How to write a resignation letter

Short but not formal....



A bit formal.....



Formal One......



Or this one ?

3D mock-up of my future house

Here are some of the pictures that my interior designer had came up with. Mainly quite satisfied but still there will be some changes here and there.



Living Room: We already bought a sofa in Grey fabric so the opposing wall might have a freshier color instead to contrast.





Dining Room: I loved the red theme but this gotta go too as we were too rush and bought two black dining chairs. So the color gotta accommodate the chairs instead.







Kitchen: Plain and simple. Might add in an extended island if actual space permits. Color should be something brighter. Maybe red for the bottom and white + tempered glass on top.





Bedroom: Neither of us took the blue color well. The space above the bed also seemed rather plain. This will undergo a complete overhaul. Gotta wait and see what the designer could come back with.





Shower area: Our bedroom is a merger of two rooms. This is the extended area which holds the shower area and also a walk-in wardrobe. Quite ok with this portion.





Basin: Right next to the toilet is the basin. We migrated it out of the toilet. This ain't gonna get HDB approval so if anyone also has this idea, be prepared to knock it away when you are selling the house.







Walk-in Wardrobe: And finally on the other side would be the wardrobe. I think I will eventually only get the small little corner at the side. The rest will be dominated by my wife's burgeoning clothes collection.

powered by performancing firefox

Chief Happiness Officer

Came across this website as it appeared on my blog's AutoRoll.

This guy basically devotes his time on how to attain work-happiness.

He even has a book on this and it's Free if you read it from the website.

I'm still running through the chapters but it has been interesting so far.

More items added

Renovation still haven't start and already we have added the following items, sitting in some warehouse now.

Dining table (chairs not included)


Dining chair x 2 (The other side be a platform seat)


L-shaped sofa (We had wanted red leather but decided to cut the cost)


And a coffee table to match (This is my personal favorite buy. Almost changed to a full glass one)


That's about all. Plus a bed frame that I don't have the picture for. I guess the rest of the stuff (mainly appliances) could wait till a later time.

Sponsors would very much be appreciated. ;)

Happiness @ Work

Excerpts:

Choose to Be Happy at Work

Happiness is largely a choice. I can hear many of you arguing with me, but it's true. You can choose to be happy at work. Sound simple? Yes. But, simplicity is often profoundly difficult to put into action. I wish all of you had the best employer in the world, but, face it, you may not. So, think positively about your work. Dwell on the aspects of your work you like. Avoid negative people and gossip. Find coworkers you like and enjoy and spend your time with them. Your choices at work largely define your experience. You can choose to be happy at work.

From Susan M. Heathfield, (About.com)

For the full article, head to this link.

Bedroom set

If there's one thing I've learned from all the sourcing of home furnishing, it is that being patient would really pay off.

We'd been too rushy and bought a bedroom set for my mum's room from the new Novena showroom a week ago. There wasn't much range to choose from and somehow the idea of trying somewhere else didn't strike me.

So we bought something like this, part of their White Collection.




Well, the one we bought were a little nicer. And it includes a vanity table set and a sliding door wardrobe. It cost $1,888. The stool (for the vanity table) and one more side table(it came with one only) were only given to us after much persuasion(especially the latter one)

And yesterday we dropped by Star Furniture at Toh Guan Road.

I saw this:



With a price tag of $1,499. And the stool plus the extra side table is listed in the package. Trust me, it looks much better than it does in this picture.

I'm beginning to wonder what other stuffs I might have overpaid for.

So I'm quite glad that I wasn't mesmerize again when I saw this nice sofa set that carried an after discount price of $2600.



The one I wanted to get is in brown. So as to match the same color coffee table that I had bought impulsively a week ago. Now I gotta based my new house design and color AROUND the furniture.

Doesn't seemed very intelligent.

powered by performancing firefox

Think before you lend

My wife and i had some dispute quite some time ago. She loaned someone money. This someone is a person whom I personally felt had total disregard for money given her lavish lifestyle.



