#farewell gift for colleagues singapore

[apexgiftprint]

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[in-the-key-of-f-major]

For the past 7 months I’ve been working a part-time job in customer service at a museum that is a popular tourist attraction in Singapore, and recently I landed a full-time position at the same museum, but not the same job. Now I’ll have an office (but I’ll probably be working from home some of the time due to restrictions) and occasionally I’ll be giving tours to school groups and corporate groups around the museum (that is, when our government deems it safe to have larger groups). The kicker is that I’ll start tomorrow on Monday, so I only have one day off in between jobs. I don’t really mind, because I’m still within the same company and within the museum (there are other subsets such as the hotel and the casino), plus hopefully I’ll make friends with my new department and meet my new bosses, who are the ones who interviewed me for this position.

Yesterday was my last day and as a farewell, I was allowed to do the closing announcements, which usually only the full-time staff do. The only time a casual is allowed to do it is on their last day in this department. I gave out goodie packs to my closer colleagues and I wrote some of the other casual colleagues goodbye notes if I didn’t feel close enough to give them a goodie pack. (In this company, which our museum is part of, part-time staff are known as casuals.) One of my colleagues, whom I have a squish on, gave me the biggest compliment anyone could give me. He’s a drummer in his own band and on his copy of the daily roster everyone is issued at the beginning of each day, he drew the key signature of F major with the note F in two different octaves because he knows it’s my favourite key and that I’m a musician too. He also wrote a note on the roster and in the note, he said that I am his own F major, and I hugged him on impulse in front of everyone else who was also saying goodbye.

Achievement accomplished: to be to someone what F major has been to me. And this happens to be a dear colleague I care very much about, who I’ve hung out with outside of work, who I’ve spent hours texting and being emotionally vulnerable with, who tells me about his interests such as video games, who told me fun facts about his mother tongue (we are of different ethnicities and our mother tongue language is different but English is both our first language), who gave me gifts such as a toy shuriken and a green hair ribbon in reference to Yuri Nakamura from Angel Beats (long story), and who stayed back a few times to help me out at my assigned post when I needed help. If I didn’t have more control over myself, I would’ve cried in front of everyone while saying goodbye to him.

I actually have a whole diary entry detailing what happened yesterday so I won’t forget, but anyway here is my update on my life. 

[spiritofcamelot]

Anchor Away Cake

Everyone in the Navy knew that Q had a sweet tooth. The man took too much sugar in his tea and he had an incredibly well protected stash of chocolate he broke into when a friend needed cheering up. 

So when he announced he was transferring to MI6, his friends and colleagues conspired to make him a cake. It wasn’t too difficult for a bunch of engineers to bribe the kitchen staff to let them have free reign. Emerson even had some baking experience and he was the one who made sure the cake looked as good as it tasted. 

Krystal suggested that they write “Good Luck Q” in Morse code around the edge. Otherwise Emerson just decorated the best cake he could and slapped away the interfering hands that were trying to eat the frosting before he was finished with it. 

They gave Q a series of riddles leading him to different farewell gifts around the base (LED anchor pins, a box of tea from Singapore, hand-knit gloves for long nights of coding) before they lead him to the kitchen where they waited with the cake. 

Together, their little crew of six in Information Operations celebrated the departure of Lieutenant Quentin “Q” Wisher and implored him to keep in touch. 

(He did. He ended up hiring two of them and helping the others find jobs in similar positions once they too got tired of always travelling.)

~~

This is a white velvet cake, slightly modified from a recipe found here. 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup vegetable shortening at room temperature

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk + lemon juice  (recipe originally called for buttermilk, but I like the hint of lemon)

Instructions

Put 1 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice into a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make it to 1 1/2 cups. Stir and set aside. 

Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Set aside.

Grease and flour 2 nine inch round cake pans and line the bottom with 2 circles of parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the vegetable oil, shortening and vanilla. Beat well at high speed with whisk attachment until light and fluffy. (Or well mixed I guess? I got annoyed with the vague description and just moved on to the next step)

Beat the eggs in one at a time.

Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. (Start and end with dry stuff so that you don’t over-mix).

As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 9 inch cake pans.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely. (Or turn them out onto plates and throw them in your fridge if, like me, turning it out onto your cooling rack only ever goes poorly.)

For the frosting, I just took a ready to go frosting and added a bit more milk and powdered sugar until I got the consistency I liked. 

I put a thin layer of strawberry jam in the middle of the two cakes to help them stick together. Really any jam would work. 

EAT IT

[evidence-me-blog]

My Reality (Ch. 2)

August 20, year 25

We’re all emotional. It’s our last dinner party as 7 and towards the end of the night we can’t hold back our tears. Everyone is in tears, especially me since I’m the most emotional one out of the group. Chrisie was offered an amazing intern position over seas, and we of course told her to take it. Kat had gone with her a few weeks back to help her find an apartment. Because it was on the other side of the world, she managed to get things done and finalized over email. I remembered when she first gave us the news, she called us all up to our favorite cafe by the park and after a few minutes of conversation she broke the news. “You all know I love you right?” She started, her voice starting to shake. We all nodded, not knowing what was coming after. “I’ve been working really hard since I graduated and my boss seems to really enjoy my work. She called me to her office earlier this week to let me know she was proud of how far I’ve come in these last few months. She put in a good word for me and sent some of my work out to some of her colleagues, and well, I got offered a great internship, several actually, but this one company in New York wants me to start ASAP. I haven’t made the decision yet but I don’t want to let anyone down.” “LET ANYONE DOWN?! Chrisie no! That’s great news!” The cafe erupted with noise for a few seconds.

“What do you mean let anyone down? You’ve been working extremely hard for this. You’re the best graphic designer I know! Remember the poster you did for our small production we made for the guys? It. Was. Beautiful.” stated Maya.

Why was Chrisie thinking she was going to let anyone down? Did I want her to go? Not at all.

“Why do you think you’re gonna let us down?” I asked.

“Because we had so many plans. I’ve already grown extremely close to all of you, I don’t want all the plans we’ve made to be ruined because I take this internship.”

“No no! Why would they be ruined? Because you are going to fulfill and work on your dream? You’re crazy!” Exclaimed Kat.

“Do we want you to go? No. But who are we to keep you from your dream and achieving greater things? That would just be selfish of us.” I continued.

“What are your options? Maybe we could work something out if they are close enough.” said Mia.

“Well there’s several companies. There’s one in London, one in Manchester, two in Singapore, one it Italy, one in Australia, one in Mexico, two in South America and three in America that really want me.”

“Oh wow! She must have really praised you and sent out the best of your work!” exclaimed Josie in amazement.

“Which one do you want to take?” Asked Mia

“Well, the one closest to y’all but..”

“But... what?”

“The best ones, the ones my boss recommended, are the one in New York and Los Angeles and honestly, I’d be a fool not to take either of those.”

“Then take them! Both of them! Take them all!!” I exclaimed shortly before Josie lightly smacked my leg to tell me to calm down.

“I’d be 17 to 14 hours behind y’all though. With bearly any time to come visit.” You Can tell she was torn by the tone of her voice. She wanted to take it but she didn’t want to leave us behind.

