20 September 2012

I let it slipped.

Since last week, I was very excited for my 'supposedly' off day last Saturday, 15 September. That was my scheduled off last week that was abruptly cancelled because my colleague called in sick. One call and everything just changed.

I was totally looking forward for the Library Book Sale that was then held at Singapore Expo for only 2 days, 15th and 16th of September. Since I only get to have one day off a week, I had to request it to be on Saturday to accommodate the event. I used to have an all-nighter the previous night prior to my off, and I did just that on Friday night. I was about to sleep at 0600hrs on Saturday morning when I received a call from my manager asking me if I can come to work on that day. I agreed to do so given that I'll be coming in for the afternoon shift.

I roughly slept for 5 hours since I woke up by myself at around 1100-1200hrs that day. I've been sleeping like a good kid the previous days. It has become a cycle that if I managed to sleep a lot for consecutive days, there will be a day when I will become unable to sleep or that I will be able to manage through the day despite lacking of sleep. That Saturday was the same but since it was out of my plan to work on my day off, I was not in the proper orientation.

It was my only chance to go for the Library Book Sale but I let it slipped. I was very excited about it considering that it was a 'library' book fair. I was thinking of what old books I will be able to add to my collection or that I might be able to find the books that I've been wanting to have. But that was cancelled. I didn't took the effort of going to the Singapore Expo far in the east nor did I get to own new titles. Instead, I worked like a diligent young adult I am.

My last off prior to that on Saturday was early the previous week so it feels like working for 14 days consecutively. I didn't feel the fatigue at all on Saturday but when I woke up on the following Monday, it just came to me. The tiredness slowly piled up and I didn't even feel it. But I knew that it was there, being inconspicuous. The good thing was that my next off, for this week I mean, was Tuesday. I felt like sleeping all the day but it was already the middle of the month. I can't afford to have myself cooped up at home dulling my precious offs away. I just have to go somewhere.

LVELJ.C04 (20.09.2012)

15 September 2012

Odd Genesis

I just created a new blog for my own satisfaction. Odd as it may seem for I am not a consistent blogger or someone well-known, but I am still trying pursue my career in writing (do I even have one?), at least in my own way. I say that although I just wanted to state my thoughts somewhere I can be my alter-ego.

So, the new blog was entitled W-ALL. As of today, I've only posted some events that I find interesting and eventually I will be attending, and some photos I've taken somewhere. The blog will be like a journal of the places I've visited, of the events I've been to and of the things I've done and seen.

It all started when my friend and I were watching a documentary-slash-discussion-slash-lecture online about the the old civilizations. Photos of different places were shown in the video and I said that I wanted to be a Travel Photographer and my friend said that she wanted to be a Travel Journalist. She, then, came up with the idea of creating a travel blog. Knowing her and myself, we actually don't have the resources and time for such stuff. A while later, when I got the time to be by myself, I thought about the idea carefully and so it leads to the blog I had now. It'll be simple and I will be trying to add as much information as I can.

I created categories such as Where, When, Whatnots, Who, Wanderlust Pixie and We. Where will be about the places I've visited and my thoughts of them; When will be about the events that I find interesting and I've participated; Whatnots will be everything else under the sun like the activities to do, things to see, food to eat and stuff; Who will be people I met and some life stories they shared or travel experiences from colleagues, friends or acquaintances - I am challenging myself to this one; Wanderlust Pixie will be the photo albums for the other entries; and We is, well, about the author/blogger/photographer.

I've actually thought of people who can help me in this blog besides my friends who came up with the idea. I can get some of my friends to help me with the layout and accessibility, or to be the blog editor, a portion writer, a photographer, or a model. If I use my connections, I can be sure to get good results, I think. But really, if I had other people helping in this blog, I think it will be a very interesting one. I just hope that I will be able to fill it with lots of stuff. :)

LVELJ.C03 (15092012)

12 September 2012

Short Stop at Botanic Garden

 


 

 



 



I went to Singapore Botanic Garden so I could relax a bit and take some new photos. It was so hot when I got there but being surrounded by trees, the temperature cooled down a bit. Nothing much changes from the area. I spend some time watching the turtles then take photos of flowers while walking. I stayed the longest in shade of yellow trees surrounding the Bandstand. It was as beautiful as always. I got pretty decent pictures too. Next time, I really should buy sun glasses for my eyes.

05 September 2012

LVELJ: Randomness-filled August

Here goes my second entry for my La Vie En Le Jour concept.

Every since the year 2009, I've become more conscious of the month of August. In a way, it has become special to me even though August 2009 was such a horrible period in my life so far. I don't remember well the entire stuff that happened that time but I am sure that the important things will remain in my memory. An I am not to state those things here.

Well, three years have passed since then and August 2012 just passed as well. It was not much of a busy month for me although it has been the most random and most activity-filled month since coming back to Singapore. I wouldn't be stating each day since not everyday is eventful.

