Alice in Wonderland

Today, 1 September, was Teacher’s Day in Singapore! Wah, for the past few days I saw teachers in the tuition centre where I’m working now collected presents from their students like crazy, man! Some of them received so many - in a way it makes me feel so envy … hehe! (Ooops! I’ve accidentally revealed the greedy side of me … paiseh, paiseh) But really … last time when I was still studying in primary school, I had this ambition of becoming a teacher when I grew up … all because I felt I wanted to get that Teacher’s Day gifts from my students in future Haha! Kinda childish though … but when I was in secondary school, I gave up that ambition after witnessing how difficult the teachers in school having to control the discipline of those rebellious teenagers … I felt that was really more than just a challenge and that was why I never ever applied for the post of a school teacher (whether in Malaysia or Singapore).
Never could I imagine that now I’m walking into a career path which I had initially chosen to give up (although it’s not in school, it’s kinda similar) … Now I’m very much looking forward for that official status as a teacher (I really can’t wait!) eventhough I’ve started to do some teaching … Kinda can’t wait for that practicum (teaching test) to start … should be soon.
I guess the reason why I like the job now is due to the fact that I have already had that passion since I was in primary school. I hope this passion will still be with me after I’ve officially been called a teacher and I believe the biggest challenge for me is to learn how to deal with students of various personality (so far I’m still in midst of figuring that out for future). Also I’m kinda curious here about my first Teacher’s Day next year (hopefully) - will I be getting lotsa gifts, etc, etc? Hehe! Maybe I should set a target or something … anyway, I’m quite sure I’ll be able to get at least one Teacher’s Day gift next year … Let’s see ba Come to think about it - have I really wasting so much of my time in publishing for the past few years? Hmm, well, honestly I did enjoy my job in publishing last time. If I haven’t been in publishing, I wouldn’t have this chance to ‘turn back’ in education and to get to where am I now. Perhaps all these were fated to be.

For now, I’m till craving for that Teacher’s Day gift … I hope I won’t dream about it tonight
Happy Teacher’s Day!

Finally I got my complementary copy of the latest issue of Healthy Times mag! Yeah, issue 39 … the one with lotsa Alice Kong’s articles in it! It was actually out early July but somehow I only manage to get my copy only now.

In case you are wondering - what mag is that? I guess you dunno mainly coz you dun read health mag - am I right? Well, it was a Singapore made health magazine and it’s available in 7-Eleven (as well as some mag stores). Why I was in there huh? In case you still didn’t know about the story, I was working freelance with them (editing and writing artices for them) for less than 2 months before I found this full-time job in Just Education now. That was how I got the chance to write for them and have my articles published. Though is was only for short term, it was a great experience for me. To the least, it made me realised that editing a magazine is not as easy task as it requires more than just creativity (a mag editor also has to be a wordsmith too!). Anyway, working for Healthy Times mag will always a wonderful memory for me
The cover of issue 39 of the mag featured the photo of a couple who are doctors (with some photos of doctors at the side - not the photo of me unfortunately … hehe). I wrote a few pages for the blood donation campaign where most of the info was obtained from the Singapore Bloodbank at Health and Science Authority as well as the Singapore Red Cross. I also had one on vasectomy (guys, you may wanna check this out) … Also one on food hygiene (how to prevent yourself from food poisoning) … For those of you who are parents, I have a good parenting tips for you with focus on how mental arithmetic helps your child to boost their potential using the left and right brains. Also, I had the opportunity to interview the boss of Chew’s Egg where we talked about the nutritional values of Mr Chew’s eggs. Actually I have wriiten one on H1N1 but it got replaced with a new one (understandable as the one that I wrote was kinda outdated already since the updates and news on H1N1 have been changing rapidly for the past few months). Anyway, I’m contented to what I have contributed
If you are interested to grab a copy, wait no more, go and grab it now! Of course there are some other interesting articles written by doctors and other authors in that same issue. Only cost S$3.20 per issue - not bad - at least still cheaper than having a meal at Mcdonalds (haha!). Then, if you are thinking of subscribing to the mag on a 1-year or 2-year basis, you can just let me know coz my recommendation usually comes with a special discount, just for you (no kidding o!)

Hiya! So fast … I have been starting my new job for a week now. Although it started off with a very busy week, I really enjoyed my first week of my new job.

