Important Announcement

I've found this new place to pen my thoughts, so i thought i'll trial the place for a while, so until further notice, this blog is not likely to be updated with new content.

I actually have several blogs with varing contents, so you might wanna check them out:

My e-Diary [一日一脚印] (You'll need to be on my MSN contact list to view)
My 'Voice-Box' to express my views on things [ComplaintKing]
My Financial Planning Blog [Cents4Dollars]
My Autobiography [Big Dreams, Small Beginnings] (Not Live yet. Still In the making)

And to the readers who might come by and read my blogs, do leave a comment to let me know you stopped by. That would really keep the posts coming. Cheers!

A tale of twin swimming pools

I’m not really a sucker for superstition, but it’s really too much of a coincidence. Just what is it about me, Orchard Road, and the rain?

 

I hopped onto the MRT at Raffles Place Station earlier this afternoon, and I clearly remember the weather to be pretty fine (although not very sunny). Guess what? Just as I was moving up the escalator at Orchard Station, I could vaguely hear the sound of rain beating down on the roof. Now, I don’t normally alight at Orchard Station, as in move up to the street level directly. Usually, I’d just disappear along Wisma Atria basement corridor, through to Ngee Ann City, and finally emerge from Lucky Plaza across the road. (Yes, I am a routine animal..). Ever since the Wisma Atria basement was closed off, I’ve only been to Orchard Road 3 times. Somehow, it never fails to rain on all 3 occasions. It’s nothing surprising, considering Singapore does have monsoon seasons. But it only takes slightly more than 5 minutes to get from Raffles Place Station to Orchard Station.

 

JUST WHERE DID THE RAIN COME FROM???!!!

 

If I had known it was going to rain, I could have brought an umbrella or something… Now the thing is, my leather shoes are quite water-proof, but not too splash-proof. So by having to run through Orchard Road without an umbrella, it is inevitable that some water does end up inside my shoes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t drain off. SOoo… Poor me… had to spend the entire afternoon walking around with twin swimming pools under my wrinkled feet. (Nearly died from the smell when I took off my socks upon getting home in the evening… XoP) Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny, so that I can dry out the damp insoles.

 

Anyway, since it’s been awhile since I last blogged, so just put in a word or two about something I observed in the MRT train on the way to Changi Airport some time back. I was waiting on the connecting train from Tanah Merah Station. The train had halted at the platform for quite a while. Guess the train operator needs sometime to walk from one end of the train to the other to change the direction of travel. Anyway, there was a food expo on at the nearby Singapore Expo, so I wasn’t particularly surprised when fellow commuters that came in shortly after me smelled like a cocktail of fruits, Milo, fried stuff, etc… However, what caught my eye was this young man with incredibly unkempt hair (though I think it would have passed off a some stylish hairdo if the head on which it sits on belongs to Beckham or Takeshi Kaneshiro), came in and sat 2 seats on my right, carrying 2 boxes of what I presumed was burgers. Now, just as the train started moving off in the direction of Changi Airport, this young man started dishing out a burger and started helping himself to his gastronomic delight, right opposite this sign which reads “NO EATING OR DRINKING”. I double checked just in case it read “NO FOOD OR DRINKS”. But yea, I got the message on the sign right. It did read “NO EATING OR DRINKING”. I was about to play the busy body and tell this young bloke to hold off his hunger pang, when I noticed that the surrounding passengers were all discretely staring at this young man eating, obviously annoyed at this young man’s disregard for regulations. Now, I was beginning to ponder why no one in the train carriage (myself included) would just choose to keep quiet despite witnessing an offence that warrants a $500 fine. I guess this is Singapore culture – the ‘None of my business’ attitude. Just when I was about to open my foul mouth and give the young bloke a piece of my mind, he suddenly kept his half devoured burger. Think he was ‘suddenly’ conscious of the stares from the surrounding people. Geez… if he THAT hungry? If he was obnoxious enough to disregard regulations and start eating right in front of the warning sign, why the hell would he be conscious of how fellow commuters are viewing him? Human psychology has suddenly become such an attractive field of study.

 

 

 

Got my Usher Tag Liaoz!

Wow, after so many months, I finally received my plastic usher tag liaoz. Apparently they still have not updated my name with “Jonathan”, so the tag still reads “Low Kai Shuen”. Nevertheless, it’s still exciting to receive the plastic usher tag. It feels as though it’s some form of initiation / promotion to ‘Perm Staff’ like that. ;oP

 

Aniwae, stumbled upon a fellow CG member’s MySpace blog. Never knew some of the things that we take for granted / so used to can be of so much importance and significance to others. Hmm… Perhaps it’s time I started learning to be more sensitive and appreciative of the people and things around me.

 

 

Kim Chi Madness

Ah yes... never appreciated preserved stuff, but lately i've been quite addicted to this Korean Staple / Delicacy - KIM CHI!!!!

