Hi Guys,
Its been a long time since Ive posted something here. In a blink of an eye, it is that time of the year again for celebration! In light of a rather kt-filled year for many, it is time to cast the 2011 past troubles away and get ready to usher in a spanking new year filled with fresh new hope,
aspirations and plenty to look forward to!
Since I’m back, I shall take the liberty to organize this year’s customary Christmas dinner. Since AH will potentially be busy, I’m thinking there will not be someone’s house available for a potluck. Hence, the best alternative is A STEADY CHRISTMAS BUFFET DINNER at an awesome place with an awesome ambience!
Nothing like a round table sit down formal dinner with free flow of good food. Yes I understand the stigma behind buffets, order food cannot finish, over order, eat too full wanna vomit etc. But in com parison to normal dinners, we cannot sit long long talk nonsense till very late. I will personally take charge and full responsibility of the ordering this time.
And remember, its KUKU JI PAI! Once a year nia!
So we have 3 alternatives. A cheaper buffet with gift exchange, a more expensive one without the gift exchange or an expensive one with the gift exchange.
I have been looking at hotel ones and it was a waste I just missed an Amara hotel one at $43 nett instead of the usual price of $60+. So I will appreciate if you guys will help keep a lookout for such deals on popular sites like deal or groupon which I’m sure you are more familiar with than me. In the mean time, there is a hotpot deal on deal.sg at $23 nett at Chinatown which is one of the cheaper but not ideal option. Of course I would personally prefer a hotel or tung lok kind of place, although sakura is also fine by me. I’m open to all suggestions.
Since 23, 24, 25 are weekends and 26 (MONDAY) is a PH, do you guys prefer a weekday on the 27th (Tuesday) since I’m assuming most of us wont be working coz of the leave clearing? Alternatively, 23 or 26 are my next best options coz there won’t be work the next day.
Meanwhile, can you guys give some suggestions and immediately book for maybe 10 ppl? This is because we are very late liao so instead of deciding, we all go ahead and book respective restaurants we think are steadip before we eliminate afterwards.
Spouses, kips, good frens, fiancés and whoever is cordially invited. All are welcome in accordance to the Christmas spirit!
Really hope that everyone will try their best to make it since its really a long while since everyone got together and had a good meal in the midst of our respective busy lives. Its time to take a breather and pause to reflect on 2011 and look forward to 2012!
God Bless!
(By the way, I just became a G2000 and Challenger Member, so if you guys wanna get anything at all from G2000 or Challenger for yourself or friends just let me know, I can get a quite a good discount. Steady!)
Alvin
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Soccer, anyone?
Hi all,
I have since given up on the idea of the soccer venture. Although I have big plans for it, but based on what Kumar said, I’ve decided to give up. It is something I do agree with.
Today I made a mistake on organising of our soccer session. Apparently I organised the session but I never booked. However that is beside the point, the fact is out of the 15 person that went, 6 were MQ’s clique, David had 4 friends there and there is Jason and Jerry (If you do not know any of this people, you will have missed out a lot). Our clique members only left Teh, Benny and I. I do realise we have already become the fringe people.
I guess everyone (those that used to come in the hey days) do have the same sentiments as me. “The fun is gone. Why are we still coming?” I have told my frustrations to some of the regular whom are going now and some of them have initiated to organise for the long term.
I think it is time to pass the baton to others already. What do you think?
If any of you disagree with what I said, I am telling you now that our soccer sessions for the next 3 weeks are on:
9th Oct 2011, 23 Oct 2011, 30 Oct 2011.
Do come if you can.
I do know some of you have other commitments and some of you are on lengthy layoffs and some of you are not in Singapore, but you can do your part in urging those that can come.
The dates are all here and no worries, I’ll inform everyone to read this post.
Do write down your 2 cent worth if possible. You can even state when are you coming in the comments.
Regards,
Blackburn
I have since given up on the idea of the soccer venture. Although I have big plans for it, but based on what Kumar said, I’ve decided to give up. It is something I do agree with.
Today I made a mistake on organising of our soccer session. Apparently I organised the session but I never booked. However that is beside the point, the fact is out of the 15 person that went, 6 were MQ’s clique, David had 4 friends there and there is Jason and Jerry (If you do not know any of this people, you will have missed out a lot). Our clique members only left Teh, Benny and I. I do realise we have already become the fringe people.