“There’s always FaceTime or video call. And well, we have social media to stay in touch.” stated Bella.

I could tell her voice was breaking but she was trying to hide it. She’s better at it than me. Something I’ve always admired of her. No matter how bad the situation, her and Mia would be the strongest pillars to hold us all up.

“She wants an answer by next Friday. So I have about a week to decide.” said Chrisie after a moment of silence.

“Well, just view your options and take the best one. See who is gonna give you better benefits and who is actually gonna help you out and treat you better. Research them too, don’t just take people’s word.” said Mia with that knowledgeable tone she gets when she’s trying to give us good advice. It’s getting late, and we all have responsibilities to attend to the next day so we all decided to end the night. With a semi heavy heart we all gave Chrisie a hug and started heading our separate ways. Mia, Maya, and Bella walked with me since we all lived in the same direction. “We should throw a party!” shouted Maya out of no where. I jumped. She startled me since I was lost in thought as we were making our way through the park. All four of us busted out laughing because of my reaction. “Are you okay?” asked Mia still laughing at me. “Yeah. I’m fine. I just spaced out.” “Apparently! Cause you jumped hard!” “What kind of party you want to throw, Maya?” I asked when we finally recovered from my little episode. “A farewell party! And we should invite everyone! And just give her the best time ever!” “By everyone, you mean the guys too right?” “Yes! And their mommas!” We all looked at Maya. “Okay , maybe not their mommas. We don’t even know them. Well, not in person at least.” “I don’t know about them darlin, last time I talked with Jin he said they were about to get really busy. Remember last time we all hung out they shared with us their schedule and how we wouldn’t be able to hang out for a while?” “Yeah, last time we all did anything together was like two weeks ago.” added Bella. “True. True. Well maybe all six of us can do something for Chrisie. Something more intimate where it’s just the seven of us.” said Maya as she started to get lost in thought trying to figure out what to do. “Hmmm. How about a dinner party? Just the seven of us? That’s intimate right?” suggested Bella. “Oohh yes!! But where?” “Okay. Well we still have time to plan this out. She hasn’t even given an answer to her boss yet, so we have at least a week.” stated Mia, and she was right. We were getting ahead of ourselves.

I waved them goodbye as I turned down my street, lost in thought again. Where is he? What could he be doing right now? Does he even have time in his busy life to spare me a thought? Probably not. It’s crazy. You get too attached too fast Evelyn, I tell myself, he’s probably way to busy right now to even miss you. But I’ve never felt like this before. Was I really getting ahead of myself? I shake the thought away as I approach my apartment building. It’s been quite a day. I check my phone again as I make my way up the stairs. Nothing. He hasn’t texted me since this morning. I reach my floor and make my way down the hall to my door, tiredness finally hitting me. Once I reach my door I’m way to tired to notice the bouquet of sunflowers at my door. Am I seeing things? I shake my head. No, it’s real, they are still there. I open my door and carry the bouquet inside. There’s a card attached to it.

“I know how much you like surprises. It’s not much, but I promise I’ll be home soon. I miss you. -SeokJin”

I can feel a huge smile on my face.

“I miss you.” But we’re just friends right? I mean we’ve been on one double date with Mia and Tae, but he never officially asked me.

“He misses me.” I whisper to myself. My phone then rings, I was too caught up in the moment to even pay attention to who was calling.

“Hello”

“Did you get them?” As soon as I hear his voice my heart starts to race even faster and I can feel the smile on my face get a tad bit bigger.

“Yes. They’re beautiful.”

“Good. I was afraid they weren’t gonna get there in time.”

“How did you know when I was getting home?”

“Mia.”

“What?! She was in on this?!”

“Yes. And Josie too.”

“What?! Those turds!” He laughs, knowing he accomplished something once again.

“Thank you. But why sunflowers?”

“Because, I saw them and thought of you. Your the sunshine that brightens up my days, my sunflower.”

I can feel myself start blushing.

“I made you blush didn’t I?”

“What? No. No. You didn’t.”

“Yes I did. I can hear it.”

“What!! Sure whatever Jin.”

“You got quiet, therefore you blushed.” He was right.

“When will you be home?”

“Mmm from the looks of it sometime towards the end of next week we’ll have a few days off. Maybe they’ll let us fly home for those few days.”

“That’s good.”

“Evelyn.”

“SeokJin”

“I miss you.”

Why did that catch me off guard?

“I miss you too” I respond after a few seconds.

“I promise I’ll be home soon. I have to go. Hoseok is glaring at me since we need to be practicing. I’ll call or text you as soon as I can.”

“Okay. Tell everyone I said hi and that I miss them too!”

“I will. Bye Ev.”

“Bye Jin.”

The phone clicks. It was only a few short minutes but hearing his voice always gets me through anything. He truly is a gift.

“I hate you.” I tell Josie the next morning as she hands me coffee at the bus stop.

“What?! Why?! What did I do?!”

“Last night! You couldn’t tell me it was Jin you were texting?! ‘Oh it’s my mom.’ is what you said when I asked!”

She laughs in amusement.

“So you got the flowers?” She finally says.

“Yes. I did.”

“And? Did you like?”

“I loved them. Then he calls me right after I’m done reading the card.”

“There was a card?! He didn’t tell me that! What’d it say?!”

“Oh look! Our bus is here.”

“What?! No! Ev! Tell me!!!”

“It was short and sweet. I’ll leave it at that.”

“Ugh fine!” She protests as we take our seats.

“So this whole thing with Chrisie, you think she’ll take it?” I ask before I sip my coffee again, changing the subject.

“I hope so. I mean I don’t want her to go but it’s for the best of her career. She’s one of the best, if not the best, graphic designer in her team. I did some research last night and the one in New York is the best.”

New York. That place, so familiar yet so distant.

“Yeah. True.” My tone changes.

The thought of New York triggered memories and feelings I’ve been trying to forget for about two years now.

“Oh crap. I’m sorry.” said Josie, realizing what just happened.

“No it’s fine. I’m over it.” I smile, reassuring her.

“Sure you are.” She said, seeing right through me as the bus reached a halt at our stop.

“Maya wants to throw a party for her once everything gets finalized and what not.”

“That would be great!! Who’s all invited?”

“For now just us 6, and well Chrisie, the guest of honor.”

“Yeah. Well I’ll help y’all plan once it gets closer to time. For now we gotta focus.”

“Focus on what?”

“Life! And work.”

“Ah yes.. work. When’s boss lady coming back from her vacation? Kinda miss that goof.”

“Soon! I hope. I’m stuck with the stuck up supervisor she left in charge. He’s a true pain in the butt. If it weren’t for you, Ev, I would of probably already quit this job.”

“Yeah, I kinda thought it’d be more chill working at this casting agency. I mean it’s better than being a waitress.”

“True that. Well, we’re here. Pray for me. Meet up for lunch?”

“As always. Don’t die till then.”

“No promises!”

