Paul's Fulfilling Life

Today was the day that my bro & I received our outstanding & commendation awards at IRAS. This year, we had the company of our mum who cheered for us as we went to stage to take our awards. This also explains why there are so many pictures taken this year. This was also the first time that my mum attended the ceremony with us. However, mum was telling me that the award presentation happened too fast when it was our turn to receive the award, therefore she was not able to capture a good shot when we were on stage. Therefore, I had to wait for Clara to send me the photos before I can upload it here to show you guys. I wanted to load my pictures onto as a slide show, but it seems that Slide.Com & Rock You are facing problems as I was loading the photos. The lucky thing is that I am using Windows Live Writer to write my blog most of the time nowadays. Loading the pics and putting captions was a breeze. I just hope that you guys don't find it tedious having to stroll down t...

I decided to take mum's advice and shared my joy of receiving my confirmation letter with my colleagues. In order to prevent the fiasco that was created yesterday, I decided to get them the Van Houten chocolates which is more cost worthy and easier to manage in terms of sharing, considering the fact that I am working in a big office of close to 40 staff. I did something similar that my boss' son did yesterday. I pasted a note. Some of the staff asked me why I decide to treat them chocolates, which I only told to the colleagues that I were close with. Some of them were pretty probing, so I just didn't bother to answer. It seems that my boss were right about these gossipy people. But I guess it is normal to have these people around, otherwise there would not be such things called "office politics." I am glad that most of them were grateful and kept thanking me. I am glad that I passed the public relations excercise. Some of my colleagues were still seething with a...

I have gotten my long awaited confirmed letter finally, after being confirmed verbally last month. The confirmation comes with a shock and a happy news. A 3 month termination notice period if either party wishes to end the association. A expected minor salary adjustment in view of the staff strength of my company. Let's hope I would be able to enjoy my work here!

My boss' son with his family was back from their short trip and brought back some tidbits for all of us. As our staff strength is quite big (there are about 30 of us in total), he put all the tidbits into a box & pasted a note, stating "Please take some & pass down." Instead of doing it himself, he got my corporate secretarial colleague to do the task for him. At first I thought it was nice of him to share the tidbits with us, but later when I heard him say that "The people in front take a lot, the people behind don't have much to take already. I wonder if some of them took it for their family members." My fellow workmate and I were pretty disturbed by this. As my workmate puts it, "The note just state, please take some and pass down, it did not state any number." My thought was "If you want to share your joy with the people, don't be so petty, otherwise don't even buy for us." As my boss puts it, if my son wants to g...

I just met up with Elaine, Wendy, Stella & Terence for our friend, Rebecca's belated birthday celebration at NYDC Bugis Junction. Here are some of the photos we took using my camera. The rest of them are in Elaine's camera. Kaka with her Hello Kitty birthday cake from us Girl Power. Kaka, Stella, Wendy & Elaine Kaka with the 2 gentlemen: Paul & Terence Group pic for the memories Hope that Kaka likes the card & present that we have chosen for her and we hope that whatever she wishes for come true for her. It was nice to catch up with them once a while, although today's gathering was a short one. Till the next gathering then. 

If you have noticed the header in my blog, I have joined my friends, Curryegg & Dalicia in campaigning to help the people who are suffering in Burma and Sichuan. I know that all of us are facing problems with the rising costs of living, but please try to help wherever we can for these people who are suffering due to  natural disasters that happened recently. Any amount of money helps the people in continuing their fight in survival and overcoming the loss of their loved ones in a big way. We can do our part through the following channels:- Singapore Red Cross Society - www.redcross.org.sg DBS Bank Internet Banking Chinese Embassy - Tel：64712117 Mercy Relief www.mercyrelief.org Telephone donation through the charity show tonight - 《温情无国界，让爱川流不息>> 捐款热线（开放至6月1日）： 6元捐款：1900 112 5121 18元捐款：1900 112 5122 50元捐款：1900 112 5123 I just hope that they can get over their loss of their loved ones soon.    

Lets101 - Online Dating Lets101 - Online Dating   Saw the first quiz on Jiafa's blog & thought that it was interesting to share.