It was a busy week coz it was the payment week. Parents were supposed to pay school fees by the 10th of every month. Therefore, we encountered a great number of parents who came to the centre to pay their children’s tuition fees. As I am involved in the operation as well, I also have to handle all these besides answering calls (u know, customer service thingie) and some admin work as well. 

Of coz I’m involved in teaching for the education side. Currently I am given opportunities to be involved in 1-to-1 teaching sessions before undergoing my teaching training. But then on last Sunday, I was asked to relief for two Primary Maths classes - P1 and P4 (coz the teacher was on MC last min and they couldn’t find replacement). Though I was feeling a bit nervous at first (coz basically I didn’t even have enough time to prepare and I could only briefly go through the notes and worksheets on the topics that I needed to teach), I managed to stepped into the class calmly, faced the students and started teaching the lesson. The best part was that I NEVER ever thought that I actually enjoyed the whole teaching process when the students were responding to what I was saying and was paying attention to my lesson. I didn’t know how to describe that feeling but it was just great! Well, I’m not implying that I’m expert lah; there are still more for me to learn and I believed it was just my luck that day that the students were coperative. But anyway, small kids are not so bad after all coz I always thought I’m not the kind of person who can interact well with small kids. Looks like I’m wrong; they are actually quite easy to communicate with as long as you get their attention I hope I will continue to have this passion as I will be going for my official teaching training soon (and subsequently a test before I can be officially be known as a ‘teacher’ … Ms Kong, the teacher … hehe!).

On the other hand, my new colleagues were great. Though they are serious at work, they (including my immediate superior) are not a bunch of passive people and they will never leave me behind. Next week we are going to have a BBQ gathering (outside of working hours of coz!). Can’t wait!

I was listening to Class 95FM (a Singapore English radio station) just few days ago when I came to know that Michael Jackson was going to have a concert in London next month. Oh, he’s making a comeback! - I thought. Then a couple of days after that, I was shocked when I learnt about his death from the same radio station. I thought I heard wrongly at first - I wished I did. I felt so sad suddenly and this was the first time I felt so for an artist (so much that I wished that I could attend his funeral).

Actually I’m really a fan of Michael Jackson. I only like some of his songs, but somehow he made me felt this way. Perhaps that was because his songs were the first few that I first listened way back when I was still in primary school. At that time, I loved the song “Heal The World” so much and the school’s choir had been singing it so often. It was brought me a great sense of aspiration. Today, my all time most favourite Michael Jackson’s song is still ‘You Are Not Alone’. When I listened to it on yesterday’s midnight, I felt so much of the pain. I really hope he would not be all alone in heaven and that his soul will always be blessed. 

This clearly shows how fragile life is when it comes to diseases like cardiac attack (or heart related diseases). Suddenly I felt thankful that God didn’t take my mum away when she was diagnosed with stroke early this year. It just happened so sudden, without any warning and was not due to any very obvious causes - just like what happened to Michael. It was unexplanable, yet we still have to accept it. The same goes to the current financial crisis and the attack of the Influenza A-H1N1 virus. I guess being patience is what everybody has to learn in order to live a life full with challenges and uncertainties like these.

Do you remember the article ‘This Too Will Pass’ that I mentioned in my last two post? I’m going to share it with you here. The story goes like this:

Once, there was a young emperor who inherited a large kingdom. Unfortunately he did not quite know how to rule his empire. In times of prosperity, he rejoiced. However, in times of disasters, he would go into deep depression. The ministers of the kingdom were worried and came together to work out a plan to teach the emperor an important lesson. They gave him a beautiful ring. On it, ‘This Too Will Pass’ was carved on it. They told the emperor to wear it at all times.

The young emperor took the ring and began to understand the engraved message. He understood that good times and bad times form the cycle of life. Bad times never last; the same goes for good times. It is important to ride out the bad times by practising some patience. On the other hand, it is crucial to be prudent during good times and plan for the rainy days.

This is a takeaway at times when financial fears loon large. We should be reminded that disease, recessions and misfortunes do not last forever; they were part of the cycle of life. Rather than being occupied with worries, we should instead fill ourselves with hopes that they will be over. If we choose to be positive it is more likely that the good outcomes will take place sooner. There is opportunity in every adversity. They may just be gold nuggets that we can pick from the ground, if we stay alert.