I watch as she makes her way down the hall to the small set of stairs that lead up to the main offices. She’s gorgeous. Of course I can never say that to her face or she’d slap me. I wonder if she knows Yoongi is growing fond of her? Hmm who knows. I quickly make my way to my office cubicle where paperwork is already waiting on me. I wanted to work in the performing arts division, but I’m stuck putting files and applications into computers for now. We all gotta start somewhere right? I’ve had this job for about 6 months now, and when I got hired Josie told me there’s always a chance I can move up. She’s been working here since we met, she’s the reason I got this job. She started out doing the same thing I am and now she’s part of the costume design department. You should see the stuff she comes up with. She’s a gifted one, that chick.

“Evelyn. Meet Layla. It’s her first day and you’ll be training her.”

Its my supervisor, Chae. I swear she has some sort of vendetta against me because she gives me the most paperwork out of the office and now she wants me to train the new employee on top of that? Chae’s okay most of the time, but sometimes I think she doesn’t like me.

“Layla meet Evelyn. She’ll be training you on paperwork and filling as well as office education and behavior.” She looks at me with a deceiving look waiting for my reaction. I don’t fall for it.

“Hi! It’s great to meet you! I’m more than happy to help.” I smile, halfway exaggerating so Chae can notice she had no effect on me.

“Great. Well. I’ll leave y’all two at it. Evelyn don’t forget to report to me at the end of your shift. Also I’ll be expecting those files I wanted by the end of the week for review. Toodles.”

There she goes again, walking like she owns the place and feeling great about herself cause she loaded me with work again.

“I see you’ve met Chae, our supervisor. Don’t let her get to you. You’ll learn to deal with her over time.”

“Oh she’s been nice! I mean she’s said a few things but she seems cool.”

“Oh. That’s just cause it’s your first day. Just wait. Once she notices you can do something correctly she’ll start showing her true colors.”

Things got awkward for a second. I don’t do well with new people.

“Has she assigned you a cubicle?”

“No mam. She said you’d take care of that.”

“Why is that not surprising? And please. Don’t call me mam. Just Evelyn.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I can feel there’s a bit of awkwardness starting to hit.

“Hey. Layla, right? Relax. I’ll make sure you have the best time while learning everything. It’s hard at first but im pretty sure you’ll catch on quick.”

She smirks holding her head down trying to avoid eye contact. I act as if I didn’t notice and continue,

“If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask me.”

I smile at her to make her less nervous and try and relax her a bit. Why do I have a feeling this may go beyond work related interaction?

I meet up with Josie at the lounge for lunch anticipating what story she has for me today.

“So you’ll never guess what happened?!”

“What?”

“Ole dude is a creep! I swear! I was taking measurements to this new girl for wardrobe purposes and Mr. Know-it-and-do-it-all just barges into my peaceful room! This lady is practically naked and he doesn’t have the decency to knock?!”

“Oh my. We really need boss lady to get back. Sounds like your about to kill this man.”

“Yeah. And you don’t have to deal with him as much as I do. So I heard there’s a new lady in your department?”

“Mmm yes. Her name is Layla. She seems pretty cool. She’s sweet. And guess what?”

“What?”

“I’m in charge of training her, on top of doing most the paper work and filing and what not!”

“Oooohhh! Chae! She better not cross me or I swear I’m going to make her wish she was never born. I may lose my job in the process too, but who cares! She can’t do this to you!”

Every time I bring my supervisor up in conversation Josie gets triggered, mainly cause she had to deal with her when she started.

“Have you talked to the guys today?” I asked between bites, trying to change the subject so she doesn’t get too fired up.

“Yeah. Yoongi and Hobi texted me a few times this morning. They seem to be very busy. You? Heard any news?”

“This morning Jin texted me a few before we both got busy. Nothing new really, just that they may possibly be home by the end of next week.”

“That’s great! Maybe we should meet up? Wait. Never mind. They need to rest.”

“I’m sure Yoongi won’t mind having you around.” I say under my breath before I take a quick bite.

“What did you say?”

“Who me? Nothing. I’m eating. My mouth is full. I can’t talk.”

She stares at me with the usual ‘I’m gonna kill you’ stare she gives me when situations like this occur. I try not to laugh.

Lunch hour is about over and we both have loads of work to catch up on. We exchange waves and start heading our separate ways. My phone goes off, and just like clockwork I see “Jin” on my screen. I unlock my phone only to reveal a semi long, thought out paragraph from him. That text message right after lunch is what gets me through the end of my day. Funny how that night back in June brought us closer. A lot has changed between us since then. Good change. I smile. I can feel my face turning red. He’s done it again. Made my heart race. I immediately tell myself to stop. He’s been good at that lately, making my heart race, but I still haven’t worked up the courage to tell him the truth, my truth. My secrets. The actual reality I’ve tried to hide from everyone all these years. “Can’t wait to get home and see you. I promise it won’t be long. Text me when you get off. Have a blessed rest of the day.” I can’t help but feel two different ways reading that last part. Promise. Every promise he’s ever made me he keeps, and yet, I still find it hard to believe that word, especially coming from him. Why, you may wonder? Because the only other guys I’ve opened up to like this have promised me things and never came through with them. One of the main reasons I decided do leave and come here. But I don’t want to hurt him, in fact that’s the last thing I want. I shake these thoughts away as soon as I reach the office door. Layla is waiting for me. Her back is turned towards the door but I notice something as soon as I approach her. I see a familiar face on the cover of her laptop. No way! I knew something told me we’d be good friends!

[marcusfischer]

Straumann, Corona and me….time for a change

TL;DR? I left Straumann: Open for a new challenge and here is my farewell message:

Bye-Bye #ChangeMakers: Straumann, Corona and me….change is evident.

Last week I experienced #Corona from a new perspective:

Based on some estimations on coming market development in dentistry, my employer decided to cut something around 10% of the jobs, more or less 660 people in all departments. And as every department also #HR was affected. This is where I came in: I was informed that my role was also part of the lay-offs. Sad but true.

So here is the news: I am back on the market. Looking for my #nextchallenge in #TalentAcquisition, #Recruiting, #EmployerBranding, #HRTechnology.

I am thankful and proud when I look back at my time at #Straumann. We achieved many good things:

When I started at the end of 2016 we were 3.200 colleagues – nearly 8.000 colleagues worked for the company in 2020 before the Virus stopped the growth. More than doubling the size in 3.5 years – quite a challenge. The majority of them were hired, not acquired…and some of these hirings will have their place in my #recruiter memories and heart forever. So many bright and smart people.

Building up a globally-used state-of-the-art and integrated recruiting infrastructure including #ActiveSourcing, #ATS, #VideoOnDemand, #OnlineAssessments, and some more cool tools – the best set I ever built (and I did this a couple of times…)

Increased the number of incoming applications on an average of 40% p.a. -> the company was recognized as an employer-of-choice and showed up in the popular rankings for the first time.

Developed the #ChangeMakers Employer Branding with very limited resources which is used today for many other things in the Group;-)

Started #SocialMedia activities of @straumannjobs with successful accounts on #Twitter, #Facebook, #Instagram, #Pinterest, and more. Unfortunately, I could not bring it to the level I wanted it to be.

I had the good fortune to lead the Groups International #GraduateProgram and accompany many unique talents in their early career and to support them as a coach and mentor.