I was travelling on this Service 74e (SBS 1943)  this morning as I had not wanted to take the non-air con Service 74 in front on this hot Friday morning. Besides that, it is usually faster than the normal Service 74 as it skips some stops and I can catch up with my bus captain friend, Mr. Lim Tong Tai, who drives this particular shift this week. However, little did I expect that the bus to be caught in the jam due to an accident at the bus stop after AMK Hub. I was expecting the bus to change its route  as it does not stop at the next stop at Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. To my surprise, I was informed by the bus captain that the bus cannot take the alternative route as the Operations Command Centre will ring the bus captain up using the GPS system and give the driver a stern warning. I wonder what is the purpose of having 74e in the first place, as E in this case means Express and what's more, we are paying double of a normal Service 74 bus. If the bus captain must follow a design...

I am tempted to ask one of my former lecturers for ACCA this question after she told my friend not to attempt for the coming June exam after my friend had asked her if it was alright for her to just run through her notes, instead of practising the exam kit. Because of this, my friend became very sad and stressed. I spent about an hour with her on the phone to convince her to go for the exam, no matter what. As a lecturer, I feel that she should not have looked down on my friend. A lecturer should teach in a easy to understand way, to encourage students and to instill confidence in the students. Having taken this lecturer's lessons before, I must say she is not a good lecturer as her practice questions are not of exam standard, unlike Mr Sami, my Corporate Reporting lecturer whose questions are more exam focused. This lousy lecturer seems to have problems explaining concepts to students as well. I just wonder if she would ask her child not to go for exam next time if her ch...

Was at Klang & KL for 3 days to visit my relatives. I learnt many interesting stuff on this trip. However, I have to apologise for the lack of photos as I didn't manage to take any as my cousin and aunt did not want to go anywhere when we were there. Stuffs that I learnt include:- Never go on a Malaysia trip from Johor Baru from Larkin Bus Terminal on a public holiday weekend. We paid RM$65 per person for a bus ticket that normally cost RM$24. Never to expect to travel on a coach even if you paid for the ticket. Despite a 3 hr wait at the terminal to wait for the price to drop, we had to travel on a school bus, which is illegal. There may be problems if we ran into a roadblock, as Malaysian police are famous for corruption. Survival skills. Was at my relative's place when the water pipe to 3 blocks of flat burst. Nearly went without water during the last day of the trip. But thanks to Auntie Yan Chun, who always kept supplies of clean water, we managed to ...

Since yesterday, I have been very angry because just feel that some "38" colleagues from this particular dept who complained that I talked too loud, when they themselves are talking very loud and talking about their personal stuff when they are working and I think they are talking louder than me and yet they have the cheek to complain to my partner about me. If I don't make noise. it doesn't mean that I don't bite. I don't want to react as I don't want to lose this job as I am just confirmed. I think that person who do that really should think about himself or herself. Because if it happens again, Paul will bite and hard till the person can't fight back. Travelling plans have been upset too. My aunt, whom my mum roped in to travel with us wanted to have the travel plan brought forward to tonight. I was not okay with the plan and wanted to scrap the idea of travelling to KL altogether as I forsee that I will have problems sleeping on the bus la...

Would like to wish my godsis cum fellow blogger friend, Rebecca a happy birthday in advance for her birthday on Monday. Dear Mei, I know that you are feeling troubled recently. Just to say that when we live in this world, we have to go through many ups and downs as life is not always a bed of roses. To face our problems bravely, we must continue to stay posituve and push ahead. I hope you will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel that you are travelling on soon. Hope you have a wonderful birthday. I hope to see the happy & cheerful Kaka back in action soon. Hope you like this pic on display!!! :-) From: Paul Kor  

Since I will be having my short retreat in KL this coming long weekend. I would like to take the opportunity to wish Rain a Happy birthday in advance. Her birthday falls on this Sunday. Dear Rain, Hope you have a wonderful birthday on Sunday. Stay positive and you will be rewarded with good tidings soon. Fron: Your friend, Paul

This post is to congratulate my brother for receiving the Commendation Award from IRAS for his services rendered in the recent e-filing excercise. Like me,   he will be receiving his award on 31 May. My parents and I had a hard time convincing him to attend the ceremony to collect his award. I would like to take the opportunity to thank our parents who would be attending the ceremony with us. I would also like to thank Darling, Elaine & Nicole for their congrats on hearing that I have won the award.

