Wedding

It was Shitfong's wedding yesterday.

I was supposed to be a Brother. It was my first time. I was so excited the night before I didnt get to sleep till 2am and i was supposed to be up at 5:45am.

I woke at 5:45am to the sound of my alarm and then went back to sleep. I had this mini dream/subconscious thingy going on which i vaguely dreamt that i was late and jolted up again at 6:05am! SHIT i am late!!!

Thankfully my shirt and pants are ironed and hung, cuffs in the holes, pen in the shirt, tie is tied, petrol is pumped, car is washed and preened.

The day's proceedings were like any other i imagined. I say imagined cos i've never been to one. Though they did say that the Sisters were relatively mild.

Night dinner was at the Fullerton. Sucha beautiful hotel



It was heartening to see a good friend get married. I'm very happy for him and it made waking up early worth it! :)

It was a pity i didnt meet any soppy girls who were touched by the whole marriage thing and felt an urging to get hitched, like what they usually do in the movies.

Pleasant Surprise

It was a pleasant surprise to see this package on my table when i got home that day.



Turned out it was from Acidgal.

Inside was a cup and a stuffed toy.



How sweet!

Survival

I keep forgetting to blog about this but my boss also got me something from his trip from LA.

A small pocket knife, with my name at the back.



He likes to get this kind of gifts, last year was those car license plates with my name and the previous year was a key chain of a car license plate with my name.

But a knife... a little survival knife.

In my letter/card which i wrote to him to accompany my Christmas/farewell gift to him, I wrote, " In my three years, everything you have taught me, will prepare me for the world out there as I move on to new challeneges and this small pocket knife that you just gave me encapsulates these survival skills"

So poetic right?

Good Bearings

Since I was in town for Hua Ting, I thought I'd do some shopping.

Managed to get this tie to wear to shitfong's wedding.

W00t



I then collected my shirts from the tailor. Driving from Taka to Peninsula is an expensive affair with S$2.50 for the ERP and S$3 for the parking... gosh and then going home it's S$1 ERP on ECP.

(I just realised not many foreigners would understand the preceding paragraph what with the acronyms)

I'm going to get my hair cut and then I'll be ready for the wedding.

Now, if only i had enough money left for the angpao.

Back

The Cyster came back from Abu Dhabi yesterday noon and I went to pick her up from the airport simply because I was bored watching dvds at home for 2 days straight.. Of course it helped that she had christmas presents for me.

She got me a Zegna tie.



and Zegna cufflinks



a 2008 The Office calendar... the Office rox man



a box of six Krispy Kreme



and 2 mangos.,



Then we went to Hua Ting for lunch, because she hasnt had pork in ages.

That's her in the pic.. for a minute of fame..

Last Dinner

And it was decided that my farewell/christmas dinner was to be held at the Melt Care at the Mandarin Oriental. Frankly, I thought it was a bit extravagant given there were fifteen people in the office and it was $80 per person.

It was a poignant last 30 minutes. Removing my office key from my key ring, removing the door access card from my wallet, packing my blackberry to make sure all the cables are inside and then trying to pack up my laptop. It's true that you start to cherish something when you know you're going to lose it. In the last hour of my last day, EVERYONE in the office, including some in my Beijing office, went into a Skype conference chat and it was a mad frenzy trying to keep up with a conversation with 10 people. But alas, it had to end when i had to shut down my laptop.

I sent out an email to everyone

"Hi everyone

Thank you for the kind wishes.

THE BOSS promised that the learning curve will be steep and he kept his promise, which is among the many promises he kept in the last 3.5 years.

My joy comes from seeing the office grow from a team of five to 27 staff spread over 3 offices. The regular traveling of the job has accorded me the unique opportunity to have “mini holidays” with many of you. This has allowed me to get to know you better outside the office, though some say I’m a boring traveler :(. My only regret was not being able to spend more time with the newer folks and getting to know you all better.

I’ll still be in Singapore and if you would have me over for fancy meals, I’d be more than delighted. In the interim, my email address will be XXX@gmail.com and I’m available on Skype as well.

Thank you once again and it has indeed been an honour and privilege to be working with this group of fine professionals.

I wish you all well and may 2008 bring more opportunities and abundance.

Yours,
Cornball."

Dinner was a bit odd cos I wasnt very hungry and it was just a time of chatting and all. Towards the end, my boss gave an stirring speech/tribute that left me quivering. It included the usual words you say when someone leaves but he ended by looking me in the eye and said "On a personal note, I'll miss his friendship and presence in the company"

It was about then that i knew I wasnt able to give my speech.

Seeing that i couldnt continue, they went round the table, saying pleasantries about me (some were quite fake i thought. whahahahahha)

But one dude, one of my first juniors said this. I remembered word for word because it was so sweet. It was even sweeter because he was someone i pushed damn hard cos he was a bit slow.

