Paul's Fulfilling Life

My tax partner has decided to implement a new way of working after my co-workers and me highlighted that there are problems working on the tax provisions with the audit dept. I was asked to draw up a checklist about the stuff to look out for when the audit dept passed their things to us. This is to prevent things mentioned in one of my previous posts from happening. Hopefully, this change works.

It was a bad start for me yesterday as my Samsung Soul handphone really  got to my nerves and failed to send out several smses. I decided to get a new phone anyway since I have already planned for my budget when it started to show its signs of failing. Decided to give Samsung a final try therefore bought the Samsung Jet. I think it is a classy phone with its functions that I am currently still exploring. Hopefully it does not fail me this time.

  It is my cousin’s birthday today & my mum’s 60th birthday in 2 days time. As my brother is only available on weekends as he is undergoing his Basic Rescue Training Course in SCDF, we had lunch with 2 of my aunts in celebration of the happy occassion. The food was quite nice, as my aunts requested for the healthy menu and the pricing was quite worth it for 6 people. I paid about $120 for the meal as my mum managed to ask for a 20% off the bill from the resturant manager. I must say that my mum is very good, That’s what I call “Auntie Power”.

Several members of the Singing @ K group were invited to a BBQ organised by Jas last night. It is always good to catch up with this fun loving bunch who likes to sing. I have not met some of them for quite some time, so I must say I enjoyed myself. It was also an advance birthday celebration for Jas as she turns a year older today. She said that it was her 1st time that she celebrated her birthday with her friends. I hope she enjoyed herself last nite. My birthday message to her:- Happy birthday to you, Jas May what you wish for come true for u. I hope all the nasty things that has happened to you in the past year will be over & done with. Don’t look back & be happy. U live your own life. U are responsible for your actions. I am glad to have a friend like you!!!

I can’t think of a good title to put for the post, so I just put this. Anyway, I am going to talk about work, therefore this title is appropiate since it is something that I come across everyday. I have been in my current firm for about 1 year 4 months now. It was on yesterday and today that an inconsiderate colleague  decided to break my co-worker and my record by really making us angry and making us have a staff meeting about this  inconsiderate colleague’s work attitude. Most of you who are working in the accounting/finance, audit and taxation field will know that a full set of financial statements as defined under the Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) includes:- 1. Balance Sheet 2. Profit and Loss Account 3. Statement of Changes of Equity 4. Cash Flow Statements 5. Notes to Financial Statements   Notes to the financial statements are details and information shown in words and comprative figures that cannot be shown in the summarised Balance shee...

That friend of mine called me again today to give me an update on her condition. Apparently, she was still feeling weak. The good thing about the doctor’s diagnosis was that it was not the dreaded H1N1 for her, but the doc gave her another 2 days MC to rest at home. This H1N1 has claimed 3 lives in Singapore. I guess its just part and parcel of life & death. Take care, my friends!!!

A friend of mine, who has called me everyday since she started her new job. I guess she had lost some of her friends due to some misunderstandings and she has regarded me as her brother since then. Receiving her call this morning, she told me that she was feeling sick again. This was not the 1st time that she has fallen sick since I knew her in October last year. I told her to see a doc and see what the doc has to say. She called me later and sought my advice on how to explain to her boss about the 3 day MC that the doc had given her. The doc had suspected that she may be suffering from the dreaded H1N1 and had asked her to be back for the dreaded test. I told her to tell truthfully to her boss so that her boss will see to the necessary quarantine measures if required. Hopefully, it is just a scare, & not for real.

I was at Changi Airport Terminal 1 about 4 hours ago to see off my long-time net friend, Grace, who is heading back to Perth for work. I have given her 3 self-burned CDs of Chinese songs since she was telling me that it was difficult to listen to Chinese songs at Perth. It is also difficult to download songs there, as I believe there are anti-piracy laws governing downloading of songs in Austraila. It has been a while since I caught up with her mum, Aunt Anna & Grace’s dad. We had a nice time chatting together. Aunt was still a little worried about her failure to file her income taxes. I told her not to worry about it, as she has done what she could based on the advice that I have given her. To date, I think she is the most modern mum that I have come across amongst my friends’ parents as she is able to interact with the young through Facebook, blog & MSN. Most parents may not be able to do that. The reason she gave was she was working with youths, so she needs to use th...

I was feeling a little bored at home yesterday, so I decided to step out of the house after having my late lunch. I went to AMK Hub to window shop and do some research on the price of the handphone that I am planning to get. After much consideration and inputs from friends and sales staff, I have more or less decided on what phone I will be getting. Most likely, I will be getting the Samsung Jet. Right now, I am just waiting for the price to drop so that it is more within my budget and my mum will not yell at me for getting such a expensive handphone. She is aware that my phone has been giving me problems. I saw the Citibank branch at AMK Hub and decided to check my status of my Citibank Credit Card application. After checking with them, I found out that they had put aside my application when I first applied for the card in January, so I was asked to reapply using my CPF Statement again. This time, it was approved immediately and I got my card within 1.5 hours. This is what I c...