Contact with thousands of inspiring and talented people who love to be part of Straumann Group.

Worked together with exceptional HR colleagues all over the globe, supported, trained, and developed Recruiting and Employer Branding in China, India, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Singapore, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the US, and many other countries.

This is more than I expected when I started. However, I will miss painfully some of my peers, partners, and other people in Dentistry. And this includes also many who left before I did. It was an honor and experience to work with them.

Beside my Straumann role, I founded with my gifted friend and Employer Branding Maniac Martin Maas a small side project, which was born at the Vienna HR BarCamp and we call it Time4Hires (www.time4hires.com) and if you need some advice on your employer branding and TA activities – we are happy to help. ;-)

I leave without anger and want to thank every one of you for your support and service, for the good vibes and the fun. For trust and friendship. Keep going, folks, as I will. Straumann will hopefully return fast to old strength and growth again and then continue to invest in Employer Branding and TA because it´s an important function for every company.

As you know, I am a huge fan of #SharingICaring: if you stumble across something that might be interesting for me be nice and drop me a line. I don´t exclude anything because now it´s a unique chance to explore anything – and I will make use of that. It´s highly appreciated!

Let´s stay connected. #StandUp, #Engage, #TakeCare of yourself, and #StayHealthy! See you!

[mtmeventsplanner]

7 Best Ways to Conclude a Corporate Party

Say you want to host a corporate event in Singapore. Note that hosting an awesome corporate party is similar to going out for a movie. Even if it starts off with a bang and everyone seemingly has a good time, the ending still has to be perfect in order for it to be considered it a hit. So make sure to conclude everything properly, it’s a corporate party after all.

Here are some of the things you can do when the final stages of a corporate event draw closer-

1. Don’t drag it into the ground: Back again to the example of a movie, it won’t be an appealing spectacle if the ending fight scene drags on for 55 minutes. The thesis holds true here as well.

The best corporate events are the ones that serve their purpose, get colleagues to come together and know each other better, offer everyone a good time and that’s all.

2. A parting gift suitable of corporate personnel: Parting gifts serve as memorabilia to your guests and remind them how awesome the event was. But for a corporate event, the number of choices decline on what you can also give, so do that smartly. Having said that, simple things like business card holders or a box of chocolates serve the purpose just fine.

3. End your corporate event with an award ceremony: Award Ceremonies are the essential ingredients of any office event. You get to show appreciation towards your office workers and doing so at the very end of the event gifts them a lasting memory.

It’s quite a natural thing that people remember the bits of an event’s kick-off and conclusion, so an award ceremony makes sure everyone rates the event highly.

4. A Slideshow: So after an award ceremony say you rightfully want to show appreciation towards the corporate people and the whole working staff, simply gather them all at one place, that is within a slideshow. This is perhaps one of the best ways to conclude any corporate event that makes sure every attendee feels like a part of the group, and leave with happy memories.

5. Dessert treat: A formal party event needs a dessert treat, trust me. And dessert is something you should always serve in the end. Never leave a sour taste in the mouths of the corporate personnel, rather have it something sweet.

This has all to do with how the human brain functions as well, and you don’t have to be a scientist to know a chocolate covered strawberry (personal pick) tastes like heaven and make the event a success.

6. Collective Photo Booth sessions: Just like how a photo session with all your mates is the most memorable part of your college farewell party, the same feeling of harmony and joy is generated within you and your colleagues following a photo booth session at the conclusion of a corporate party. No simpler way to put it, this is just a feel-good process.

7. Conclude with the corporate CEO or an influencer/ tycoon speak: I know, not the most eye-catching way to end for many. If you feel this is a recipe for boredom though, think that’s not really the case. Office personnel will want to listen to a business tycoon or an influencer because they want to have that feeling, the feeling of being in their shoes. These types of people have the power to engage the audience and offer invaluable tips to get everyone to leave motivated.

If still not convinced with the idea, have an awesome emcee close it out with the enthusiasm and charisma worthy of a successful corporate event.

Are you looking for a splendid party event planner in Singapore? We at MTM Events pride ourselves in offering the best services for all events ranging from Exhibitions, Conferences, Roadshows, Gala Dinners, Award Ceremonies, Product Launches and more.

[soyevidence-me-blog]

My Reality: Chapter 2

August 20, year 25

We’re all emotional. It’s our last dinner party as 7 and towards the end of the night we can’t hold back our tears. Everyone is in tears, especially me since I’m the most emotional one out of the group. Chrisie was offered an amazing intern position over seas, and we of course told her to take it. Kat had gone with her a few weeks back to help her find an apartment. Because it was on the other side of the world, she managed to get things done and finalized over email. I remembered when she first gave us the news, she called us all up to our favorite cafe by the park and after a few minutes of conversation she broke the news.

“You all know I love you right?” She started, her voice starting to shake. We all nodded, not knowing what was coming after.

“I’ve been working really hard since I graduated and my boss seems to really enjoy my work. She called me to her office earlier this week to let me know she was proud of how far I’ve come in these last few months. She put in a good word for me and sent some of my work out to some of her colleagues, and well, I got offered a great internship, several actually, but this one company in New York wants me to start ASAP. I haven’t made the decision yet but I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“LET ANYONE DOWN?! Chrisie no! That’s great news!”

The cafe erupted with noise for a few seconds.

“What do you mean let anyone down? You’ve been working extremely hard for this. You’re the best graphic designer I know! Remember the poster you did for our small production we made for the guys? It. Was. Beautiful.” stated Maya.

Why was Chrisie thinking she was going to let anyone down? Did I want her to go? Not at all.

“Why do you think you’re gonna let us down?” I asked.

“Because we had so many plans. I’ve already grown extremely close to all of you, I don’t want all the plans we’ve made to be ruined because I take this internship.”

“No no! Why would they be ruined? Because you are going to fulfill and work on your dream? You’re crazy!” Exclaimed Kat.

“Do we want you to go? No. But who are we to keep you from your dream and achieving greater things? That would just be selfish of us.” I continued.

“What are your options? Maybe we could work something out if they are close enough.” said Mia.

“Well there’s several companies. There’s one in London, one in Manchester, two in Singapore, one it Italy, one in Australia, one in Mexico, two in South America and three in America that really want me.”

“Oh wow! She must have really praised you and sent out the best of your work!” exclaimed Josie in amazement.

“Which one do you want to take?” Asked Mia

“Well, the one closest to y’all but..”

“But... what?”

“The best ones, the ones my boss recommended, are the one in New York and Los Angeles and honestly, I’d be a fool not to take either of those.”

“Then take them! Both of them! Take them all!!” I exclaimed shortly before Josie lightly smacked my leg to tell me to calm down.

“I’d be 17 to 14 hours behind y’all though. With bearly any time to come visit.” You Can tell she was torn by the tone of her voice. She wanted to take it but she didn’t want to leave us behind.

“There’s always FaceTime or video call. And well, we have social media to stay in touch.” stated Bella.

I could tell her voice was breaking but she was trying to hide it. She’s better at it than me. Something I’ve always admired of her. No matter how bad the situation, her and Mia would be the strongest pillars to hold us all up.