I guess everyone (those that used to come in the hey days) do have the same sentiments as me. “The fun is gone. Why are we still coming?” I have told my frustrations to some of the regular whom are going now and some of them have initiated to organise for the long term.
I think it is time to pass the baton to others already. What do you think?
If any of you disagree with what I said, I am telling you now that our soccer sessions for the next 3 weeks are on:
9th Oct 2011, 23 Oct 2011, 30 Oct 2011.
Do come if you can.
I do know some of you have other commitments and some of you are on lengthy layoffs and some of you are not in Singapore, but you can do your part in urging those that can come.
The dates are all here and no worries, I’ll inform everyone to read this post.
Do write down your 2 cent worth if possible. You can even state when are you coming in the comments.
Regards,
Blackburn
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Let's bring back the fun!
Hi all,
It’s been a long time since I write anything on this blog. Anyway here I am again. Will like to get your comments of what I am proposing, esp those within GMH community.
What I am proposing is definitely for personal gains. But its also something I have been thinking for a long long time. I have known GMH through our Sunday soccer. However its hard to imagine the amount of GMH members coming every week for soccer. It seems to be Teh, Benny and I. Nevertheless, I always feel that every now and then, one of you will turn up. I felt really fun playing the last time round before Alvin left for Spain. What about you?
So I feel that its really important to keep this going and going cause one of these days the fun will be back. Its like what Benny said one of those weeks, “Its never really the game that get him coming but the company.”
Now on the “personal gain” part. I like to propose to take on the role of organising soccer for good but getting those that came to pay more. Its sort of paying a premium for a service. I am looking at a price of $4.
I also have thoughts of coming up with a facebook acc for the Sunday soccer people (including those outside GMH) to facilitate everyone with the upcoming activities on the Sunday soccer activity. I have no idea what will be the outcome. And looking at the attitude of those that came (playing with a “ai mai ai mai” attitude), it may well backfire.
But well, I hope I can still say “there is always you!”
Regards, Blackburn
It’s been a long time since I write anything on this blog. Anyway here I am again. Will like to get your comments of what I am proposing, esp those within GMH community.
What I am proposing is definitely for personal gains. But its also something I have been thinking for a long long time. I have known GMH through our Sunday soccer. However its hard to imagine the amount of GMH members coming every week for soccer. It seems to be Teh, Benny and I. Nevertheless, I always feel that every now and then, one of you will turn up. I felt really fun playing the last time round before Alvin left for Spain. What about you?
So I feel that its really important to keep this going and going cause one of these days the fun will be back. Its like what Benny said one of those weeks, “Its never really the game that get him coming but the company.”
Now on the “personal gain” part. I like to propose to take on the role of organising soccer for good but getting those that came to pay more. Its sort of paying a premium for a service. I am looking at a price of $4.
I also have thoughts of coming up with a facebook acc for the Sunday soccer people (including those outside GMH) to facilitate everyone with the upcoming activities on the Sunday soccer activity. I have no idea what will be the outcome. And looking at the attitude of those that came (playing with a “ai mai ai mai” attitude), it may well backfire.
But well, I hope I can still say “there is always you!”
Regards, Blackburn
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LULULU!!
FMUS2 and FMUS1
LULULU
benny, this pic not nice meh?
wedding photo of the year=)
zi cha
double-boiled soup!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU! Mai siann..
How many GMH members does it take to remove 2+7 candles?
Benny snatched away the most choc fudge!!
Benny, i think this pic quite well taken also leh..
Needs more practice
Thanks for the treat lulu! ehh... $30 for the cake.. blkq
*amendi*
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
an hour away, worlds apart
I spent the entire day today in a village in Batam, conducting interviews on behalf of a charity NGO that builds houses for slum-dwellers and homeless families in Batam. We're doing an impact assessment of their efforts.
For a city boy to go into a village is no small thing.
What strikes you first is the lack of roads. Yes, the ride in was bumpy, but everywhere you step is dirt and mud. The second thing is the number of livestock running around and that faint smell of waste/defecation everywhere. But what really gets you is the hospitality of the people.