Let's see... it all started a few days ago when my mum bought a packet of Kim Chi home and told me to help myself. You bet i did! I had Kim Chi for Dinner with Cup Noodles, Kim Chi the next day with rice for lunch, Kim Chi with Ramen for Dinner, followed by Kim Chi with Soup Noodles for lunch the following day, and Kim Chi with Ban Mian for dinner, and just munching on pure Kim Chi while watching TV! OMG! I'm getting addicted to Kim Chi... Somebody get Help!!! Lock that Refrigerator!

Happy Birthday, Jack!

 Celebrated my manager's birthday with the rest of the team today, at Tian Tian Huo Guo at Tan Quee Lan Street, followed by a round of drinks at the nearby cafe. Had Snapple instead.

珍惜今天

 今日名言

“我人生最大的希望，就是珍惜每一天，能够每天都活得充实、精彩。因为每一个‘今天’将是明天最美好的回忆。”

Forever Love

A real nice song i heard my good friend croon to his wife last week. I thought the lyrics made it a sweet song to sing to your partner.

Forever Love [Listen Online]
作曲：王力宏 编曲：王力宏/吴庆隆

爱你, 不是因为你的美和影
我越来越爱你, 每个眼神触动我的心
因为你让我看见forever 才了解自己,
未来这些日子 要好好珍惜

爱我 有些痛苦有些不公平
如果真的爱我 不是理所当然的决定
感到你的呼吸在我耳边 像微风深情
温柔的安抚, 我的不安定

所以我要 每年研究你的笑容
wo~~ 多么自然

# forever love forever love
我只想用我这一辈子去爱你
从今以后, 你会是所有~幸福的理由

爱情, 是场最美最远的旅行
沿途遇经泥泞 偶尔阻碍我们的前进
感到你的体温在我怀里 像阳光和煦
巧妙的熔化 我的不安定
不可思议 证明我爱你的理由
wo 多么自然

#

你感动的眼睛, 我沉默的声音, 仿佛就是最好的证明
就让我再说一次 ilove you ~~
直到永远 oh forever love

#

Forever love, forever love

Funny Baby

Came across this hilarious clip.
Enjoy!

Click here or on the preview pane to view

A fulfilling day? Seems like it...

A few snap observations:
1) ICT is about 13 days away and i still have no idea where my stuff are, when i'm gonna finally submit my 'absence from duty' form, and the cloud of procrastination is still upon me...
2) It's been exactly 1.5 months since my last blog entry. That is suuuuupperrr long lor...


Performed the 'biggest' series of overhaul to my lappy today. Actually it was just to streamline it cos it's response is getting slower, prolly due to the increased number of programs installed. Problem with working with several insurance companies is that i need to have ALL their benefit illustration programs installed on my machine. sheesh... why can't anyone come up with something centralised?
Anyway, deleted all the unnecessary 'ling-ling long-long', defrag my hard-drive, performed a virus definition update & scan, installed Windows Defender, upgraded to IE 7.0, organised my desktop stickies a little... if anyone is willing to donate a 3.5" Harddrive enclosure to me, you are gonna be my next best mate for the next 3 months! Been looking to find some place to 'temporarily' store all my moozik (legal & paid for) & piks.

Rushed down to office to finish printing out some materials for appointment later in the evening. But before that, popped by my 'family' optician for a new prescription glasses. They somewhat had to subtlely remind me that my occupation was 'Student' the last time i visited them. Hmm... wonder was i supposed to feel compelled into emotional buying... been pretty sensitive to sales pitches lately... But they still succeeded in getting me to pull out a couple of hundred doles from me wallet... Anyway, saw a big underwriting notice in my office inbox... *sigh... more work...

Met up with my client about 1 hour earlier than expected. Managed to impress him with some housing financial planning (done free-of-charge) but wouldn't it consider it a concluded case, cos there's more research to be done... gotta do something about my figures this week, else me manager wouldn't be too happy looking at a bunch of zeroes on my performance report.

Spent more than 30 minutes waiting for the bus home after the appointment. So decided to take a detour. Ended up spending 3 hours at the airport capitalising on the 'free' electricity and music entertainment to finish up my day's work on my trusty lappy.

Decided to chill and relax for the day. Think i'm gonna get up early tomorrow morning to continue to run some errands and complete my work. See if i can finish up planning another case and arrange for another appointment at lunch.

Whatever that comes to mind

Just felt like i needed to blog today, but don're really know what to write about. so this is going to be spontaneous.

Well, just went through the 2nd day of class at my new firm. I'm in the process of completing my migration to an Independent Financial Advisory Firm. In the meantime, there's like a mini-academy of sorts that prepares new financial adviser representatives (or Consultants). It's quite interesting though, and i like being in class even though it can get pretty boring at times, especially after lunch.