“She wants an answer by next Friday. So I have about a week to decide.” said Chrisie after a moment of silence.

“Well, just view your options and take the best one. See who is gonna give you better benefits and who is actually gonna help you out and treat you better. Research them too, don’t just take people’s word.” said Mia with that knowledgeable tone she gets when she’s trying to give us good advice. It’s getting late, and we all have responsibilities to attend to the next day so we all decided to end the night. With a semi heavy heart we all gave Chrisie a hug and started heading our separate ways. Mia, Maya, and Bella walked with me since we all lived in the same direction.

“We should throw a party!” shouted Maya out of no where. I jumped. She startled me since I was lost in thought as we were making our way through the park. All four of us busted out laughing because of my reaction.

“Are you okay?” asked Mia still laughing at me.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I just spaced out.”

“Apparently! Cause you jumped hard!”

“What kind of party you want to throw, Maya?” I asked when we finally recovered from my little episode.

“A farewell party! And we should invite everyone! And just give her the best time ever!”

“By everyone, you mean the guys too right?”

“Yes! And their mommas!”

We all looked at Maya.

“Okay , maybe not their mommas. We don’t even know them. Well, not in person at least.”

“I don’t know about them darlin, last time I talked with Jin he said they were about to get really busy. Remember last time we all hung out they shared with us their schedule and how we wouldn’t be able to hang out for a while?”

“Yeah, last time we all did anything together was like two weeks ago.” added Bella.

“True. True. Well maybe all six of us can do something for Chrisie. Something more intimate where it’s just the seven of us.” said Maya as she started to get lost in thought trying to figure out what to do.

“Hmmm. How about a dinner party? Just the seven of us? That’s intimate right?” suggested Bella.

“Oohh yes!! But where?”

“Okay. Well we still have time to plan this out. She hasn’t even given an answer to her boss yet, so we have at least a week.” stated Mia, and she was right. We were getting ahead of ourselves.

I waved them goodbye as I turned down my street, lost in thought again. Where is he? What could he be doing right now? Does he even have time in his busy life to spare me a thought? Probably not. It’s crazy. You get too attached too fast Evelyn, I tell myself, he’s probably way to busy right now to even miss you. But I’ve never felt like this before. Was I really getting ahead of myself? I shake the thought away as I approach my apartment building. It’s been quite a day. I check my phone again as I make my way up the stairs. Nothing. He hasn’t texted me since this morning. I reach my floor and make my way down the hall to my door, tiredness finally hitting me. Once I reach my door I’m way to tired to notice the bouquet of sunflowers at my door. Am I seeing things? I shake my head. No, it’s real, they are still there. I open my door and carry the bouquet inside. There’s a card attached to it.

“I know how much you like surprises. It’s not much, but I promise I’ll be home soon. I miss you. -SeokJin”

I can feel a huge smile on my face.

“I miss you.” But we’re just friends right? I mean we’ve been on one double date with Mia and Tae, but he never officially asked me.

“He misses me.” I whisper to myself. My phone then rings, I was too caught up in the moment to even pay attention to who was calling.

“Hello”

“Did you get them?” As soon as I hear his voice my heart starts to race even faster and I can feel the smile on my face get a tad bit bigger.

“Yes. They’re beautiful.”

“Good. I was afraid they weren’t gonna get there in time.”

“How did you know when I was getting home?”

“Mia.”

“What?! She was in on this?!”

“Yes. And Josie too.”

“What?! Those turds!” He laughs, knowing he accomplished something once again.

“Thank you. But why sunflowers?”

“Because, I saw them and thought of you. Your the sunshine that brightens up my days, my sunflower.”

I can feel myself start blushing.

“I made you blush didn’t I?”

“What? No. No. You didn’t.”

“Yes I did. I can hear it.”

“What!! Sure whatever Jin.”

“You got quiet, therefore you blushed.” He was right.

“When will you be home?”

“Mmm from the looks of it sometime towards the end of next week we’ll have a few days off. Maybe they’ll let us fly home for those few days.”

“That’s good.”

“Evelyn.”

“SeokJin”

“I miss you.”

Why did that catch me off guard?

“I miss you too” I respond after a few seconds.

“I promise I’ll be home soon. I have to go. Hoseok is glaring at me since we need to be practicing. I’ll call or text you as soon as I can.”

“Okay. Tell everyone I said hi and that I miss them too!”

“I will. Bye Ev.”

“Bye Jin.”

The phone clicks. It was only a few short minutes but hearing his voice always gets me through anything. He truly is a gift.

“I hate you.” I tell Josie the next morning as she hands me coffee at the bus stop.

“What?! Why?! What did I do?!”

“Last night! You couldn’t tell me it was Jin you were texting?! ‘Oh it’s my mom.’ is what you said when I asked!”

She laughs in amusement.

“So you got the flowers?” She finally says.

“Yes. I did.”

“And? Did you like?”

“I loved them. Then he calls me right after I’m done reading the card.”

“There was a card?! He didn’t tell me that! What’d it say?!”

“Oh look! Our bus is here.”

“What?! No! Ev! Tell me!!!”

“It was short and sweet. I’ll leave it at that.”

“Ugh fine!” She protests as we take our seats.

“So this whole thing with Chrisie, you think she’ll take it?” I ask before I sip my coffee again, changing the subject.

“I hope so. I mean I don’t want her to go but it’s for the best of her career. She’s one of the best, if not the best, graphic designer in her team. I did some research last night and the one in New York is the best.”

New York. That place, so familiar yet so distant.

“Yeah. True.” My tone changes.

The thought of New York triggered memories and feelings I’ve been trying to forget for about two years now.

“Oh crap. I’m sorry.” said Josie, realizing what just happened.

“No it’s fine. I’m over it.” I smile, reassuring her.

“Sure you are.” She said, seeing right through me as the bus reached a halt at our stop.

“Maya wants to throw a party for her once everything gets finalized and what not.”

“That would be great!! Who’s all invited?”

“For now just us 6, and well Chrisie, the guest of honor.”

“Yeah. Well I’ll help y’all plan once it gets closer to time. For now we gotta focus.”

“Focus on what?”

“Life! And work.”

“Ah yes.. work. When’s boss lady coming back from her vacation? Kinda miss that goof.”

“Soon! I hope. I’m stuck with the stuck up supervisor she left in charge. He’s a true pain in the butt. If it weren’t for you, Ev, I would of probably already quit this job.”

“Yeah, I kinda thought it’d be more chill working at this casting agency. I mean it’s better than being a waitress.”

“True that. Well, we’re here. Pray for me. Meet up for lunch?”

“As always. Don’t die till then.”

“No promises!”

I watch as she makes her way down the hall to the small set of stairs that lead up to the main offices. She’s gorgeous. Of course I can never say that to her face or she’d slap me. I wonder if she knows Yoongi is growing fond of her? Hmm who knows. I quickly make my way to my office cubicle where paperwork is already waiting on me. I wanted to work in the performing arts division, but I’m stuck putting files and applications into computers for now. We all gotta start somewhere right? I’ve had this job for about 6 months now, and when I got hired Josie told me there’s always a chance I can move up. She’s been working here since we met, she’s the reason I got this job. She started out doing the same thing I am and now she’s part of the costume design department. You should see the stuff she comes up with. She’s a gifted one, that chick.