All I had was a translator attached to me and I was going house to house asking about how having a house affected the lives of these people. Yet, I was offered shy smiles, handshakes followed by a touch of the heart, glasses of water (which I dared not drink because of my Singaporean fear of unfiltered water, and yet these people have survived for generations like this), and well-wishes as I got on my way from each house.
The answers I got were astounding.
How do I reconcile that this place, just an hour's ferry ride away, has so many people who were simply delighted to have electricity, and shelter from the elements? That the greatest thing that can happen to a person (getting a home), is something I was born with? It also strikes me that no matter how much I try my best to understand them, and no matter how much I tell myself what I'm doing is good for them, at the end of it all I'm going back to my clean big Singaporean home with running water and air conditioning.
Gandhi said that "A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." These are brave people I saw, people who love each other and have faith in their communities. Young men my age, using their savings to study for a degree from the Open University, even though they're living miles away from the world as we know it. People who opened their hearts to a foreigner who comes from a world so different from theirs.
Sorry about disrupting your post btw OL, my experience today has changed me slightly inside and I think we all need these experiences once in a while, if only to grow into a more enlightened person.
AH
For a city boy to go into a village is no small thing.
What strikes you first is the lack of roads. Yes, the ride in was bumpy, but everywhere you step is dirt and mud. The second thing is the number of livestock running around and that faint smell of waste/defecation everywhere. But what really gets you is the hospitality of the people.
All I had was a translator attached to me and I was going house to house asking about how having a house affected the lives of these people. Yet, I was offered shy smiles, handshakes followed by a touch of the heart, glasses of water (which I dared not drink because of my Singaporean fear of unfiltered water, and yet these people have survived for generations like this), and well-wishes as I got on my way from each house.
The answers I got were astounding.
How do I reconcile that this place, just an hour's ferry ride away, has so many people who were simply delighted to have electricity, and shelter from the elements? That the greatest thing that can happen to a person (getting a home), is something I was born with? It also strikes me that no matter how much I try my best to understand them, and no matter how much I tell myself what I'm doing is good for them, at the end of it all I'm going back to my clean big Singaporean home with running water and air conditioning.
Gandhi said that "A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." These are brave people I saw, people who love each other and have faith in their communities. Young men my age, using their savings to study for a degree from the Open University, even though they're living miles away from the world as we know it. People who opened their hearts to a foreigner who comes from a world so different from theirs.
Sorry about disrupting your post btw OL, my experience today has changed me slightly inside and I think we all need these experiences once in a while, if only to grow into a more enlightened person.
AH
Sunday, March 13, 2011
From St. Lucia, with love :)
Thanks OL for the heartfelt post. Hope to see more of the same from other ppl. Sorry for the late reply as I had no internet for the past few wks since I moved in to my new place. Things have only now become more settled especially since the start of semester and the added responsibility of being a tour guide to Luis Mendieta.
Firstly I’d like to apologise to OL for not replying your sms. I know it’s a lame reason but as you know I’m on the most basic hp plan, so every sms and call I make is costing and counts at the end of the month ($300 plus to be exact). I knew you would have contacted mandy and since he knew my birthday was super packed to meet up, he would have told you. Thus I did not reply you, hope you understand and that I appreciate the thought and well wishes!
The point I would most like to respond to is about ‘GMH not going anywhere’. Define ‘going somewhere’. ‘Misfits’ I agree to a large extent. ‘Underachievers’ I entirely disagree. I thought I knew what ‘achievement’ meant until I left sg. It is a super duper subjective term, so I’m unsure what you mean by why we cannot be something like other ppl. In fact, I’d be damned if I were to be like them. But that is a totally different topic for another day.
I understand the point you are trying to get across about other groups being able to meet up often, lend a listening ear to each other and essentially ‘grow’ together.
From my point of view, the crux of the matter lies gravely on societal pressures and trying to conform. As ppl get caught up in rat race, suddenly meeting an emo OL after work becomes a tiresome chore or even an impossibility for some coz of OT. This results in various kts that OL is trying to highlight.