I just got this e-mail from Ms Rena Soon stating that I got the Outstanding Volunteer Award again. Dear Paul, Congratulations on being awarded the 2008 e-Filing Volunteer - Outstanding Award! once again! You were nominated by your Volunteering  Centre for this award in recognition of your commitment, service and leadership qualities, and good understanding of e-Filing system. We would like to invite you to the IRAS e-Filing Service Appreciation Ceremony to receive the certificate from Mrs Quek Bin Hwee, Vice Chairman of National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre.  You can also invite one guest to attend the ceremony with you to share in your achievement! At the same time, please advise on your name to be printed on the certificate and confirm your attendance preferably before 21 May 2008 (Wed). Thank you. Rena SOON Yang Lin Assistant Corporate Communications Officer | Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore I am quite shocked and surpris...

My financial adviser came by my house yesterday to do a annual financial review for me. As we had knew each other for some time, we started to chat about our daily life as well. I got to know that her hubby was beaten up by their neighbours after some misunderstanding. It seems like he suffered a bad injury as his head required sitches. I just wonder if any of you out there have any good stories or nasty stories to share about your neighbour and how well do you know them and how is your relationship with them? Basically, my neighbours are good, except for 2 families who keeps to themselves. So for me, I just ignore them, for the fear that something of a similar nature mentioned above happens to me. Please feel free to share your story in the comment box.

  I caught this drama on Cruz Teng's blog last nite. Well, what can I say about the drama? It makes you hungry for more. I can't wait for Ep 6-10 this week. This story is about a rich gal, who did not know that her parents abandoned her brother when she was young. How will the story unfold? I am anxious to find out too.   林佩芬 飾 孫雨珊 丁志勇 飾 方偉喆 何子幹 飾 孫富 陳碧玉 飾 林惠 潘家鑣 飾 阿強 曾生蓮 飾 陳翠娥 蔡宜孜 飾 劉雲蒨 葉美嫻 飾 算命師 謝家發 飾 陳小龍 Alternatively you can go to podcast to catch the drama.

My mum got this interesting sms from my fellow blogger friend, Darling today. "A mum is a rose whose petals are soft A mum is a lily whose stem is tall & strong A mum is a person who is never wrong A mum is a person u should love forever Trust her, believe her & never doubt her From one mum to another. Pass this to someone who you think is a good mum. I just did. :-) Happy Mothers' Day." I thought that this was a touching message that is deserved to be shared with all mums who are reading my blog here. Just feel that your love for your mum should not be shown only on Mothers' Day. In fact it should be shown everyday.  

Recently my dad discovered that his pair of "Made In China" shoes went missing after he placed it at our doorstep. I wonder who was the thief that is so interesting that would not have money to buy a cheap pair of China shoes?

Just got myself a new hp as my E900 has some problems with its # button. This is the latest model from Samsung, the Music Touch U900. The price was okay, considered with contract. and it has a 5 Megapixel Camera to boot, with a FM Radio too.

I was invited by my tax manager, who is a SSA member like me and my mum to a Hokkien song concert yesterday nite. Since she had 2 extra tickets, I got my mum to come along as well. The Taiwanese singer, Ah Kiat Kia is wheelchair bound, yet he impressed me with his courage to deal with his problems by embracing the religion that gave him a lot of strength and courage. I must say I enjoyed the concert, as it also showed how the performers overcame their problems to perform for us. Would like to thank Amy for inviting us to the concert  

  I took my whole family out for dinner at Hilton hotel today, in celebration of Mother's Day on this coming Sunday, my dad's birthday on 23 May and National Family Day on 24 May. My brother was very pleased as he was able to enjoy good food free of charge, since dinner was on me. Dad was not surprised that the bill cost so much & chided me for spending so much. I am glad that they enjoyed the food as it has been a while since I have spent quality family time with them. Just wish to express my thanks to my dearest mum who went through a lot to bring me up to where I am today.

It is very rare that I put up a nasty comment about bus drivers nowadays after knowing that they are just earning "peanuts" from their long hours on the road. But this bus driver that I am going to talk about, drove that particular Service 132 today (SBS 2748). This driver was making sharp turns at a high speed, braking at the last min, nearly causing some passengers to fall off the bus with his reckless driving since I started my bus ride from the Thai Embassy. He did not even bother to apologise to us for what he did. I just wonder how he got his bus driving licence. He would be finding his way to the manager's office soon as I will be launching a complaint to SBS Transit.