“Evelyn. Meet Layla. It’s her first day and you’ll be training her.”

Its my supervisor, Chae. I swear she has some sort of vendetta against me because she gives me the most paperwork out of the office and now she wants me to train the new employee on top of that? Chae’s okay most of the time, but sometimes I think she doesn’t like me.

“Layla meet Evelyn. She’ll be training you on paperwork and filling as well as office education and behavior.” She looks at me with a deceiving look waiting for my reaction. I don’t fall for it.

“Hi! It’s great to meet you! I’m more than happy to help.” I smile, halfway exaggerating so Chae can notice she had no effect on me.

“Great. Well. I’ll leave y’all two at it. Evelyn don’t forget to report to me at the end of your shift. Also I’ll be expecting those files I wanted by the end of the week for review. Toodles.”

There she goes again, walking like she owns the place and feeling great about herself cause she loaded me with work again.

“I see you’ve met Chae, our supervisor. Don’t let her get to you. You’ll learn to deal with her over time.”

“Oh she’s been nice! I mean she’s said a few things but she seems cool.”

“Oh. That’s just cause it’s your first day. Just wait. Once she notices you can do something correctly she’ll start showing her true colors.”

Things got awkward for a second. I don’t do well with new people.

“Has she assigned you a cubicle?”

“No mam. She said you’d take care of that.”

“Why is that not surprising? And please. Don’t call me mam. Just Evelyn.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I can feel there’s a bit of awkwardness starting to hit.

“Hey. Layla, right? Relax. I’ll make sure you have the best time while learning everything. It’s hard at first but im pretty sure you’ll catch on quick.”

She smirks holding her head down trying to avoid eye contact. I act as if I didn’t notice and continue,

“If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask me.”

I smile at her to make her less nervous and try and relax her a bit. Why do I have a feeling this may go beyond work related interaction?

I meet up with Josie at the lounge for lunch anticipating what story she has for me today.

“So you’ll never guess what happened?!”

“What?”

“Ole dude is a creep! I swear! I was taking measurements to this new girl for wardrobe purposes and Mr. Know-it-and-do-it-all just barges into my peaceful room! This lady is practically naked and he doesn’t have the decency to knock?!”

“Oh my. We really need boss lady to get back. Sounds like your about to kill this man.”

“Yeah. And you don’t have to deal with him as much as I do. So I heard there’s a new lady in your department?”

“Mmm yes. Her name is Layla. She seems pretty cool. She’s sweet. And guess what?”

“What?”

“I’m in charge of training her, on top of doing most the paper work and filing and what not!”

“Oooohhh! Chae! She better not cross me or I swear I’m going to make her wish she was never born. I may lose my job in the process too, but who cares! She can’t do this to you!”

Every time I bring my supervisor up in conversation Josie gets triggered, mainly cause she had to deal with her when she started.

“Have you talked to the guys today?” I asked between bites, trying to change the subject so she doesn’t get too fired up.

“Yeah. Yoongi and Hobi texted me a few times this morning. They seem to be very busy. You? Heard any news?”

“This morning Jin texted me a few before we both got busy. Nothing new really, just that they may possibly be home by the end of next week.”

“That’s great! Maybe we should meet up? Wait. Never mind. They need to rest.”

“I’m sure Yoongi won’t mind having you around.” I say under my breath before I take a quick bite.

“What did you say?”

“Who me? Nothing. I’m eating. My mouth is full. I can’t talk.”

She stares at me with the usual ‘I’m gonna kill you’ stare she gives me when situations like this occur. I try not to laugh.

Lunch hour is about over and we both have loads of work to catch up on. We exchange waves and start heading our separate ways. My phone goes off, and just like clockwork I see “Jin” on my screen. I unlock my phone only to reveal a semi long, thought out paragraph from him. That text message right after lunch is what gets me through the end of my day. Funny how that night back in June brought us closer. A lot has changed between us since then. Good change. I smile. I can feel my face turning red. He’s done it again. Made my heart race. I immediately tell myself to stop. He’s been good at that lately, making my heart race, but I still haven’t worked up the courage to tell him the truth, my truth. My secrets. The actual reality I’ve tried to hide from everyone all these years.

“Can’t wait to get home and see you. I promise it won’t be long. Text me when you get off. Have a blessed rest of the day.”

I can’t help but feel two different ways reading that last part. Promise. Every promise he’s ever made me he keeps, and yet, I still find it hard to believe that word, especially coming from him. Why, you may wonder? Because the only other guys I’ve opened up to like this have promised me things and never came through with them. One of the main reasons I decided do leave and come here. But I don’t want to hurt him, in fact that’s the last thing I want. I shake these thoughts away as soon as I reach the office door. Layla is waiting for me. Her back is turned towards the door but I notice something as soon as I approach her. I see a familiar face on the cover of her laptop. No way! I knew something told me we’d be good friends!

[terenceonfocus]

Customised Wooden Alphas

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I haven’t been updating– was busy with helping out my friend’s new shop at a boutique fair over the weekend.

I did this quite a while back when Typo came to Singapore. I was always walking into the store hoping to find something I like but funny enough, I usually walk away empty handed even though they have the most quirky and interesting stationery stuff I’ve seen all around.

Their wooden alphas are always so popular these days where people usually get them to spell ‘HOME’ or their surnames to display at their homes. I thought it would be great to get some of these as farewell gifts for my colleagues and decorate them as Monograms.

Photo from internet

  I did the alphas very differently. Each one made specific to what I thought they are. Perhaps these monograms kind of embodies their looks, personality and likes. Not sure if I got them right. But the letter ‘S’ I did for one of the colleagues was pretty accurate when the others saw it.

Thanks for visiting the blog. Do comment if you have any questions or simply drop a note when you are here!

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[happygreenpanda]

What is the gratitude list of our Europe 2018 trip?

In the beautiful autumn 2018, we endured long hours of multi-leg flights after I spent some $ for the airfare of Little Prince for us to have a memorable Europe 2018 trip.

Herein is our gratitude list:

The first autumn experience of Little Prince!

Just few minutes after we boarded bus X9 from the Tegel Airport, while I struggled with 3 luggage and 1 backpack, he was in awe appreciating the autumn colors along the X9 route! At that moment, I knew that my efforts to realize this Europe 2019 trip was worth it!

He asked me what my favorite seasons are. I replied him in descending order of preference: autumn, spring, winter, summer.

What’s next? After a spring in Barcelona, summers in Abu Dhabi, and an autumn in Germany, we hope that he could experience a snowy winter.

Deustches Technikmuseum

Little Prince and I were joyful to see so many airplanes, ships, and trains.

Little Prince enjoyed his first walk on the railway track and most importantly it’s done in a safe environment as we didn’t have to worry about any train coming.

He insisted that I walked with him, holding hands. Hopefully, he would grow up into a charming and loving gentleman.

The walk under the warming late afternoon sun of a beautiful autumn did neutralize my negative impression on the train track left by the movie The Photograph (2007).

Madhouse at Spektrum.