My young boss was relieved that the dreaded Practice Review was finally coming to an end soon. It appears that my firm had scored well in most areas. I am happy that the review will be over too as I really hated wearing ties to work. The reason is simple. It restricts me to breathe properly, even though I don’t really button up the top button as if I really have to do it, it will be super uncomfortable. I got this new techinque while watching a Channel 8 variety show on last Tue. A Cacuasian wore a tie without buttoning up the top button of his shirt. My mum thought he still look presentable and asked me to try it out this way. Wearing ties these few days, I have discovered that my colleagues are really a gossipy lot. Much as I tried not to be too flashy with my ties, I had not updated my stable of ties for the past 10 years. Therefore, the ties I have, I must say are pretty colourful, with about 3 or 4 with cartoon characters. The reaction from my colleagues in these few days were, ...

I just met up with my new insurance agent from HSBC as the previous one who served me had left the industry to teach and to spend more time with her 2 young children. This young lady, Jeslyn has left a deep impression on me as she shared with me how she had managed to win her fight on her brain tumour as we chatted to get to know each other better. I am very impressed by her positive attitude as well.

I had met up with Elaine & Tammy last night for a get together at Caraousel at Royal Plaza at Scotts. The place was chosen once again as Tammy thought that the variety of the food was of a more variety than the buffets that we used to have at Hilton Hotel when Peggy was working there and Elaine had wanted to have buffet so that we can sit through the buffet and chat at the same time. Too bad, Peggy was unwell, otherwise it would be more fun. It was nice to catch up with the both of them as we actually chatted about many things. Till we meet again in Oct at Elaine’s customary wedding. I also would like to thank her for giving me a ride home. She was saying that she was not very confident about her driving as she tends to lose her way, but I thought she is a good driver.

A friend of mine was back from her holiday this week. The unfortunate thing was her belongings were stolen during the course of her trip. My mum had this bad exprience before too, so everytime when the family goes  on a trip, we usually have precautions in place. A photocopy of your passport with your name & photo. This is in case your passport gets stolen, you can go to the nearest Singapore embassy for assistance. Split your cash and valuables into different places on you, like different pockets. Be wary of people who stay too close to you. Do not bring expensive stuff that are not really needed.

I was supposed to blog this up yesterday but I was too busy to put this up as I was preparing what to wear to work and what tie to match for the work wear. Anyway, I don’t think I am too late for this. Just to wish the both of them a happy birthday!!! May what they wish for come true for them!!! Wish they stay youthful always.

Some of you may know that I have sent my Samsung Soul handphone for repair about 1 month plus ago. Last week, the same problems came back again. I went to the Service Centre again yesterday. The staff told me that since my handphone’s warranty has expired, the repair would be chargeable and the charges will be 75% of the cost that I paid for my handphone about 15 months ago, through a Singtel promotion at $198. Since my handphone is still usable, I thought of using it till end of the month or even later, before making the changes. I have run through the reviews at Hardwarezone.Com but I am still not able to make up my mind about what phone to take as some of the reviews have been littered with lots of differing points. The phones I have viewed and caught my eye are the following:- Samsung Preston (Touchscreen Phone) Samsung Star (Touchscreen Phone) Samsung F480 (Touchscreen Phone) Sony Ericcson T700i LG KP500 cookie I wonder which one to get ? Maybe you...

A planned mini KTV session was cancelled due to the lack of response. Therefore, I was able to meet up with my long-time net friend, Grace, who is back in Singapore for home leave for lunch today. I had suggested to meet her at Central, since she haven’t been to Central since it was completed. Brought her to Waraku Restaurant for lunch. We chatted a lot, since it has been 2 years since we last met. After the meal, I brought her to get some winter clothes for her boyfriend, before we parted at the MRT station.

My colleague, who has resigned some time ago has been asked to extend her stay till the end of Aug. She has agreed. I think it is good that she is staying for the time being as my boss has been trying her best to look for people but there has been no news or sightings of people who are going to take over and the work load has been on the rise since it is the peak period. Hopefully, my boss will try her best to source for someone to take over the post during this period.

My mum and I were awoken by a sudden telephone ring at about 4am this morning. It was from Dover Park Hospice where the nurse called to tell us that our relative had lost his battle to liver cancer and passed away today. We had expected this to happen, when I visited him about 3 weeks ago at his home. At that time, he was weak but he was still able to talk. My mum and I went to visit him at Dover Park Hospice on Tuesday, but I did not go in to the ward to visit him as it is always hard for me to see people suffering in pain. The other reason was if I had seen him in this state, I guess it may just trigger my memories of my NS pal, Jason, who lost his battle to an illness about 1.5 years ago. Rest In Peace Uncle 春雨. Hope you have found the peace that you wanted at the other place.

Jonathan & I were invited by YC to dinner at the Gallop Cafe at Pasir Ris Park last night. The cafe, I feel has a peaceful feel, which allows you to relax and enjoy the music that the band is playing. It is a good place for little catch up sessions with friends. I enjoyed the food, ambience and the music the band played. Thanks YC for bringing us to the place and sending us home.