Was entrusted by my tax partner and tax manager to design a weekly job report format today. Managed to design one on the spot. The purpose of the report was to help the firm track its job cost based on the number of jobs that a staff could handle in a week. This seems to be in response to my firm's junior partner os opening another similar firm to do some high-profile clients' audit and taxation services. I am glad that my boss and manager is pleased by what I have designed and I appreciate their compliments for this.

You Are 76% Ready for Marriage You are almost ready for marriage, and you could be ready to be engaged. You're still figuring out the details of your ideal relationship! Are You Ready for Marriage? The meaning of sign SAGITTARIUS Ninth sign of the zodiac Your element: Fire Your ruling planet: Jupiter Tarot card corresponding to your sign: Temperance Your lucky color: Cobalt Blue Your stone: Sapphire Like the other signs of Fire, your sign attracts others. If everything is going well in your life, and sometimes even in spite of problems, you have a gift for smiling, for gaiety, and for conviviality.  From your ruling planet Jupiter you have inherited a great potential for luck. Your intuition is very strong; you get this from the animal portion of your emblem: the centaur. The centaur has the body of an animal and the head of a man. Symbolically, the animal aspect represents intuition. T...

Recently Crunchyroll and IMMEM are down, therefore I could not watch my dramas online. Fortunately, YES 933FM brought back its CAN Theatre. The first drama is 名牌女郎． This drama, written by Chongqing stars the entire crew of YES 933FM. I feel that the drama is very realistic and a bit funny. This is a story of 5 rich daughters who are good friends. The story etwines around their lives. Do take a listen to it. Cruz as Zhijian Peifen as Peiling Mary as Xiaoli Jiahui as Jiajia Liyi as Lisa Weibin as Bing Ivy as Irene Jiafa as Michael The website is http://www.podcast.sg/933_drama.asp

Was tagged by Rebecca to answer on this interesting tag, so here it goes. 1. At what age do you wish to marry ?. Not thinking of marriage at the moment as there is no lady who has set my heart racing now. Haha.-:) 2. What I want the most now ?. My ACCA Level 3 qualification. I believe with this, everything that I am looking for will fall into place. 3. Who is the person you trust the most ?. My mom. 4. Do you think that you have enough confidence ?. Yes 5. If you have a dream to come true , what would it be ?. Not to have cerebral palsy and walk as normal as my friends around me. 6. Are you satisfied with youself ?. Yes 7. What are you afraid to lose the most now ?. My confidence to handle my job and my friends - 8. Do you believe in eternal love ? - Not sure . Some people find it hard to have a life partner like me due to my physically challenged condition. 9. Have you broken someone's heart that he/she tried to ccommit sucide ...

I wonder what my brother did to his notebook again. It has crashed again after less than 2 months. 2 months ago, the notebook was brought down by 20+ virus. Now the notebook auto restarts by itself since Wed. I wonder what is the problem? Looks like only money can solve the problem. There goes another hole in my pocket.

Just want to wish my friends and fellow blog readers have a happy labour day today. May you stay happy and feel rewarded in your job. I think this is the most important in working life.

I was bugged by this problem since my tax partner assigned me to fill the corporate tax return (Form C) for our clients. The other tax partner, her husband is of the view that if there is no purchases in the statement of accounts, but there is gross profit stated in the accounts, the cost of sales figure should be stated as he said it looks wierd to have gross profit when there is no My senior executive colleague, I is of the view that cost of sales is equal to purchases. ( this is something that I do not agree as by accounting definition, cost of sales is made up of opening stock, purchases and closing stock) My supervisor A, fellow colleague, WH and I are of the view that purchases should be input only if the statement of accounts states that there is purchases in the account. I am in a state of confusion now on how to solve this problem. As WH puts it, it will be hard to work as a team if this small thing blows up. Should I send an e-mail to IRAS to seek clarification? The questio...

My new friend cum student, Cindy is recuperating from her operation that she had last week. Since I came to know about it when she told me last week, I thought that it would be nice to send the above hamper to her to help her in her recovery. She messaged me a day later after she got the hamper, saying that she was surprised and touched to receive the hamper. She told me in the telephone conversation later that she feels that she has to do well in her coming papers as she feels that I have helped her grasp the concept better. I am glad that she likes the hamper and the gives her motivation to do well in her coming exam.