----> birthday of the Son of God.

Very interesting topic considering almost the whole world celebrates it; and many presume its a christian festival. These days, when it comes to religion, people are gullible and easily fooled. At times one must question the truth behind each teaching to see if it really true. 'Test everything. Hold on to the good,' [1 Thessalonians 5:21] It is easy to fall prey to customs and traditions simply because we 'do it cuz everyone else does it', and we forget the meaning of each tradition. Even i was naive (look at my posts below) cuz i PRESUMED Christmas was a christian festival without asking or looking into it - my mistake.

To quote the bible, This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless" - Jeremiah 10:2-3

There is nothing wrong celebrating it, just as long as it doesn't involve religion in that matter. Origins of Christmas did not have anything to do with Christ. A thought provoking issue here right? well at least to me it is. Any question u can ask me personally, through MSN or watever. I even know the origin of the christmas tree! lol.

thats all for today i guess, GE is back up.

aj

Got my Nuance shirt...

hey hey wassup!~ just realised today, that i haven't blogged a single post for like 7 days hahaha.

Just got back from work... Today i had to work split shifts (530 - 10 am at T3 & 7-11 at T2), cuz it seems my manager is outta packers. Yet when i asked him if he needed staff, he said he had enough, lol. People like to crap around i guess. I finally got my packer's uniform, after a little more than a month of working. Other people get their uniforms immediately, i get mine after one month, they put me on probation izzit??? Lolz... At least now i have a sense of identity and wont be mistaken for a customer at the perfume shops. I like to wear my FBI shirt to work (since it's black, and the company needs me to wear black tops) and i must say, it attracted a little too much attention. Imagine this : a fella wearing a shirt that has a large 'FBI' print on its back and front, with a pass clipped to his shirt and walking/standing around with his hands behind his back. LOL! Customer even commented before,

"are you really working for the FBI?"
"nope, but i sure wish i was!" Lol.

But yeah no more attracting attention with my uniform now. =)
Have you guys heard of 'Gucci by Gucci'? It's the latest perfume we sell in our shops. What's cool is that our shop sells it ahead of any other airport in the asia pacific region. You'd be the first to have it if u bought it. What's not cool is that i totally dislike the smell. It reeks! Lolz that's prolly a little too exagerated. Another perfume called, 'Elle by Yves Saint Laurent'. Also ahead of other asia pacific countries. Singapore so kiasu lol, everything also wanna be first xD juz kidding.
Now i usally smell like perfume when i get home, like Hugo Boss one day, Calvin Klein another day. =)

Cant believe i actually talk about perfumes now. Totally not who i imagined to be lol. Thats all for tonight ya? Prolly gonna sleep or something.

p.s. imma post up the ads of the perfumes, see what u guys think. Please comment ya? Blog very empty without commetns lol.

Opening of T3 Changi Airport

It's 9th January today (at least to me it is) and it's an ordinary day to most people. But to the staff of Changi Airport it's a huge day cuz it's the opening of the new Terminal 3! Yeah, according to my co-ordinator, i was supposed to go there. Dunno what happened and i'm still here in T2. My management sucks, or maybe they're just taking advantage of us cuz we are teenage part-timers.

Well anyways nevertheless, everyday that you work in the airport is an interesting day; and it's all thanks to the passengers that travel through it! No doubt, the central shop was totally empty, with only a few people frolicking around, pretending to buy perfumes, when all they are there for is a free spritz. LOL joking. Most of the singapore airline flights (sq) are transfered to T3 so T2 becomes very empty.

I met this fella today. It started off with me explaining to him the standard procedures of the ziplock bag and the security check. Then he added this comment "the americans and th british are the real terrorists these days". I laughed at that and added that they were the super powers of the world. After a few chuckles we exchanged he asked me if i read (and just so you know, i do). He gave me a book recomendation. It's about the '911' incident i guess. He tells me he's a researcher and that the book has got important stuff and that i should get as many people to read it. lol. He even gave me his name card and email address. LOL ! That has never happened before (and i dont suppose it would happen again either) but it was both cool and wierd. I'm gonna get myself a copy of that book and email him about it haha.

till then ya, nitez! lol.
aj

blogs edited!

Thanks to the help of a few people and the 'creativity' of my mind, I have finally edited my blog! Now I presume its better (prolly less plain). Well anyways, it's 5 am where I am, and what am i doing up blogging u may ask? Well i haven't slept. Been playing GE (Granado Espada) for quite a bit and got a little bored, so here I am! Haha. I'll try to put up some pictures of it - when i figure out how to LOL - but till then I guess it's picture-less posts for this blog!

That's about it for today. Don't have much inspiration to write, haha.

AJ

back after a long break

It's been a while since I blogged. Took a break from it. Work got me WAY to tired. I didn't have time to do anything but sleep! Lol...

Well anyways I know it's technically Sunday now but I haven't slept so it's still Saturday for me. LOL! Wasn't quite the Saturday i had in mind or had expected for that matter. Woke up at around 11 am and went with my mom to change the address on my IC - then it was straight to lunch at the market. Me and my mom got into an arguement over different points of view in faith. I mean I'm the only Christian in the family, but sheesh! Didn't expect that! It made me question my faith really. Very hard to swallow for me.

Later at night, my mom wanted me to check something on the net so I did. She rested her hand on the computer and it went off balance and slammed back down in place. SLAM! The comp hung immediately and a blue screen came out. Didn't start up for a few minutes after that - at least its working now. But u can imagine the quarrelling we had, since we were already in a bad mood.

Tommorrow is 'the Lord's day' - as a friend of mine would call it. Pray that it'd not involve any fueds! Lol.. yeah thats all for now, gotta catch some sleep if imma wake up for church! Haha. Ciao~

P.S. I kinda edited the blog abit, and I'd like to give credits to the friends on my links for the inspiration and technical help they gave me haha~

aj.