Paul's Fulfilling Life

Hi all, sorry for not posting any entries recently as I had been busy recently with my work and a new community project that I have been tasked to lead, which had been forced by unfortunate developments. It has been stressful for me to lead and co-ordinate for this project that I have fell sick. My doctor issued me with an enforced medical leave for 2 days. The project that I am leading is named Community Volunteer E-Filing Project. The reason for this project is because the joint project by IRAS & People’s Association has been ceased at the last minute and I have received feedback from my fellow volunteers and taxpayers that taxpayers may find going to IRAS is a hassle to some of them, especially to the senior citizens and illiterate. Not forgetting that some people do not enjoy visiting government agencies at all. It has not been easy dealing with all the relevant agencies involved to get this project going and given the short time frame that I had when I knew that the ...

It has been an unbelievable January for me as although my work has not been smooth flowing due to colleagues potlicking and a muted pay increase this year due to the economic slowdown. Although all these happenings made me have thoughts that are my efforts in helping the company in the times of need unappreciated and set me thinking about moving on to greener pastures. My family and close friends have advised me to stay and solider on. At the same time, the IRAS volunteer e-filing exercise could be undergoing some major changes in 2016 and 2017. I am glad to say I am part of the committee. I am sorry that I cannot reveal too much as I have a gag order slapped on me. I am glad that IRAS, as a Government statutory board adopts a “gathering of ideas” approach before implementing out. I certainly hope the taxpayers and fellow volunteers will get to see the benefits when it is progressively implemented. I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Ye...

Hi to the readers of my blog. It has been a while since I last blogged. Let me take the opportunity to wish you guys & gals a belated happy new year. Hope that all has been smooth flowing for all of you so far. I managed to find a new app that allows me to blog freely, although it is not as user-friendly as the Windows Live Writer, I guess we just have to make do with this for the time being. Finally, the year 2015 had ended. The time had come for me to clear my leave. You might have thought that my boss would be okay with me clearing a few days since it is my lull period and I still have a fair bit to clear for my 2015's entitlement, despite clearing some for my grandma's wake & 49th day. I did not expect her to say things like why should I use my leave to go back to my school's open house. My leave is my entitlement, therefore I am allowed to do what I like. That's the reason why I hate to put the reasons for my application sometimes. Granted that you ...

I am still trying my best to adapt to use the old Blogger Template to publish my blog. It seems like my Windows Live Writer is really walking out on me, causing me to blog by using the Microsoft Word Template. Frequent readers of my blog would know that I would usually do a yearly review of my year as it draws to a close. 2015 has been a taxing and tiring year for Paul, and not as smooth as I would have liked it to be. Work The year started off on a new note as my company welcomed a new associate company to be one of our new auditors. There had been problems with the previous audit associate. Due to a gag order by my bosses, I am not allowed to reveal too much in here. Working with new people means starting new working relationships all over again. I must say it is not easy but I am glad to say that I have been doing my best to achieve it, since taking over from my colleague, who threw out the task of coordinating work with the auditors to me in late June. This means more ...

My apologies for not being able to post for quite a while as I had been busy with my work as the corporate tax deadline was 15 Dec 2015 and I have not been blogging that much as Microsoft Live Writer has decided to walk out on me since my 2 posts ago. I am currently using the default typing screen from Blogger to type this blog, which is a challenge to me as I have been used to using Windows Live Writer. My birthday this year was unique as it happened to be the 49th day of my grandma's death. It gave me an opportunity to take leave on my birthday for the 1st time in 4 years. This marked the 1st time that my relatives had celebrated my birthday for me, which was a surprise to me. I enjoyed the celebration as my birthday cake was selected by my cousin's daughter, who is only 6 years of age and was able to open the box of cake with much ease. Dinner was with my family at a Chinese restaurant at Nex, My brother was only able to join us at home for the celebration with a cake...

I had been rather busy, which is good, in a sense, as you may have read from the papers that Singapore is experiencing an economic slowdown, but recently I do not feel appreciated in my work, although I still have a burning interest in my job. This could be due to too much work and office politics playing a part. Maybe it is a sign that I should move on after this economic slowdown, but my mum & myself had some reservations about this. I took a week off from attending social gatherings in November, in the week after my grandma’s passing as my way of respecting her and to thank her for treating me well as her beloved grandson. After all, Nov & Dec had always been my busy months. It did not help that my mum was still harping on the issue of me owning a flat under the Singles Scheme. To stop her from going on this issue further, I told her I will be doing so but I needed her support. She has agreed to do so. I attended my manager’s grandson fir...

The colour of my blog serves as a good background colour to break this news. My beloved grandmother had passed away on 31 October 2015. She was 91. I certainly saw this coming, as my family had visited her the last weekend before her passing. She was in pain, therefore she was not able to talk much. Her passing was actually a relief to her, as there would be no more suffering for her. As her eldest grandson, I have been doted upon by both of my grandparents since young. It is all the more so when I am born with cerebral palsy. Therefore I would certainly miss her. Her funeral wake which lasted from Sunday to Wednesday, saw all our relatives and friends gathering to pay respects to my grandmother. The happenings at the wake made me realized several things as I went through the course of the wake. 1.        You should not withhold the news of one’s passing from a fellow family member, regardless of any bad blood between family members. 2.   ...