Berlin Zoo

It’s the first time for both Little Prince and I to visit a zoo in an autumn. The animals were surrounded by the glorious autumn colors!

Berlin Zoo appeared to me to be smaller than Singapore Zoo but I like it as we didn’t have to walk for too long a distance.

Little Prince’s first horse cart ride.

Little Prince’s first tram ride in Postdam and Berlin, respectively.

Little Prince’s happy boat ride.

His first and sorrowful boat ride was to send the ashes of his maternal grandfather back to the nature in Jakarta, so this happy Berlin boat ride neutralized the colors of his childhood memory on boats.

We almost didn’t make it for a boat ride after 3 attempts:

20181016: Instead of arriving at the Spree River side, the direction given by the hotel reception led us to Tiergarten Park! However, it was a pleasant late afternoon walk there (near Hiroshimastraße) for us.

20181017: After we woke up very early for an admission to the Bundestag and visiting it, we walked to the . At the bank, we saw how the boat just left. However, the unfriendly staff deterred me from returning there an hour later. I decided to bring Little Prince to Deustches Tecnimuseum (he referred it as his most favorite place in Berlin) and later went to my meting that started at 4 pm.

20181019: I didn’t realize that the batteries of my watch had to be replaced, I thought we were on time but we again saw the boat left as we ran down staircases shouting “Wait! Wait!” At that time, Little Prince cried. However, through asking (the right question), I found the next door MS Franziska by Reederei D. Hadynski that was departing in 15 minutes and the boat fare is cheaper than other companies! With Berlin Welcome card, it costed me only EUR 10 (other companies quoted EUR 12 or more).

*Otherwise, we had to give the boat ride in Berlin a miss as I had to return to my meeting place and my meeting schedule for the next day was from 8am until 11pm!

I really appreciated the kind guide for her funny and caring personality.

She offered help in taking photos for rows of guests

She asked if Little Prince was cold.

She is an inspiration for me to deliver better customer service.

From the boat, we appreciated …

the visit to and the view from Bundestag.

I made a total of 3 bookings after my first booking for 20181016 was cancelled.

I didn’t manage to visit the dome in the Summer 2015 while walking with a lovely Iranian American lady.

We succeeded to visit Bundestag after waking up very early on 20181017 after landing on 20181016.

Postdam

Since we put so much resources ($, attention) to visit a far away destination, I would always love visiting a place where I’ve never been before and if possible, where I could find UNESCO site(s)!

Our main destination was the Schloss Sanssouci, which was the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.

It’s also the first palace that Little Prince visited.

I pray that he would have chances to visit more palaces given that he has only lived 5 years plus on our mother earth.

After trip, at the night of 20181023, when he saw the page on the Palace of Versailles in the Encyclopedia entitled A Child’s First Library of Learning: Famous Places, he would exclaimed Sanssouci!

I like the name Sans Souci, meaning “without worries” or “carefree”.

With grit and the kind helps of people in Postdam, we managed to visit Schloss Cecilienhof.

When Little Prince saw a video of the English Tudor design of the Cecilienhof Palace before trip, he told me that he wanted to visit it!

We visited the hall where the Postdam Conference 1945 was held between the heads of government of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Now, I could add Postdam to my map.

opportunities to thank the pilots who flew us safely and visit them at the cockpit.

An air stewardess of Brussels Airlines kindly invited us to visit the cockpit without us asking. Normally, I have to ask with a thick face.

chocolates

We got to sample a Godiva chocolate at Brussels Airport. Of course, we bought some chocolates and almond biscuits too, before reluctantly leaving the shop in a rush to grab our breakfast at the lounge before departure.

I like the pain au chocolat that was served at the Brussels Airlines lounge.

gifts & toys

On 20181020, I suggested Little Prince to give parts (as he used the panda bag) of his Etihad toys to a new colleague who left her 2.5 years old child in South Africa to come to the meeting.

Due to a sense of ownership, he was initially not very keen but agreed to the idea after I told him that he would get the same one on his return flight on 20181021.

On 20181021, he got an Etihad bag and asked for another one for his sisters. The kind air stewardess, with spectacles, from Milan gave us not only 2 but 4 bags + 2 pencil cases! Little Prince immediately thought of his 2 cousins in Melbourne, whom he wanted to give the 2 extra bags to. 小王子, 你是一个好大哥!

This experience also reminds us that when we cheerfully give, we will get more.

The Smurfs coloring books + 2×5 color pencils from Brussels Airlines. I like how the Smurfs are collaborative and believe that one has something he or she is good at.

a story book about polar bears (in German) from McDonald’s Happy Meal; it has the salad and apple wedges options which are lacking in Abu Dhabi

 movies

Leave No Trace

This is a story about a father (Will) and his daughter (Tom).

Due to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Will feels oppressed by others’ presence.

Will taught Tom how to read well, in spite of living in the forest, away from social interactions with others.

“The same thing that’s wrong with you isn’t wrong with me,” Tom’s farewell to her father as he walked to the wood for a life of total isolation.

Like Tom does, let’s keep a journal, a positive one, by writing & drawing our experience.

I feel pretty

I watched this partially as I found it as not as interesting as I expected it to be.

The Leakers

I watched this partially as the entertainment was shut down > 45 minutes before landing.

robot

…

***

  from What is the gratitude list of our Europe 2018 trip?

[cgxsg-blog]

December 4-7 2017 [Week 30 Part I]

It’s with a mixture of emotions that I type this entry. Currently I’m on my flight to Xi’an to end off this whole experience. After 30 weeks of residing in Singapore, I finally departed Singapore soil at 5pm this afternoon on Thursday December 7.

Click ‘Text’ to read the rest of the post!

Wait, rewind. Monday December 4 was my second last day of work but the whole day was a bore without the other interns. After work, I went to Jem and Westgate to run errands but I actually just wanted to buy more Lady M mille crepes. I bought the green tea mille crepe, chocolate mille crepe, and marron cake since they ran out of the marron mille crepe. The chocolate mille crepe was my favourite aside from the original. The green tea mille crepe was delicious but not as much as the chocolate one. The marron cake was delicious for a cake so I could imagine that the mille crepe version would be enjoyable as well.

Tuesday December 5 was my last day of work. Initially I thought I would feel sad, but after the thought that I won’t be doing the daily commute from Woodlands to Buona Vista or seeing a particular person again, I actually felt relieved. On the last day, we had a particularly long and early lab meeting before lunch. After doing my last minute MiSeq run, I rushed off to Holland Village to have lunch and my last açai in Singapore. I ordered eggs benedict with smoked salmon at Hatched, a cafe which specializes in meals with eggs. Nevertheless, I was disappointed. The eggs, hollandaise sauce, salmon, and muffin were bland and tasteless. I didn’t want to waste too much food so I ate most of my meal with ketchup. For dessert, I ordered my favourite - medium original flower bowl at Project Açai.

I literally eat this every single day.

After delivering all the farewell presents and pleasantries to my colleagues, I left the NGSP basement for the last time at 3pm to do my exit clearance paperwork. Everything went along smoothly. Before going home, I went to Bukit Timah to pick up the canvas I ordered as a farewell and thank you gift to my grandparents. At the bus stop, I got bitten by the biggest ants I’ve seen in my life, which resulted in hives on my right arm. Great.