Some people had asked me on why the sudden change... It's not really sudden actually, cos i've actually been recruited by them while i was attending Sales Academy with my previous life insurance principal (Company P). I turned it down at that time as i had already signed a written commitement to go through Sales Academy. It's only after a few months on the job and many discussions with potential prospects, that i began to see the value of an IFA platform. It has been a struggle in deciding whether to migrate. It really was and still is, even though by now i might have lost the trust of many people i've dealt with, and it's no surprise they would feel that way, and i doubt they'll ever believe that it was a real struggle for me.

But this period of serving out the remainder of my engagement with Company P, and waiting for my FA Rep license has enabled me the time and peace to review my work process and correct the areas which requires improvements. The end product: A clear goal, new strategy, and a new commitement to follow through. I've never had my thoughts and objectives appear so crystal clear in my mind in a long, long time. It just feels so refreshing and energizing, and i'm like so relieved.

I will succeed. No more fooling around this time. I WILL BE NO. 1!!!

Love, Me

I was in this funky looking shop in Heeren when i heard this song that had a nice tune, so i asked my friend Aaron who was with me, what the name of the song was. Aaron was kind enough to actually find the song for me. When i played the song on my laptop, this time it wasn't the tune, but the lyrics that really warmed my heart. Really quite touching... Here's the lyrics:

Love, Me - Colin Raye
=================

I read a note my grandma wrote back in 1923.Grandpa kept it in his coat, and he showed it once to me. He said,
"Boy, you might not understand, but a long long time ago, Grandma's daddy didn't like me none, but i loved your grandma so."

"We had this crazy plan to meet, and run away together, get married in the first town came to and live forever."

"But nailed to the tree where we were supposed to meet, instead i found this letter, and this is what it said:

If you get there before i do, don't give up on me. I'll meet you when my chores are through. I don't know how long i'll be. But i'm not going to let you down. Darling, wait and see. And between now and then, till i see you again, i'll be loving you. Love, Me."

I read those words just hours before my grandma passed away. In the doorway of the church, where me and grandpa start to pray, i know i had never seen him cry in all my 15 years. But as he said these words to her, his eyes filled up with tears:

"If you get there before i do, don't give up on me. I'll meet you when my chores are through. I don't know how long i'll be. But i'm not going to let you down. Darling, wait and see. And between now and then, till i see you again, i'll be loving you. Love, Me."

"Between now and then, till i see you again, i'll be loving you. Love, Me."

We've moved

Hi there! In the process of moving stuff around as i want to organise my posts a little better as well as set up a more personal space to share stuff that's closer to my heart and only open to a select few. So, if you haven't got the new blog address, well, i still love you. Just that i prefer a little more personal space. Hee...

Stay tuned for more updates. If you're impatient, you can just email me at lowkaishuen@gmail.com and ask me for the new address.

Upcoming Additions:
- From The Cradle Into Eternity
My life story, sort of a mini autobiography of my life so far.

- Cents & Sensibility
A mini column where i dish out some personal financial planning tips, both general and locally focused in Singapore context.

The screen they call a TV

Just read a blog by a friend, sharing about how she started her affair with the colourful screen people call a TV.It's interesting to note how TV, in every aspect from technology to size/format, from genre to production techniques, has transformed so much over the years. It also sort of indicates what sort of 'era' you actually belong to. TV is a philosophy in itself.

Let's compare what kids from different 'era' would watch:

An 'early 1980s' boy - Yours Truly...
I remember growing up to cartoons on TV such as Smurfs, He-Man, Transformers, Captain Planet, and children's programmes like Sesame Street. Along the way, classic Disney cartoons, and i mean those 'not so well drawn' in TecniColor kind, were also quite well received. I used to have a cap with the two Mickey ears on it.

An 'early 1990s' boy - My currently 15 year-old cousin, KJ
My mother used to babysit KJ, so watching him grow up, was a learning experience by itself. KJ used to enjoy watching Power Rangers, Digimon, Pokemon, and some 'fighting' shows on TV. So no prizes for guessing what his favourite action was - Pouncing in front of me and start challenging me to a 'fight'... so i do look like an alien huh? He'll just end up attempting to wrestle me to the ground while i continue to watch mandarin TV serials on TV.

A 'millenium kid' - My 2 year-old nephew
Frankly i don't really have any idea what's the rave among kids now, but Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia seems to have caught on. I once found a couple of kids gathering in front of the TV watching some spinning top cartoon. If anyone has anything to share with regards to this portion, do let me know ya?

So it's like, as though your age can be given away by the mere mention of what you enjoyed as a kid. I mean, try asking yourself:

1) What was your favourite all time TV programme as a kid? How about now?
2) How many hours a week do you spend watching TV, DVD, or VCD?
3) What's your favourite all-time TV artise?

Match them with someone that answers them similarly to yourself. Surprising results...

My Inner Age

My inner child is sixteen years old!

Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

Lego Bible

God is a God of creativity and creation. For those who are familiar with the plastic toy bricks, popularly known as Lego (R), this is the new testatment bible being creatively told in pictures using Lego.

Jesus Inside (looks like Intel logo)