He said

"I'm glad to have Cornball as my first mentor. In my first week in the office, Cornball was travelling. But when he came back, I followed him around ever since and I've learnt alot from him. It'd be weird to come to work without him around"

With that, he teared. GOSH!

I composed myself sufficently to say something short and then i choked on my words and couldnt continue. What a wuss. Wasted the perfect speech i had in my head.

My boss then handed me a present.

From the shape of the box, i had an inkling what was inside. But i hoped it wasnt what i thought it was.

The gift was an epitome of everything my boss was nice but forgetful. He got me a pair of pens.





He already knew i have a pen cos he played with it once... haha..

Here's my pen.



I got more gifts...food again...



When i got home, I got this email.. so funny really

"Hey Cornball,

Understand that yesterday was your last day at work.

Hope you had great fun at the dinner last night!

Unfortunately, I did not manage to bid a formal goodbye to you.

Although we have not worked on too many assignments, I have really learned a great deal from you. Thank you so much!

Now that you will be moving on, I wouldn’t be able to meet the with you or get grooming/tailoring tips from you anymore. And too bad we can’t go back together to Wenchang on an assignment next time.

So here wishing you all the best in your future endeavours and more progression up the social ladder for you!

Please do not forget us when you become a MD somewhere next time! And don’t forget to find a wife amidst your rapid career progression!!! And hope to see you in some Lambo or Porsh the next time we meet!!

Take care, enjoy and God bless!

Best wishes,
XXXX"

And this is how we ended...

Warning: This is a long one. Read it if you're bored or if you like me a lot.

...............................................................................

I couldnt sleep the night before. I slept at 12, woke at 2am, at 4am and 6am. Couldnt go to sleep till 7am, which was when I had to wake up.

I woke up so many times because I kept dreaming. Dreaming of how the announcement of my departure would be like. It's funny cos I dreamt many versions with different groups of friends.

I thought the announcement would be during our weekly monday meetings. But my boss didnt turn up. Then at 1030am, we were told he just landed from LA so he wont be coming in today.

NOT COMING IN? Like that how? Tomorrow my last day leh. I was left ruing and happy that I'm leaving.

One of my colleagues - whom had guessed that i was leaving and asked me about it and i told her - passed me a paper bag.

On each of the items, there were little post-it notes. As i tried to read her cursive handwriting, I realised each item has some significance.

On the Mamee, Hello Panda and Yan Yan - "Remember the mamee and hello pandas we used to eat when we were OT-ing?"



On the boxer shorts - "I remember bumping into you at Raffles City and finding out about your Lego love. The robots on the shorts look like Lego and i bet you like Transformers.

The rainbow tag was some inside joke about my Gay #1 colleague from eons ago.



On this fridge magnet - "You taught me many handsigns. Some are captured in this board"



On this fridge magnet - "Your infamous snappy mood? This saves u from having to write them out"



I was so touched I brought her and another colleague to Prego, cos I had a S$65 voucher from buying my phone.

After lunch, two good things happened. Another colleague - my boss's PA - passed me this bag.



Inside is..



I realised that the gifts i've gotten so far indicate what my colleagues thought of me. A greedy ass :(

The second good thing was that my boss came in! w00t!

We discussed some work and handover stuff and I told him i managed to secure this deal in the Maldives while he was away. It was the same resort he and I went to in July 2005. What I didnt post in that entry (i was pretty sure I did but now i cant find it) was that after the first night, he heard that his mum was very sick in Kuching. He was in two minds whether to go see her or not at dinner time, largely cos I was a n00b then and he wasnt sure. I assured him that I'm up for it and he can go in peace.

He then left with his dinner half-eaten.

So now, I told him... ya.. we got this one again.

He said " Good, then i can finish my dinner."

I went "Huh???"

He replied "Remember I didnt finish my dinner that night?"

I said I was surprised he remembered cos it was soooo long ago.. more than 2.5 years now.

He said " Of course. Sentimental things like this, I'll remember"

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

In the end, he sent out an email at 7pm to announce my departure. There were some shocked gasps and frenzied skyping.

That's about all for the day.

Badminton

I've been playing badminton for two weeks now.

It's one of the sports where i can play reasonably well.

Last week was my first time in 1 year playing. Totally out of shape man. Huffing and puffing all the way.

This week was slightly better. I think it's cos i wore this shirt.



After the game, I went to wash my car and pump petrol. Long time since i washed my car cos of the incessant rains. I felt disgusted that my car has a lot of water marks so i thought what the heck.

Whilst waiting my turn at the car wash, I ate some M&Ms mini i bought at the outlet.