Goodbye NGSP and GIS!!!!

Although I did not have work on Wednesday December 6, I ran errands for a good half of the day. In the morning I went to Jurong East to settle paperwork for my last cheque, then strolled around Jem. I intended to settle all the paperwork for my bank account once I got back to Woodlands, but it turned out that it couldn’t be done due to some reasons. By the time I got back, it was almost time to make dinner. My grandparents and I made vegetarian dumplings together which was one of my favourite pastime and current things to do.

I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this tastes.

Now here we are - Thursday December 7. I spent 7 months, 30 weeks, and 213 days in Singapore. This experience was one of the most memorable and enriching ones I’ve had in my life. I developed an intense appreciation for my family back in Vancouver but also the ones here in Singapore. Not only did they provide to me a place to stay and food to eat, but they also provided a home. Another critical life lesson I learned was to appreciate spending time with myself. Not by myself, but with myself. Many times I went out exploring places and food by myself. Although I will admit that those moments could’ve been more lively with another person, it was a different experience on my own.

I’m thankful for my grandparents and relatives for providing me unconditional love and care, even if my grandma worries about everything. I’m thankful for the friends I made and the experiences we shared. I’m thankful for my family back in Vancouver for all their endless support. I’m thankful for my understanding boyfriend for going through this long distance relationship again. And finally, I’m thankful for myself for creating these life-changing experiences. The next update will be my adventures in Xi’an.

C.G.

[apexgiftprint]

Customised Laptop Bags and Sleeves Singapore

If you are looking to purchase customised Laptop Sleeves and Bags in small or large quantities, you are at the right place. Enquire now!

[romancatholicreflections]

26th January 2017 (Thursday) >> 'Fan Into A Flame The Gifts That God Gave You' ~ Daily Reflection on Today's Mass Readings for Roman Catholics on the Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus.

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 TIM 1:1-8 OR TIT 1,1-5; PS 95:1-3,7-8,10; LK 10:1-9 ] We all receive gifts from the Lord. Like Timothy, we have been blessed with the gift of faith. For some of us, we receive it as a child; for others as they grew older, through their friends; and for others, it is through a long search for God. But it is not just the gift of faith alone, but the other gifts as well. There is also the gift of vocation, whether it is to the priesthood or marriage or singlehood. Besides one’s state of life, we also receive the gift of vocation in service. Some of us are called to be teachers, doctors or social workers. Regardless, all gifts come from the Lord. The question that is posed to us is, whether we have treasured the gifts we have received and grown them accordingly. It is said that new brooms sweep clean. But what if we have become “old brooms”? This is where the danger lies. The reality is that we begin something with passion and enthusiasm but along the way, we become jaded and lose interest. We start with big dreams and excitement but over the days, the flame fades away and slowly it is extinguished from our life. This is true of marriage. Just think of those courtship days when you were so deeply in love with each other, and always wanting to share your life, joys, woes and struggles with your spouse or your fiancée/fiancé. But now you hardly share with each other and often take each other for granted. No longer do you feel excited or happy to see each other or listen with your heart to each other. Now you have become indifferent, cold and insensitive. Marriage life is just a routine and your spouse has become intimate strangers at most. This was the case with Timothy, the young Bishop of Ephesus. As the bishop, he faced many challenges from within and without. It must have been tough for the young bishop. St Paul would have heard of the difficulties he was going through in uniting the community together. These problems were hinted in his farewell speech to the Ephesians when he wrote, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:29-31) What is important to consider is why does one lose one’s zeal and passion? Firstly, this happens when we meet with opposition to our plans. In marriage life, love is lost when our spouse is always negative and critical towards us. They have nothing good to say about us. Instead of affirming and encouraging us, they often take us for granted, picking on our faults and failures. After some time, we do not feel like sharing and talking about our dreams and aspirations anymore because they are wet blankets. They have nothing positive to say and speaking to them makes us more discouraged than ever. Again, what is said of marriage and family is also true in our work place. Instead of working and helping each other to build our dreams, colleagues are often jealous of each other, seeking to tear each other down. When we meet with opposition all the time and people are always wrecking our plans, then we just give up. Secondly, we can become jaded in relationships and in our work because we get used to things and people. We take them for granted. We do not consciously appreciate and value what we have, the work we do and the people around us. This is because we have become demanding. We are too absorbed with ourselves and our needs that we no longer look at the needs of others. Once we become self-centered instead of other-centered, we do not treat them as persons with respect and sensitivity but just as tools to accomplish our tasks. Instead of using our work to serve others, we are basically serving ourselves. Thirdly, if we lack zeal and passion, it could be because we are out of touch with the ground. In the gospel, Jesus urged His apostles to reach out. “Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’”. Only when we live amongst the people, walking with them in their journey, can we begin to understand and feel with them. The real problem is that often we fail to journey with people. We tend to sit on our high chair in our office and make decisions without understanding the struggles of those under our care. Parents are always dictating to their children what they must do without understanding the challenges they are facing. Husbands and wives are not communicating with each other, their needs, their loneliness and anxieties. Zeal will be renewed once again, when we start hearing the stories, their joys, sorrows, struggles, aspirations of our people. Finally, if the flame is dying it is because we have forgotten our dreams, our mottos and our visions. That is why St Paul told Timothy, “Fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control.” We need to be renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Everyone needs to be constantly renewed in his or her vocation. We should not be surprised that our staff does not even know the vision, mission and core values of our organization! At times, the leaders themselves forget their calling and purpose or mission in life. They are so involved in the daily affairs that they forget the big picture and the goal they are working towards. So too for married couples, have they forgotten their dreams in building a loving relationship and family? Thus, to recover that dream and our hopes, we need to constantly go back to our original goal and starting point. This was what St Paul did when he recalled the faith imparted to him and Timothy. He said, “Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers; I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my happiness. Then I am reminded of the sincere faith which you have; it came first to live in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I have no doubt that it is the same faith in you as well.” By being grateful for the faith we have received, we will begin to cherish and relish it. We must not forget our past or the wonderful times we had with our loved ones. We celebrate anniversaries precisely to recall the past and what we hope we will be. It is important that we connect with our past so that we can renew our love, hope and dreams, making them alive again. Gratitude is always the beginning of the process of service. When we are grateful to those who love us and sacrificed for us, we will want to do the same for them and for others. Most of all, to renew our fervor and zeal for our vocation and dreams, we must pray. We think the harvest depends on what we do. But Jesus made it clear. We cannot depend on ourselves. He said, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” He did not simply ask us to work but to pray. All vocations must come from prayer. Career comes from our desire or ambition to do something. But vocation springs from what is within us, something that comes from the depths of our heart. Only when we begin to pray, would we then never lose focus and courage to persevere. St Paul wrote, “So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy.” When we pray, we will never lose hope or get discouraged because we know that the battle belongs to God, not to us. Our task is simply to cooperate with Him to the best of our ability. He will send us the necessary help to realize His dream for us and for humanity. “Grace, mercy and peace (comes) from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.” Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart. Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord. It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.