And I believe it was also achieved because all her husband salary goes into her account. She in turn would give him a paltry allowance a day to get by. (Poor man if you ask me, pun no intended)



Despite that, she gets into debt and all(albeit she is not the cause of it).



Still, it didn't gel well for me when my wife told me she loaned money to her. She defended her decision and I'm so pleased a week ago when I could tell her in her face, " I TOLD YOU SO!"



For those who know me well, I'm not a lender. Conversely I try not to borrow from people too. Unless you need it for an urgent medical fee, you can go to GE Money.



And based on my understanding, the lender in this instance had exhausted nearly all possible avenues. GE Money, loan shark and apparently all my colleagues.



Actually I'm still okay up till this point, until I came to know that she would be going on a trip to Bangkok with her husband. On borrowed money no less.



Correct me if I'm wrong but I assume a typical person in debt would be scrimping here and there to repay off his/her debt. Not go to Bangkok on a shopping trip.



Then again, I have a friend who used to be in a lot of debt. He told me he is already owing banks $20k. An amount he can't clear. So it doesn't matter even if the debt balloon to $40k. He still couldn't clear it.



From that perspective, I can understand. Which also make me more pissed that my wife is a victim here.



Oh well. I guessed $200 is a small price to pay to see the person behind the veil.

There are not stupid questions, only stupid people

One of my ex-classmate remarked this in class when another of them was asking the lecturer a question that has answer written all over it.

I like the way he puts it and it still stick with me till today.

My personal patience with stupid people is very low. But luck has it that I have the chance to meet so many of them at work and in school.

But it could never beat the stupid people in your personal life. The kind that replacement of them might involve huge amount of money.

You could change work, you could swap project mates but not so easy for this.

And if you have the luck to meet those with double standards, NATO(No action, Talk Only) and a brain that could barely fit into the size of a peanut shell, it makes me very glad

That I'm not alone in such predicament.

It also make me become a firmer believer of palmistry. As I always had pretty short Life line. Now II can more or less understand why.

powered by performancing firefox

Zhng your car this festive season

You got to give the guy credit.

Not only did he managed to blend in this car into the CNY festive tastefully, he also got an extra pair of eyes to monitor road conditions.

No more blind spots.

恭喜发财!!!

Sentosa Flowers 2007

How I spent my Satuday...with sheeps..

Sentosa Flower 2007

powered by performancing firefox

Best way to start a (Chinese) New Year

I think there is something about me and new year. It wasn't pleasant the first round, it sure ain't any better this morning.

It began when I start to hear a repetitive flipping sound. Oh dear. Problem with the car on the day I needed to use it the most(Btw, my original itinerary consists of Tampines -> Hougang -> Choa Chu Kang -> Woodlands -> West Coast -> Tampines)

It turn out to be a puncture of my tire.

2nd day of CNY. Where the hell could I get help.

Went to Ubi and made rounds and rounds before very luckily chanced upon a half-open workshop that actually do tires.



I had read Mr Brown's blog about this punctured tire and was thinking that it be at most another $20 for me.

Unfortunately things were never so simple for me.



So how, mysteriously, the entire metal portion of a brand new screwdriver got pierced into my tire. The damage was so huge that a patch can't do the trick. I gotta change the entire tire.

$100...

Not only the tire got screwed, I got screwed too...



Still I'm grateful that the uncle at Ban Seng Tyre Services was opened when I needed them the most. Or maybe I should thank his friend who made him open his shop in the first place due to two punctured tires.

1 week break!

My office will be closed for the entire week from 17th all the way till 24th.

As much as I worry about the things that are needed to be done, I am really looking forward to it.

I haven't had a real break since my Hong Kong trip last July. It had been work work work since then. And with my new house coming up, the task list accumulated in my head seems to get longer and longer. I can feel it at the rate I keep forgetting things recently.

I still don't have much idea how I would spend the days as my wife would be working(Poor Annie).

I'll just take it slow. Wake up late, go for a brunch while sipping a hot cup of kopi-c. Reading the newspaper from page to page. Watching the pile of vcds and dvds I'd bought ages ago. Playing my xbox till the wee hours

This is life!