This brings me to the point about making choices. We are no longer in secondary school. I’m darn sure at this age we make the choices about life knowing fully the consequences and what it promises to deliver. Like OL said, we all have different priorities in life. Everyone has the right to make their own choices. I respect that.
Simply put, if you choose a lifestyle or a job that entails draining the energy out of you in such a way that it is a challenge to meet a friend for dinner, I totally respect that and have no ill feelings whatsoever. You have made your decision out of your own free will, with no one forcing you, knowing full well what it means when you signed that contract and entirely aware of the consequences. If this is the life you choose, then good for you. There is no right or wrong coz you are entitled to your own set of priorities. Other ppl may differ, thus the misunderstandings.
I humbly seek your understanding if I have turned down shopping, dining and especially movies over weekends. As I have explained to some, the crowds simply turn me off. I’d rather stay at home and watch CNN than get on the train with 10000 frowny faces to Orchard, especially not after living overseas. As I mentioned above, I prefer to meet on weeknights supper, some of you prefer wkends. No one is right or wrong, just different life choices we made. However, I’m glad and entirely appreciative that I had regular meetups both on wkdays and wkends. This gives me great optimism that for GMH to return to its former glory, everyone has to meet halfway. And I have seen glimpses of that in the months I was back.
I think the entire Kumar post is simply stating the obvious. We all know who we are in his post and exactly what he is referring to. It was just a matter of him putting it down in words. We all know the problems that exist and some just choose to ignore and do nothing about it. I highly doubt his post will have long term effects but OL pls update me if I’m wrong.
One undeniable fact is that we are all pulling towards different directions in life. Some enjoy the busy life, some enjoy the peaceful life. That is why I thank God everyday for his blessings by showing me that there is a totally different world out there that is entirely contrary to the life I was brought up to live in. And I pray that you guys find your sanctuary someday. And if you already did, congratulations!
In conclusion, in the pursuit of happiness, just make bloody sure you are truly happy when you get there.
I attached this vid to lighten the mood and give u guys some options for a holiday or a permanent escape. Enjoy!~
God Bless,
alonso
(ps: I think it’s damn ironic that when OL is putting his point across about ppl being bo chup, 3 ppl chose to not leave their names after reading his post. Out of the 5 comments made, only 2 have a name under it. I have zero idea who the heck the other 3 are, it may be a bot for all we know. But having said that, at least they replied coz I got a feelin some may have read it and choose to ignore totally. Haha…)
Firstly I’d like to apologise to OL for not replying your sms. I know it’s a lame reason but as you know I’m on the most basic hp plan, so every sms and call I make is costing and counts at the end of the month ($300 plus to be exact). I knew you would have contacted mandy and since he knew my birthday was super packed to meet up, he would have told you. Thus I did not reply you, hope you understand and that I appreciate the thought and well wishes!
The point I would most like to respond to is about ‘GMH not going anywhere’. Define ‘going somewhere’. ‘Misfits’ I agree to a large extent. ‘Underachievers’ I entirely disagree. I thought I knew what ‘achievement’ meant until I left sg. It is a super duper subjective term, so I’m unsure what you mean by why we cannot be something like other ppl. In fact, I’d be damned if I were to be like them. But that is a totally different topic for another day.
I understand the point you are trying to get across about other groups being able to meet up often, lend a listening ear to each other and essentially ‘grow’ together.
From my point of view, the crux of the matter lies gravely on societal pressures and trying to conform. As ppl get caught up in rat race, suddenly meeting an emo OL after work becomes a tiresome chore or even an impossibility for some coz of OT. This results in various kts that OL is trying to highlight.
This brings me to the point about making choices. We are no longer in secondary school. I’m darn sure at this age we make the choices about life knowing fully the consequences and what it promises to deliver. Like OL said, we all have different priorities in life. Everyone has the right to make their own choices. I respect that.
Simply put, if you choose a lifestyle or a job that entails draining the energy out of you in such a way that it is a challenge to meet a friend for dinner, I totally respect that and have no ill feelings whatsoever. You have made your decision out of your own free will, with no one forcing you, knowing full well what it means when you signed that contract and entirely aware of the consequences. If this is the life you choose, then good for you. There is no right or wrong coz you are entitled to your own set of priorities. Other ppl may differ, thus the misunderstandings.