My young boss has decided that all of us have to be in formal wear next week for the practice review. This means that the guys have to wear ties on top of our normal working wear. For ladies, it means no flip flops or skimpy tops. It has been close to 6 years since I last wore a tie to work. The fortunate thing is my mum had helped me stock up my ties when she saw a clearance sale for ties during my poly days. I have close to 10 ties in my wardrobe. It allows me to mix and match.

Pic courtesy of SCDF website Today is my brother’s Enlistment Day. He has been enlisted to Singapore Civil Defence Force. My mum and I specially took leave to witness the occasion. We took a cab to Jalan Bahar, where the Basic Rescue Training Centre is located to report for the enlistment excercise. My brother will be stationed there for his training for 7 weeks. The good thing is he will be booking out this Fri at 5pm. My mum & I were taken to a tour of the training facilities. We were very impressed as we are shown what were the contents of their training pack, their bunk facilities and their canteen. We are even informed of their allowance structure, which is better than SAF.  It is definitely better than the tour of Palau Tekong that my parents had when I was enlisted to NS 10 years ago. Let’s hope my brother can pick up some life-saving skills from his NS training in the next 2 years.

Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love! ~ from the movie Moulin Rouge ~ I had received news that 2 of my friends whom I knew through Singapore Facebook Singles events and participated in the singing events of Singing @ K, where I am one of the organisers, are together as an item. As their friend, I am very happy for them and certainly wish them happiness forever!!! P.S. I will not be disclosing the names of the couple as I believe the couple deserves some privacy as they are building their relationship. :)

I think some of you know that I was cheated by a timeshare firm but I managed to get my money back with the help from CASE. My dad, on seeing my success of getting my money back decided to file his claim with the Small Claims Tribunal to try to get his money back. The case was filed at the referral of CASE. However, my dad had attended 3 hearing sessions but that company which had cheated him didn’t show up. I just wonder how can one ignore a court order. Let’s hope the company respond soon.  

I was tasked to get a farewell gift for my colleague. I had a discussion with my manager, and we decided that we should give her something, instead of just buying her a dinner. Dinners eaten already are forgotten easily, reasoned my manager. In the end, we decided to get her a set of baby mittens and baby shoes since she is pregrant with a child. In that way, she would remember us. Went to Mothercare at Plaza Singapura and took a look at the product, after their website did not show that they have the product. I am thankful that Great Singapore Sale is on at this period as I got them at a very good price. Thanks for the great sales service, even though the sales staff had to wear masks in the light of the current H1N1 pandemic. Popped by Sembawang Music Store, which was on the same level and saw that Jacky Cheung had released his 2 Top of The Hits compilation. I thought it was a VCD/DVD version, but after checking, it is only a CD version. Although the price was alright, but I deci...

My colleague shared with me a new skill today, using Microsoft Excel to type letters. This is especially useful when you need to have tables and figures for tabulations in the letter as Microsoft Word tables can’t insert formulas or total the figures and it is always a little taxing to do the numbering and alignment as it always jumps about. After being given a crash course on using Excel to type letters, I learnt to appreciate MS Excel more.

In my 6 years of working life, I haven’t had the opportunity to work with a family-oriented boss. I am sure that some of you who have known me personally know that how were my previous bosses like, therefore I won’t say it in here. My current boss is very different from my previous bosses. She had asked me yesterday if I treated my family to a meal after she had rewarded me with my bonus. I was surprised and I told her I did. This shows that she values the work-life balance of the staff. I am glad to have a boss like her.

I was travelling on this Service 105 today and I nearly had the shock of my life. The China bus driver who was driving the bus had forgotten to close the exit door after the passengers had alighted at one of the bus stops along the bus routes at Serangoon Ave 2 and kept moving on till the bus reached the traffic light. That was when I told the bus driver that the door was open. He seemed unhappy in the first place. The fortunate thing was the majority of the passengers had alighted as the bus was two bus stops away from the interchange. If it had occurred at the time where the bus was the most crowded, I wondered what will the consequences be? I have since reported this incident to the customer service officer at Serangoon Interchange. Let’s hope the bus driver learns his lesson as safety of passengers is always of utmost importance.

I was withdrawing cash from DBS ATM the other day when I saw the ez-link card logo on the ATM machine. It then occurred to me that you may be able to top up your ezlink card at the ATM machine. What a innovative service.

I went to watch this movie yesterday with Maria, Gloria & CK. This movie is about:- Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle. I am totally capitvated by the effects and the action scenes of the movie, therefore I would recommend you to catch it if you always enjoy action.

I have finally finished the most difficult case assigned to me in a very long time on Friday. In the end, the slogging was worth it as my boss planned to raise the charges due to the time spent. I was asked to cede for a client to try to get IRAS to grant a further extension of time to submit the company’s past year tax return. Little did I know that the client had called them the day before and the authorities had only granted them a short extension. The short extension is definitely not enough to allow my bosses to finish the audit, let alone issue out the financial statements to the client, let alone file the accounts to IRAS. Some people are a funny lot. They have appointed a tax agent and yet don’t allow us to help them, while some clients take you for granted, and keep asking you for free advice, when you are not acting for them on the matter. As the Hokkien always say, “ You can be smart, but don’t be too smart!”