Renovation update 2

My meet up with all the interior designers is finally coming to an end.

From a list of 8, we shortlisted to 2. Aranus & Barang Barang Interior. Right now is more on the price really as I believe both of them could do an equally good job. Tomorrow I should know who I want.

And before I even signed on the dotted line, we had kiasuly bought some items in advance.

We got ourself a King Coil mattress (It was going at $500+, original price is close to $1k I think)

And for those who really like those cool designer furniture but allergic to the price tag, check this place out. They profess to imitate from the more expensive design and reproduce them on the cheap.

We chanced OM Home when we left. This place got some pretty cool stuff too. They have a showroom at Liang Court. We got one metallic lamp there for $120. I find it real cool as it is touch activated and each touch would escalate through 4 levels of brightness.



But the last one gotta be the best.



Oh yeah. My very first Osim massage chair. This chair is really self-convincing. Just sit on it and you won't wanna leave without one. Got it at a $300 discount at $3588. Instalment payment over 3 years at about $98 per month.

I can't wait!

Best name award

After much deliberation, the panel has decided to award the following company for having the best name for an organization.

The criteria for our selection is very simple. It takes a lot of guts and balls to name yourself like they did. The torment suffered at the registration office is more than enough for them to win this award.

Loosely translated, the best name is: "Hundred steps chase soul gym, Yin Yang five types qigong"

Pay to suffer

I just read in Today newspaper that in due course, Singaporeans who drive in needs to pay RM 20 per entrance.

So now beside exposing yourself to snatch theft, horrible floods, pit holes roads, having your car stolen, you gotta pay the Malaysia government to bestow you with that opportunity.

I can't wait.

The RM20 barrier




KL wants S'porean vehicles to pay more to enter M'sia, but JB fears loss of business

Wednesday • January 31, 2007

Lee U-Wen

u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg

THE gantries are up, the equipment is in place and the testing is in full swing. At the Causeway and at the Second Link, they are just waiting for a date to be announced.

Once that happens, prepare to add RM20 ($8.70) to your shopping budget each
time you drive into Johor Baru (JB) to pick up some groceries or top up your petrol.

Kuala Lumpur has decided that all Singapore vehicles entering Malaysia will soon have to pay this new entrance levy over and above existing toll charges.

Malaysia's Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor, currently in Singapore for the Association of South-east Asian Nations' Tourism Ministers Meeting, said that the
details were being ironed out. "It has yet to be approved but when it is implemented, I am sure Singaporeans will get used to paying it," he said.

Singapore has been charging Malaysian motorists $20 to enter Singapore and "we don't grumble", said Tengku Adnan. "What is RM20? Singaporeans come to JB to buy food and petrol at subsidised prices.

"Besides, we have lots more roads for Singaporeans to travel on. Singapore has less road."

To Kuala Lumpur, the levy makes financial sense. It was first mooted last
April, Malaysia's High Commissioner to Singapore N Parameswaran told
Today. The logic is that Malaysia should not be giving away its subsidised fuel to Singaporeans without getting anything in return.

But already there are murmurs of protest — not from Singapore but from JB.

The Malaysian city, whose retail sector thrives on Singaporean spending,
doesn't want its government to scare its big buyers away.


Former Kampar MP James Wong said the justification for the levy was "simply not strong enough".

He told Today: "There has to be some extraordinary circumstance before you
do something like this. They cannot assume that just because Singapore
is rich, they can impose this fee."

The economic benefits of the Singaporean market — especially in Johor — are compelling.

Last year, Singaporeans spent a whopping RM1.83 billion on food, shopping
and entertainment in Johor, with most hoteliers, shops and restaurants
heavily dependant on the powerful Singapore dollar to remain profitable.

In all, Singaporeans went to Malaysia an estimated total of 9 million
times last year, and this number is expected to rise to 10 million with
the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 tourism drive.

What's more, statistics from the Tourism Ministry show that six in 10 Asian tourists to Malaysia hail from Singapore.