My Muslim friends celebrated Hari Raya Puasa on August 19. Barely a month prior to that date, they were fasting. I am sometimes joining some of my friends for dinner whenever it's time for fasting's break which was a quarter or so past 1900hrs. I've also visited the bazaar in Paya Lebar and Geylang areas. It was such a lively fair.

On the first night I went for the fair, it suddenly started raining heavily and so we weren't able to enjoy the night's breeze on dry grounds. The second night I went there was to accompany my friends for some last minute shopping. I was looking forward to going there on the eve of Hari Raya Puasa but they cancelled that so I didn't managed to experience how packed the area was.

The Olympics 2012 held in London also happened between end of July to early August. I was not able to watch the full opening ceremony aired on some TV channels but the parts I got to watch were interesting. I love the part of Rowan Atkinson's (Mr. Bean) participation. I think the opening ceremony is grand and elegant. I love watching the diving competition and the gymnastics. The participants are just beautiful and graceful.

I had my company spirit improved a bit. I participated in the Gardenia Factory Tour and the Care and Share for the old folks from a certain organization. There wasn't so much to discuss regarding the Gardenia Tour so I'll be stating more about the Care and Share event. That was held on the evening of 16 August 2012 in my workplace. That was the first care and share event that I participated to and I had fun with it. We were providing service for our guest from an organization for the old folks. They were all old people and I don't know if they have family or not.

I have assisted some of them in going through the stairs since they are a bit fragile due to their age. I actually don't know how to approach them so I am observing at first. Honestly, they are quite pitiful to be living away from their own family, if they still have. Most of them are friendly and some doesn't even want to be helped. There are also some who would keep talking to you or wave at you or greet you with friendly and warm smiles. I can't believe that I will be surrounded by several old people. I am avoiding being too affectionate with them since I am there as part of the service crew.

I was assigned on a table with all female guests. There are three old folks who stand out in our table - I guess they are friends and one is taking care of the two, another is always talking to me in Tamil so I juts said yes and nod in reply without understanding what she said, and another one was scratching her head most of the times. The others are sitting quietly and watching the performances. They left shortly after some performances after their meal.

I also got an employment offer from my old manager in my workplace when I had my training in two years ago in Singapore. It was a good offer and going back to the food and beverage area is not so bad for me. Furthermore, it will be easier to catch up since I already know how things work there. I attended the interview a week after I was offered the employment. Unfortunately, I am under-qualified since I lack experience of working in the food and beverage department and they are hiring for executive positions which I wasn't informed of. It was such a waste since I was even recommended by the Food and Beverage Operations Manager. Truth be told, it made me quite depressed by the fact that I didn't get accepted although I had known all along that that would be the case considering several other stuffs. Failures aren't that easy to be accepted after all. But, I have moved on from that depression by now. It as too good of an opportunity and it wasn't the right time for that yet.

I also had a friend who visited Singapore on the third quarter of August. I have to entertain them of course since we have work in the same place for our training back in 2010. We didn't get to spend much time together since I only managed to see them on their last two days in Singapore. We eat dinner with another friend and I went with them on their errands too. I also send them off to the airport.

August 2012 has been filled with food and people for me. I have been with several people too much that I didn't get enough me-time for myself. I didn't managed to take much photos as well. Always being with people leaves me little to no time to think in peace. I managed to finish reading Helen Keller too. I tried reading it two years ago but I didn't manage to finish the book. This time, I had all the free time during work to read a book.

I still had the entire September ahead of me. I have no clear plans yet but I have arranged meetings with some friends already. I have to go to various places and take pictures. Having nicely taken photos also uplifts my mood and visiting weird places is just for my own satisfaction. I am currently trying to learn Melayu and reviewing my Stenography. I wish to review my French as well. I will have to study coffee art at home too - without a milk steamer or frother. I'm good at planning and I wish to implement them too.

LVELJ.C02 (05.09.2012)

03 September 2012

Night Festival: Painting the Night with Lights

For all the weekends of August there were presentations at night in Art and Culture district of Singapore - Bras Basah. It was part of the Night Festival which showcases various arts using lights. I believed that it was this year's concept for  the Art Festival Singapore although I am just guessing. It was a fascinating event although I find out about it too late and only managed to go on the last night of the event.

There were a lot of people for the Night Festival. Well considering that these were only during Friday and Saturday nights, that wasn't much of a surprise. Really. The areas covered were School Of The Art (SOTA), Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Singapore Art Museum at 8Q, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore Management University and the shops in Armenian Street. Mainly, it was just around Bras Basah area. Armenian Street actually has a road closure to give way to scheduled street performances. I have been to Armenian Street several times during daylight and it was such a quite and picturesque area. One who have been to the Armenian Street during the Night Festival would probably not believe that the area was the polar opposite during daytime.

It was very regrettable that I only learned of the event on its last week. I only had one night to see several stuffs so I only managed to see stuffs that interested me. I would've have enjoyed it if I only managed to go on all the weekends. Well, I had my fair share of fun, though. It was a great event.

  
 


 


 

 

 

 

 



 


 



 

 

all photos were taken using Canon Powershot G11. more photos here