Paul's Fulfilling Life

  I am documenting down my brush with COVID-19 so that friends will not be caught by surprise if one were to catch the illness. My parents were the first in the family to be diagnosed with COVID-19 on last Friday and Saturday respectively. Both of them were eligible for the Home Care Recovery Programme as they had their primary doses and were boosted. My brother and I had received our health risk warning on Sunday. As mum was concerned that they may spread the illness to us, she requested to be cared for in a dedicated facility. I must say the execution of the MOH protocol is confusing as 1.        My mum was the only one to have a healthcare buddy caring for her needs. 2.        The trip to the dedicated facility was delayed by almost a day. We were left frustrated by the wait. 3.        ART is now the primary test and not PCR test. 4.        The TraceT...

  I had started the community tax e-filing project in 2016, after IRAS ceased the volunteer e-filing exercise quite abruptly. Armed with some support from friends and various organisations, I have managed to help quite a number of people from all walks of life with this service. I have been helping C, a self-employed person, with her personal tax matters since 2019. She had a chat with me just now, seeking advice on whether she should continue her business as the doctor found a brain tumor in her last July. She shared that she felt lost and not sure what to do. Having been through a down period of about 6 months last year, I told her she should continue with her trade wherever possible, as being active will keep her away from having negative thoughts. She also shared that she intended to do some deliveries to keep fit. I was glad that I was able to provide advice to her, having been through a rough patch myself last year. I am glad to have provided her with sound advice. Litt...

  It has been a while since I last blogged. I must say that it is indeed an unexpected year of twist and turns. Work I would have expected myself to be in the job that I have held for quite a while to go on, given the uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, but sadly, as the Chinese saying goes, 天下没有不散的宴席 , I had to go after I was placed on no pay leave in February, just before Chinese New Year. Little did I expect that it would be a time of instability for me as I have tried my best to fit into 3 organisations within a short span of 6 months but it did not work out. I am just glad that I managed to find my mojo back in mid-August when my first boss took me back after an interview with them. It has been a great 4 and a ½ months so far.   After going through so much job changes in a year, it really changed my perspective and outlook of life. The 3 unsuccessful jobs caused my confidence to be at an all-time low. One of the jobs caused me to go into a near m...

  Today is World Mental Health Day. If you asked me two years ago, if I would have thought that I would face a mental drain this year, I would say no. But like what the title of a James Bond movie, “Never Say Never Again”, it taught me that mental health is equally important as physical health. Like what a long time ICQ/Blogger recruitment consultant friend shared with me before I started this job recently, “Take a break before you start, do not rush into it.” I am glad I took the advice and am thankful for having an understanding boss, who took me in when I was at the lowest point of my career and gave me the free hand to manage the work portfolio, thus helping me regain my confidence and faith in myself. To this, I am really thankful to my colleagues, who made me feel welcome and really assisted me when I needed it. Some of you may wonder how I managed to overcome this dark 6 months of my life. It is fortunate that I have kept my singing lessons active and my ktv interest group...

  It has been a while since I last blogged. I am glad to share that I am coping well with my current job after many false starts this year. It has been a difficult journey in the past 6 months, but I am glad to say that I am seeing light at the end of this tunnel. I must say my confidence level was at its lowest, especially at the last job that did not work out. I would like to thank my boss for giving me the opportunity to work with him again. I am happy to see that he has expanded with a new portfolio, which I am helping to manage the tax matters of the clients in this portfolio. I used to hear people say people working in corporate services firm should not stay beyond 3 years. In all of my working career, I have outlived this mantra and stayed beyond the 3 years cycle. I stayed more than 4 cycles for one of them.   You may have thought why I did not wish to move. For me, moving forward to a new career is not easy. Prospective employers will try to lower the remunerati...

  It has been a month since I last blogged. I feel sad to share that the new job did not work out as well as envisaged. It caused me to be near a mental breakdown. I shall not go into further details as I wish to put this dark episode behind me. The good thing is that I have managed to secure employment before I tendered. It feels good to have walked away as I certainly do not wish to become the 16-year-old student who was in the news recently. Although I have hoped to start almost immediately, I feel that it is good for me to have a break as well so that I can clear my mind before I am recharged for my next assignment. I have thought about exploring Singapore using my “Singapore Rediscovers” vouchers but as Singapore is still in Phase 2 “Heightened Alert” at the moment, it is better to shelve the plans for now. I know I have not been my usual self since I took up this job. A few of my friends who saw my Facebook posts expressed concern as they wanted to see the cheerful Paul...

  It has been a while since I last blogged. I have been an emotional roller coaster ride in the last few months, ever since I was placed on no pay leave by my ex-boss just before Chinese New Year.   Although I left with the security of securing a job first before moving on, the 2 jobs that I had did not work out as envisaged and I made the decision to move on as the onboarding for newbies had been poor, and I was not able to build a good rapport with my new colleagues. The fact that we had to work from home results in breakdown in communication sometimes, so I believe face to face interaction is still required in such circumstances. Even then, a suitable time frame should be given to the new hire to adapt to the new surroundings and new work processes. I agreed with my friend, who is a recruitment consultant, who shared that starting a new job in this pandemic is indeed a challenge. An employer has to ensure that there is a proper onboarding process as different companies in...