Let us pray that the bad times will leave us soon …

20 June 2009 marked the first anniversary of my SPR status In other words, I collected my approved Singapore Permanent Resident cert and had my Singapore IC made on this day last year from ICA … I still remembered I was so darm happy and excited on that day :) Can’t believe how fast time flies!

To be exact … I have been staying in Singapore for almost 1 year 9 months now! though I do travel on and off back to JB on weekends … So far so good, I really like it and I have been able to adapt to the lifestyle here, which is very different from Malaysia. People and things are moving way faster here; from the typical scene of people walking fast (especially at MRT stations) to the competition at work; it has been a culture here though it may sound like a kind of stress. It’s really rare to see people moving slowly like in Malaysia. This I like coz I really hate people who is (delibrately) walking slowly in front of me and blocking my way. Hehe!
Singapore is a country where you are less likely to see so many Malays everywhere. Nah, it’s not that I’m discriminate against the Malays, but in a way, I feel more comfortable and to be honest, everyone is given a fair chance to compete (though yes, ultimately, priority is still to be given to Singaporeans but to the least, PRs are not being discriminated and to be honest, it’s still not as bad as the ’special treatment’ for Malays in Malaysia).

Another thing - Singapore is way cleaner than Malaysia (sorry to say that). If you have never been to Singapore before, you can just make a trip here and see for yourself what I meant here. Many tourists fell in love with this country on their first trip here. I am of coz one of them Singapore is definitely a nice Asian country to visit, but it may not be the best country for working. If you are the kind who tends to take things slow in your work, Singapore is definitely not a suitable place for you. Working can be the most stressful thing here. Personally I feel that the superiors and bosses here are not that great as compared to those in Malaysia. My best working place so far was still WKESP Cyberjaya (in Malaysia), which is partly why sometimes I feel (a bit) regret to have left the place. But then I left for a greater success in Singapore - which will always console me and I’m glad I didn’t let this chance slip away. I will definitely work harder to achieve a greater success in my next job. Hopefully when my PR turns 2 next year, I will be able to say that Singapore is a better place to work than in Malaysia
I love all my friends whom I get to know in Singapore (thanks to all who have brought me countless joy!). Despite the fact that Singaporeans are mostly very kiasu (afraid of becoming a loser and some said they are selfish, arrogant, etc), I realised that they are actually great people to make friends with, friendly and 247 foodies (they like to eat more than anything else!). There is only a very small group who is really arrogant and does not recognise foreigners in their society. Eventually they still have to accept the fact that Singapore is made up of half Singaporeans and half foreigners (westerners, Malaysians, Chinas, Filipinos, Indonesians, etc). Yeah, talking about angmohs (as in westerners), Singapore is definitely a good place to find an angmoh boyfriend hehe! Honestly this is another reason why I love Singapore too! (don’t laugh!)

For me, Singapore is definitely not only a good place to earn money, it’s also a great place to find better friends, working partners (and perhaps a promising relationship) … The country is also a more happening than in Malaysia … There are so much events going from time to time, just the matter of whether u have the time to participate in all those activities. They may not be all parties or food fairs; they can be useful activities such as free halth screening, blood donation or certain campaigns.

Someone actually asked me how come I look so much better after I moved to Singapore. Well, there is no secret or anything, I just want to look good for myself and also so that people will think I’m a Singaporean hehe! (Women among Singaporeans are mostly beauty experts, even old aunties in their 50’s look like just 40 years old - no kidding!) Indeed, most people think I’m a Singaporean, not until I tell them. 

Anyway, I’m just happy to be a SPR for the past one year Hope the following year will be way better! Cheers!

Hi! How have you been doing?

It’s been a long time since my last update. I have been very very busy since mid May. That was when I undertook two freelance jobs at one time in Singapore - one has to be completed within a month’s time, the other within 2 months’ time. Call me greedy, but the sake of survival during this economy downturn, I had to do this no matter how tough it would be. I couldn’t just sit there and wait for someone to call me to go for an interview (at one peak of the time, I felt I was so priceless, unworthy, etc). Therefore, I decided that I wanted to do something while waiting. Some more the freelance job offers were quite attractive … I would be a fool if I rejected them!