I humbly seek your understanding if I have turned down shopping, dining and especially movies over weekends. As I have explained to some, the crowds simply turn me off. I’d rather stay at home and watch CNN than get on the train with 10000 frowny faces to Orchard, especially not after living overseas. As I mentioned above, I prefer to meet on weeknights supper, some of you prefer wkends. No one is right or wrong, just different life choices we made. However, I’m glad and entirely appreciative that I had regular meetups both on wkdays and wkends. This gives me great optimism that for GMH to return to its former glory, everyone has to meet halfway. And I have seen glimpses of that in the months I was back.
I think the entire Kumar post is simply stating the obvious. We all know who we are in his post and exactly what he is referring to. It was just a matter of him putting it down in words. We all know the problems that exist and some just choose to ignore and do nothing about it. I highly doubt his post will have long term effects but OL pls update me if I’m wrong.
One undeniable fact is that we are all pulling towards different directions in life. Some enjoy the busy life, some enjoy the peaceful life. That is why I thank God everyday for his blessings by showing me that there is a totally different world out there that is entirely contrary to the life I was brought up to live in. And I pray that you guys find your sanctuary someday. And if you already did, congratulations!
In conclusion, in the pursuit of happiness, just make bloody sure you are truly happy when you get there.
I attached this vid to lighten the mood and give u guys some options for a holiday or a permanent escape. Enjoy!~
God Bless,
alonso
(ps: I think it’s damn ironic that when OL is putting his point across about ppl being bo chup, 3 ppl chose to not leave their names after reading his post. Out of the 5 comments made, only 2 have a name under it. I have zero idea who the heck the other 3 are, it may be a bot for all we know. But having said that, at least they replied coz I got a feelin some may have read it and choose to ignore totally. Haha…)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
A Friend In Deed
Monday night, on the train back home from town. I was reading A.C Grayling. Two points struck me.
First, Aristotle said that a true friend is 'another self'. The concern that you feel for your friend is the same concern that you feel for yourself, projected onto another person important enough to have become a part of you.
For that to happen, you must constantly leave open your heart and soul for the perusal of those important to you. That is the mark of true friendship. Certainly, those who know my weak sides and the dark, ugly parts of my soul are true friends to me, because I trust and love them as I do myself. Then it all boils down to this: it is not love, companionship, loyalty and all those nice ideals that define friendship. In the end, it is honesty.
Hard, brutal honesty to overcome the fear of judgement. Once that fear is overcome, you'll find that true friends do not judge because true friends understand that pure honesty is beyond judgement. True friends understand that this is who/what you are and it is strength on your part to have shown it to them.
Secondly, Grayling himself said that life is contract for loss. To live is to always be prepared for loss, because it is impossible for any life not to include any loss. (Unless one is to pass on before his loved ones, thus sparing him the agony of losing them.)
But life is always fraught with losses, and this is a condition I am still not able to come to terms with.
AH
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
4 horse race and moi
A new year and a new term awaits. I'm checking out the other racers at the starting line. Not looking good
No.1: Bachelor from Princeton University, Masters from Harvard University.
No.2: Bachelor and Masters from Columbia University.
No.3: Bachelor and Masters from Cornell University.
No.4: A few Bachelors and a Masters from the London School of Economics.
Sure, I'm finally slugging it out with the best and the brightest.
So why do I still feel like the underdog? It's nothing to do with pedigree, NTU has given me an education that makes my Masters worth its weight in gold. It is the dark feeling that I can be much better than this, running faster than I am right now, working harder than that.
I'm not sure where my limits are, or whether I'm even being the best I can be right now.
But this is the real GMH spirit I guess, we get knocked down but we get up again. Excellence is a bitch to achieve, but every aspect of our lives hinge on it. Lambo, kips, status, fame, fortune and control over one's own destiny. None of these can come without hard work or ambition. So we keep our heads down and slog, occasionally looking up to check out the stars and see how far that light at the end of the tunnel is.
Everything can turn out so beautifully, so long as I continue punching above my weight and keeping my chin above the water. Then there's the problem that lightweights always face: you can slug above your weight, but you better damn well be able to take a punch from the big boys.
AH
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