When contacted, Johor MP Shahrir Samad admitted that there was "a lot of unhappiness among Johoreans".

"Many have asked me for the need to have such a measure. Collect the money for what? Who will benefit?" he wondered.

Ms Jenny Chan, general manager for Johor Bahru City Square shopping
centre, said that the levy could keep some Singaporeans from crossing
the Causeway.

With more than 300 stores, Johor Bahru City Square is one of the most popular shopping centres in the state, with 20 per cent of its customers coming from Singapore.

"Johor and other states like Malacca rely on Singaporeans, so we really should welcome them with open arms. We've not heard of a fixed date for the levy yet,
but we hope that the government will delay it, at least until Chinese New Year is over. That is one of the busiest times of the year for us," she said.

On the flip side, Malaysian cars currently pay $20 to enter Singapore, with motorcyclists having to fork out $4. This amount is valid from 2am to 5pm on weekdays; entry is free on weekends and public holidays.

Tengku Adnan said he had not heard complaints from Malaysian drivers even though the amount was huge when converted into ringgit.

Observers, however, note that Malaysian car-owners do not pay Certificate of Entitlement (COE) costs as Singaporeans do. Without the fee, someone living in JB could simply sidestep the COE cost by driving his Malaysian car in Singapore.

In contrast, most Singaporeans drive to JB to shop and spend. Would the new levy deter them?

Said business consultant Angelina Lim, 32: "Of course it will discourage me. First there was a toll increase, and now this."

Sales manager Roland Ang, 34, on the other hand, said he would continue to
visit Johor at least once a month to eat at his his favourite seafood joint.

"Yes, it will soon be a bit more expensive, but if a family of four sits in one car, it works out to just RM5 per person. It's quite affordable," he said.

Kuala Lumpur believes — and JB deeply hopes — that more will think like him.

Renovation update

Ok the pool table is out. With my skills, I stand high chances of breaking a few things when some of the balls fly off the table.



We were toying with the idea of using red extensively for our house.... until I came upon this:







I don't think I want my house to bear any resemblance to Geylang or a temple.



More or less the idea should be firmed. By next week I should have like 8 quotations on hand. It is so tiring going to one after another explaining the same thing over and over again.



I sure hope it's all worth it. By this week I would be submitting my finalized requirements back to all 8 IDs and see who can gives me the offer that I can't refused.

I PASSED MY IPPT~~!

YEAH!!!



And I rewarded myself with KFC. Muhahahah..



Best is I don't have to worry about my next test until close to November 2008!



Who's keen on All-You-Can-Eat Buffet??!!

Renovation update

On top of my very busy schedule lately, I still had to make time to meet up with a number of interior designers. So far I had met up with 7 IDs with a couple more than once.



It really is a very tiring process, explaining to them exactly how we want it to be and at the same time, trying to keep an open mind to their suggestions. And going through the exact same thing 7 times!



Really beginning to take a toll on me. And I still have to meet up with another one this coming Saturday.



Hopefully all these efforts would pay off handsomely in the form of MAJOR!! savings.



Sufficient enough for me to get a......







YEAH~~!!

My recent (no-life) schedule

Mon: Remedial Training @ Bedok Camp (6pm - 10pm)

Tue: Class @ PSB (7pm - 10pm)

Wed: Remedial Training @ Bedok Camp (6pm - 10pm)

Thur: Class @ PSB (7pm - 10pm)

Fri: Nothing but too tired to go anywhere

Sat: Remedial Training @ Bedok Camp (4pm - 8pm)

Sun: Dead...

Renovation Costs

My wife and I went to Rezt n Relax yesterday for a discussion on our flat's renovation.



I was pretty much impressed with what the designer had proposed. Her creativity in space planning is greatly admired.



Price tag? $63k. And this doesn't even include the electrical, windows and furnitures.



Our budget for renovation had been $30k. But more research = more wants. So slowly the budget starts to inflate to $40k then $50k.



And now, $63k.



I don't know man. $63k costs more than my car. Do I really wanna(or need to) spend so much?