All these actually started end of April 2009 when I was offered the post freelance editor by Healthy Times mag, which at first, I thought it was a full-time permanent post. I felt rather disappointed actually but anyway, I took up the assignment, but then I felt kinda guilty for holding my boss up coz I would still be looking for a full-time permanent job. She was very nice to me (to the least she gave me this opportunity to work in mag publishing and allow me to get a feel of it). But then, after two weeks’ time, I realised this was not what I wanted to do (probably it just clashed with my personality and that I do not possess that required creativity), so I told my boss. She started to look for someone else but was nice enough to let me stay for another 2 weeks’ time to help her out with the articles. I managed to write quite a number of them and if there was no changes to the initial plan, my articles will appear in the upcoming issue 39 of Healthy Times mag in July 2009. It was in Healthy Times that I started to gain back my confidence, bit by bit, partly coz I have met two very nice persons there - one was my boss, the other was the administrator. I really appreciate them for being nice to me and helping me to go through the toughest time in my life.

I continued to jobhunt and I went to numerous interviews (actually not a lot also as compared to when the time is still good). It was through these interviews that I got these two freelance jobs in mid May 2009. One was editing worksheets at Mad4Math (tuition centre), the other was editing challeenging Maths books at SAP (assessment book publisher). At the beginning of the days, I was like rushing between these two places every 4 hours in a day. I could feel the rising stress in me, partly due to the rushing up and down, also to meet the deadlines. After the start of June, I managed to plan so that I just have to stay and work at one place in a day. In fact, these two projects were currently still on-going - I need to finish them by end of June 2009. These two jobs were the reason why I was so busy but at the end of the day, I felt that I contributed something and I got to know more people. I wanna thank Hui Sing and Lee Mei for the great company when I was in SAP. Without you girls, I would sure be stressed to the max! I also wanna thank Chelsea (though I didn’t really get the chance to know you and meet you coz you were on maternity leave) - the article on your cubicle entitled ‘This Too Will Pass’ really inspired me to be strong during this period of time (someday I will put this article up in my blog). It was about teaching people how to face good and bad times, especially during this recession time. You know, actually I really hate it when people asked me this question, “Hey, how’s ur jobhunting?” ”Still looking” - that was my usual answer but actually deep in my heart, I was crying because somehow I made me feel so useless, just that I’m still strong enough to hide that tears away. Anyway, I know that people asked this because they concerned about me. So, no worries, it’s not a big deal…

You must be thinking why I want to make things so difficult for myself by taking up two jobs at a time. Why not just take a break while waiting for that job opportunity? Well, because I know that God is testing me. He has been testing me since early this year when everything just went haywired for me (if you have been catching up mu updates). A friend told me that these happened because God loves me. He gives all these challenges for me to learn and grow. At first I found this hard to be accepted, but after sometime, I knew that what my friend said was true. Thanks, Lindsay, for this great reminder! Because I trust in this, I show God the determination in me. I believe my determination will not only help to build back the tough Alice but will only help me to be a better person. Another friend said all these were not retributions, but I would srill believe these were partly retributions.

Whatever retributions they were, I guess God has announced the winner. My determination and perseverance were not wasted because I have finally got a job offer! I will be reporting my first day at work on 2 July 2009 with JustEducation. It’s a tuition centre but they are not having one but 25 branches throughout Singapore! They are currently expanding in Malaysia as well. I tell you, I would never forget the interview with them - a massive 4 hours, mind you! I have never been to an interview that took so long of the time. I spent 1 and a half hours on filling up some forms, IQ test, EQ test, personality test as well as solving some academic questions. Then, talked for 2 and a half hours with the interviewers but the good thing was that they were so friendly, especially the CEO (it wasn’t like an interview at all!). They shared with me about the company and stuffs. I actually didn’t dare to put much hope on this job as I believed I would definitely get a zero for the IQ test! Hehe! But anyway, I’m glad that God has answered my prayer by giving me this opportunity. As an Education Operations Executive, I will have the chance to be involved in teaching and operations work apart from being a book editor. Teaching has been something that I wish to get involved in because education is a very firm industry in Singapore, which is less likely to be affected by economy downturn, of coz provided that the company’s business is good.

I remembered someone told me when I was still all upset over the retrenchment. He said, “Sometimes a change may not be a bad thing, it may possibly bring you something fruitful.” Well, what he said seemed true and I’m really thankful to this person who have shared with me so much. His words and advice were more than useful to me (sorry, I can’t reveal who’s dat at the mo but confirm not my ex or potential bf … so dun think any further yeah … he’s more like a teacher, brother and perhaps father).