In the end, I washed my car, vaccuumed it, applied some leather cream on the seats and dashboard. Check out my shiny seats.




I also removed the scratches on my car... as reported here.

Tada!



Now my car is fit to drive the babes from shitfong's wedding.

West Wing

I've been a huge fan of this series and when Amazon had a 46% sale on this, i had to order it.

The complete series, all seven series. Brilliant piece of work by Aaron Sorkin.

Here're some pics.

Check out the magnetically-sealed box.. with the Presidential Seal in front.



Each of the seven seasons is housed in a separate folder.



And here's inside each folder.



And a booklet with a synopsis of each episode and a script of the pilot episode!!

Hot Spring

Unknown to many, I was supposed to take the 6:30am flight this monday morning to Chiang Mai but I managed to wriggle out of it.

In my place, I sent my colleague and part of the place I/she was supposed to visit had this hot spring and she emailed me a pic of it just now.

So nice hor?

New Line

My irritating and often inept admin department refused to convert my corporate mobile line to a personal one when I leave the company.

After asking my new company on my mobile fone privileges, i went to get a new mobile line on Friday as well as a new pda/blackberry. First time in my life I'm a Singtel customer. So exciting.

Anyway I got this phone... the motorola Q9H... i never understood why they must name the phones so oddly.



You should be getting updates on my new number before Friday (15 Dec 07), else you know you're not wanted on my phone list.

Toy

A&W ger got me this.



I THINK it's a reindeer but this one has two hands instead of four legs...

Return of the Waffles and Guffaws

A&W ger is back. She msged me last night to say she'll be back in the office today and she has a present for me. WOOT!

She, like the rest of the world, doenst know I'm leaving.

Hatchday

It's my sister's birthday today. And also Yokie. And also a cousin of mine, but not every close, so i'm not sure.

Happy Birthday Gals.

Today in history, 7 December 1941, the insidious japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Habour, officially dragging the US into WWII.

6 June 1944, the US and UK landed on the beaches of Normandy in Operation Overlord in the greatest air and sea armada ever assembled at that time and possible till today. 6 June is also my mum's birthday.

Cake

My building's landlord gave us a cake today, from Mandarin Oriental Hotel no less.



Here's my little piece.

One of Those Days

It's one of those days when I dont really feel like working. So i didnt.

On my way to work (or so I thought), I called my chiro and asked for an appointment at 9:30am.

It's been a long time since i went there, as they've moved. I'd thought I'd go one last time and buy some pain-relief creams before I leave my company cos I dont think my new company will pay for chiro treatments.

The receptionist (which ive mentioned countless time and now too lazy to link the posts) said i smelled good and asked me which cologne i was wearing.

For the record, it's the Issey Miyake L'Eau Bleue D'Issey Pour Homme.



Then I went to open a UOB savings account for my new company to deposit my moolah every month.

Then i went to POSB to open a mysavings account, which technically forces me to save a fixed amount every month and they're giving a free Kenneth Cole watch. The account details are here.

I actually opened a step-up account with Citibank last week, which is also a savings kinda thingy but it gives a debit card and a cheque book.

I had lunch at Ampang Yong Tau Hu at Amara foodcourt... sooooo yummy..

And I bought agar agar back to the office.



I love all kinds of jelly: agar agar, the jelly where u need to put evaporated milk, nata de coco, pudding, koniyaku jelly etc...

Phone

In other news, I bought my dad a Nokia E61i yesterday.



I also intro-ed Lim Biskit this phone cos I thought it was pretty good.

Happy I Dont Know What Day

I cant remember if it's the national day or whether oil prices exceeded the psychological US100/barrel mark but there were celebrations in Abu Dhabi and cars were out in full force.

Cyster sent me some pics.

Books

With a slew of discounts happening in the book chains in town, I've been more than tempted to buy books and

I've begun to read "Good to Great" which I'd bought in this post. It's basically a management book which tracks the characteristics of 14 companies in the US which has performed exceptionally well in the last few years.

In the first 24 pages, I've already learnt something.

It wrote that a true measure of a good leader was one where the company still flourishes after he leaves and not crumble upon his departure. It got me thinking about my own departure. It's without any pride that my colleagues will have a hard time coping when i leave simply cos of my job scope and all. Of course, with time, they'll cope, like i did when my supervisor left. After reading the book, I realised that though I've created a legacy of sorts with the junior dudes (or turds) but it still isnt enough to make sure the transition is as smooth as i'd wished. Sigh.. that's no good. I guess that's what MM and now PM Lee has been talking about succession planning.

This entry started with a new book-buying frenzy. "Good to Great" inspired me so much that I bought its prequel " Build to Last" as well as Mitch Albom's "The Five People You Will Meet in Heaven"