Last Reservist Commitment...

Finally finished my reservist commitment for the year yesterday. This year the timing was rather lousy as it stretched for 21 days over the Christmas holidays. Started on 10 December and only did the outprocessing yesterday afternoon. This time around I was not with my usual group of friends but instead got put with a totally new team as many people actually deferred because of the timing. Apparently I was not the only ones who were new to the team as many were actually from other groups that got called back the same time as me too. So on the first day, it was getting to know the guys thing all over again but luckily my group were all very easy going so it makes getting to know each other much faster. It was also rather unusual as on the first day they presented me with the 10 years service award which was a hamilton watch and it was rather nice too I might add...hahaha. So after all the duties and unusual things that happened, it was finally all over.

Nightmare Valet Services at Capella...

Yesterday was a very important day for my family and we had a major dinner celebration at Capella on Sentosa. If you are not sure what Capella is, its a 6 star hotel on Sentosa that just opened this year. At Capella, it takes 20 to 25 minutes for a valet to locate your car and bring it up and the charges for this service...$12!! I have attended functions and dinners at other hotels before and they take less than half the time to do the same thing for far less the amount of money. We were told by many other people who have attended other events/wedding dinners there before about the same poor valet service. We had already told the hotel prior to booking the ballroom for our celebration of our concerns and to express the standard of service which is expected from the valet. However it was still as bad as it was. The only thing I can say is that they are consistent in the poor standard of service provided.

So a fair warning if you are attending an event at Capella, park your own car in the basement or be prepared for the horrific valet services.

Busy Bee...

I've been running around the past few months for several committee meetings. First of all, I'm on the committee for the Orchid Society of SouthEast Asia (OSSEA). Next I've been asked to be on the committee for next year's Singapore Orchid Show. I'm also on the Judging Committee for the upcoming World Orchid Conference (WOC) in 2011 held in Singapore. I'm glad to be apart of these exciting events which are happening on our shores and also thankful that people see the potential in me to include me in them. Hopefully I do not disappoint them and to do my best to show that their trust is not misplaced.

Cheers
Sean

Upcoming Birthday Celebrations...

Well...will be celebrating my birthday again next week. Time really flies when you are having fun! It also brings to mind things which have transpired during the past year. It brings to mind things which I have achieved and things that I should have done. I am rather happy on how things have been in my love life although there have been ups and downs but thankfully, there have been much more ups than downs...hahahaha. With that, I can safely say that I'm much more in love than I've ever been before... :-) I am also happy and thankful for good close friends which I know I can always count on and hopefully they can say the same about me. This year has also been a year of firsts too where both my dear and I have gone on overseas trips together...not once but 3 times...hahahaha! Well the celebrations are being planned by my dear dear so will see what happens. :-)

Cheers
Sean

KL over the weekend...

My dear dear and I went for a short getaway in Kuala Lumpur over the Deepavali weekend. We took a short flight on Jetstar and then made our way to Ascott Kuala Lumpur which was just across from KLCC. The flight itself was nothing much which is expected from a Jetstar flight. The Ascott Kuala Lumpur was a far cry from its sibling in Bangkok which we stayed in but still had its comforts. However it was still nice to just getaway together and enjoy each other's company. We spent most of our time shopping in KLCC and Pavilion as there were sales going on. We also had some very nice food in Pavilion and enjoyed A & W (which had disappeared from our shores). Pictures will follow soon...hahahaha.

Cheers

Kenny's Mum's Art Exhibition at Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Went for Kenny's mum's art exhibition at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce on Friday night. First I have to say, I did not know that Kenny's mum was an artist but I was pleasantly surprised. It was an exhibition by her and 4 other students in the class. The quality of the artwork was very good and I really enjoyed looking at them. Overall I would say that the exhibition was a success and everyone enjoyed themselves. I was alittle lost when the speaches were in mandarin but I still could feel the pride and happiness from the friends and families gathered there. Just would like to say...Congratulations Aunty!

Cheers

Moment in time...

I know I've not been really good at updating my blog so I think I should actually put it on my "to do list" at least once a week...hahaha

I've been really happy at how things are going in my relationship with my other half. We're just 2 crazy people who just happen to meet and I always seem to look forward to seeing. When we're not together, I always seem to think of when we will meet again and cannot wait for that moment to come. Gosh...thinking about it, I think I'm in love and I'm happy! :-) When we are together, its just the little things that make our time together special. Its funny how things turn out in the most unexpected way and I'm glad that it did.

I'm also happy that my "younger brothers" and I have been getting close as I think they are great guys. I see them as my close friends for many many years to come. Its not only that they are great people but also that I know I can trust them with anything. Whenever we hangout together, we always seem to have a good time doing regular things. I know sometimes I may be intruding into their "alone" time together when my other half is not around, but I like to just hangout with them as they are great people to be with. Hopefully they see it that way too....hahahahaha.

Cheers

Dad's 71st Birthday Celebrations at Oscars

Celebrated my dad's 71st birthday at Oscars in Conrad. The food was so so but the service was good. However the restaurant was so noisy as first of all, it was an international buffet. They put us next to a very large group of adults with their noisy children. What really frustrated me was that, the adults did not even ask their kids to tone down alittle. The adults themselves were not showing a good example as they were crowding around the sushi/sashimi counter. They were taking the items faster than the chef could prepare them. They did not even move from the counter but instead sent the children back with their piled up plates. They only moved on when there were no more for others after them. So I'm thinking, its no wonder how their children are when they themselves have no consideration for others.

Renewed Interest In Novelty Phalaenopsis

Lately I'm not sure where or how my renewed interest in Novelty Phalaenopsis came about. It could be that I saw a good article in the last issue of the Malayan Orchid Review or that I've been seeing many of them on the market these days. Recently have been on a buying spree of the species as well as the hybrids that caught my eye. Namely Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi and its hybrids, Phalaenopsis pantherina and Phalaenopsis mannii. Here are some of my recent purchases...btw Phalaenopsis bellina and Phalaenopsis violacea are also on my list...hahahaha.

Hmmm..Suntec...

Ok...so its been 3 months since I've been back to the Suntec office. Things have been rather ok but I still miss my other office and my seat. In the old office, I had the best cubicle which was next to my boss's but still right in the corner. No one would come to my side unless they had to see me but it was still nice enough that I did not feel I was isolated. I had the privacy but at the same time, all I needed to do was to just look over the panel to see my colleague in front of me. In the Suntec office, all the cubicles do not have any privacy at all unless you're a director or the PAs. Another thing is that, we do not get to leave the building for lunches anymore as opposed to the old one. We used to get more fresh air while out for lunches which I thought was more healthy. We also have more variety of good food to choose from while at the old office and when I say more variety of good food, I mean the kind where you don't have to shelve out more than $6 a meal. Another sad thing is that, colleagues who joined us while in the old office and moved with us, cannot adjust to the new environment and have left us one by one. Another one left us yesterday so only 5 from the other office remains now which I think is sad. We had all become very close while working in the other office where it was more informal and you could literally speak your mind without fear of anyone. I wonder how many would be left by the end of this year...sad...

Moving back to Suntec...

Will be moving back to Suntec office again. With the consolidation of business units, it makes business sense to move again. The dateline to shift is 16 Jan 2009 so you can just imagine lots of stupid paperwork to go through and sorted out. Then also the packing....lots of packing. The directors came by the other day and was surprised that there was not a single packed box in sight yet and they sort of panicked. I think they will still be panicked as there is still no packed boxes in sight yet and the dateline is just next week...hahahaha. The good thing is that lots of junk have already been disposed off.