I also want to thank all my friends who have been there for me during the toughest time in my life, particularly Chee Ling, Lindsay Lim, Lee Mei, Hui Sing, Vivian Lim, Muneerah and Hidayah. I’m sorry if I say or done something wrong to anyone of you because at one point of the time, I was really depressed. But I’m glad that things are finally over now. I guess the recession is not also affecting me but also everyone. So for those of you who is lucky enough to have a job at the moment, please treasure what you have now. Stop those complains because you will never now if you will be the next. The job market is so cold at the moment and it’s not easy to compete with so many jobseekers. If you are an experienced executive who is jobless now and wish to find a job in Singapore, you need to give yourself an average of 6 months for the jobhunting (serious, no kidding!), that is if you are a Singaporean or Singapore PR.

From this moment on, my vision is to forget the past and look for a brighter tomorrow. Since God has given me the path, I must treasure this and make the best out of it. I’ve learnt the greatest lesson from this and I will not let the same thing repeats again in my life. Same to you - please be positive during this bad times.

Feeling so disappointed when I knew that I didn’t make it to Pearson Singapore, I went mad! I couldn’t think of a reason why when the interview was going on so well. Perhaps my English was not good enough for them.

I kept thinking and thinking. Was it because I told others too early? Was it because I was over-confident? These led me to decide one thing - I’m not going to tell others anything until I get the job. So my dear friend, this will be the last update from me. I’m so sorry, it’s not that I don’t want to tell or being superstitious, but I really don’t wish to feel this kind of disappointment again. Hope you understand.

I’m actually working now, but on freelance basis, editor for Healthy Times magazine. So far so good and I did manage to learn quite a number of new skills especially in creative writing. I never thought I was given a chance to do this. The job is far more challenging than doing assessment books coz there are a lot that I need to plan and research (not forgetting the writing part which is the most challenging part of the job coz it involves a lot of creativity). Some more the content is on health (hey, I’m not a doctor and I had to write something on vasectomy!) … anyway I managed to write and I’m glad to know that I can do it! Honestly, I’m really thankful to the boss for the chance and Lilian SIm for the friendship … and actually I really hope I can work for long term here but I just can’t survive with freelance alone, which is why I’m still looking for a permanent post.

Hope things will turn out better for me soon. But I will definitely miss Healthy Times if I’m really fated to go somewhere else.

I am so thankful to all who had made 22 April 2009 a special day for me. Not mainly because it was my birthday, but it was more than just a joy for me when I’ve finally cleared up that stupid misunderstanding with my best friend.

If you have sent me a birthday greeting via sms, Facebook or Friendster, thank you very much. You really made me feel remembered, which I feel that I’ve somehow long lost … Not sure why, maybe because of the bad experience and I had started to feel that loyalty is not what everyone looks for in a friendship (therefore, they no longer care of when is my birthday). Well, I’m glad you do your part and I am very happy to know that you care. Thanks again to you!:)

I’m also happy because I’ve finally gained back my confidence after started working part-time for Healthy Times mag last week. Now I’m still waiting for the result and if it really turns out to be what I’m hoping for, I will let you know the story. Stay tune, yeah! I guess the confidence appears naturally because it’s like me going back to the working life again (tho’ it’s a part-time as I’m still looking for a full-time one). The best person I met in the Healthy Times office is Lilian Sim, the administrator. I started to like her on the first day of my part-time job. She is very down-to-earth and friendly, yet ambitious - a good career woman model I would say. She’s actually in her 40’s but she’s not like those aunty … There are so much that she can share and it’s just fun talking to her! Really thank her for the company and everything
My 28th birthday certainly had something to do with all these … and yeah, it was certainly a great one for me!

A big thank you to you if you have spent time celebrating my birthday in advance … and especially YOU, my good friend (Lee Mei), who also brought me a birthday cake … It was really a memorable one at Axtivo on 18 April 2009 … :)Thank you very much, I really appreciate that… Also all the nice bithday gifts (THANK YOU PEOPLE!)

I never ever dare to dream that I will have a birthday celebration this year because of what happened lately … But I’m so thankful I could still celebrate it with my good friends, who never fail to remember my birthday! For those who have promised to celebrate later, yeah, I will be looking forward for that (yay!) Really thank you for remembering me …. your thoughts really made my day!

For those of you who forgets, well, i dunno what to say to you all … But I really dun mind it …

Just wanna wish myself a Happy Birthday … Stay pretty, positive and strong always! and must also love myself more than anyone else