Friday, January 30, 2004
~ CLEO ~
My 'interview' with CLEO went well. When I arrived at the office yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to see nine other candidates all waiting in the same room. I was quite relieved that it wasn't going to be a one-on-one interview because I wasn't prepared for it. After quite a long wait, the team of writers, together with Corinne the Editor, walked into the room. If you're a regular reader of CLEO, you'll probably know how they look like. They were all really friendly and Cynthia, the Beauty editor, looks really gorgeous in real life.
Anyway, there wasn't any interview...Instead, we were given assignments to do. Three to be precise. The first one was to edit a letter from a reader. Everything about the letter was extremely atrocious, from the grammar to the sentence order. So our job was to edit the whole article on the spot. The other two assignments were to be done at home. One was a 500-word article entitled "The common allergies of women". Well, although I could bring it home to finish, it was really tiring because it was due today! Yup, I had less than 24 hours to write it. Nevertheless, although I only went to bed at 4am, I managed to draft out quite a decent piece of work...I think. Lastly, the third assignment, which will be due on Tuesday, was to find out the events that are happening in April. This was relatively easy to do, except that every day of the month had to be filled with one event, otherwise, a point will be deducted.
Yup, that's all I have to say about CLEO so far. If you've been praying for me, thank you so much! Pls continue to keep me in your prayers as I continue with my job search...
Posted by Jo at 3:24 PM
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Nobody gets left behind
Hello dear friends. How was your CNY?
Well, I'm pleasantly satisfied with the times I spent with friends and family. Throughout the whole time, I've truly understood the phrase - "Blood is thicker than water". For those of you who don't know, my extended family is pretty...extended. My mum has three sisters and four brothers...and in turn, I have over twenty cousins. When I was younger, I used to hang out at my Grandma's every weekend, together with the entire family. But with more commitments nowadays, I began to spend less time with them. And as a result, I drifted away. It has gotten to a point where I would dread going for family gatherings because it felt like I don't know them anymore. Over time, it seems like I only 'appear' on special occasions like Christmas, Grandma's birthday and CNY. But this year, unexpectedly, I managed to spend quite a significant amount of time with my family during CNY.
And somehow, things don't seem that weird after all. Everyone still treats me like a part of the family, and I'm really thankful for that. I was showered with a lot of love. And there was this feeling of deja vu when I was hanging out with my dear cousins again.
And so, I want to thank God for this family that He has blessed me with...The very people who watched me grow up and the very people who will never ever stop loving me for who I am or who I will become. My Ohana...
Posted by Jo at 6:15 PM
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
The story of my life
I feel like a pig...I've been excessively slacking and lazing around for the past two days. Ha. Not that I have nothing to do...It's just that I'm too lazy to do anything! Ha. With that said, here are the three most significant tasks that I've done since Monday...*ahem*
1) Helping my mum to make 'gno hiang'. I folded a grand total of about fifty of them! It is just like making popiah. So I shall officially call myself the 'gno hiang' guru.
2) Going to get a haircut...except that I didn't get my hair cut coz the queue was too long! Ha...By the way, you should check out Stella's new hairdo. Funky!
3) Went jogging at Bishan Park. Undoubtedly the best thing I've done this week. Now, I can stuff myself with all the New Year goodies and not worry a bit!
Yeap, what an eventful start to the week. Hmmm...going to prepare for reunion dinner now. I love CNY! Not just simply for the angbaos, but for the food, food, and more food! Happy New Year!
Posted by Jo at 10:07 PM
Saturday, January 17, 2004
My first interview
A few months ago, CLEO magazine organised a Win-A-Job contest, looking for an Editorial Assistant. With all the courage (and insanity) I had, I decided to do something that I usually would not have considered doing. I sent in my resume.
Well, obviously, the months passed without any news from them.
To my surprise, today, I received a call from them, asking me to drop by for an interview on 29 Jan. Hmmm...You can imagine my ecstasy. Finally...a glimmer of hope after a long and painful wait.
But honestly, I don't have very high hopes of landing this job. Why? I don't know....Just a weird feeling. I guess it's better not to be too hopeful, in case I fall flat on my face.
But deep inside, I know this would be a great job. Something that would make me very happy.
So if you're reading this right now, there are two things you can do to help me (if you want). Option A: If you happen to know anyone working in CLEO, please say something nice about me. (I'll buy you coffee!) Option B: Pray for me...(I'll buy you coffee sweets!)
Ha...Well, if this job is really meant for me, I believe God will take care of everything. Amen!
Posted by Jo at 11:34 PM
Monday, January 12, 2004
Have a little faith in Me...
In the past two weeks, I've experienced such a diversity of emotions and feelings. At my lowest points, I've questioned God time and again about why He does certain things in my life...for seemingly bringing me in an endless circle of nothingness and 'wasted time'. I questioned why He would not bless me with everything that I wanted. After all, I did place Him above all things. I did serve Him faithfully.
At the recent D&D, as we welcomed the New Year, I can still recall being so uncertain...so lost...all over again. I was afraid of what this new year would bring. As people were wishing me "Happy New Year", all I could think was "I hope so".
Well, it sucks to feel this way. To doubt Him...especially after proclaiming about how wonderful it is to "walk on water".
But it is at times like these that I 'wake up my ideas'...That this God, my God, who is so much larger than life (literally), knows what He is doing.
Sometimes, I pray so hard that things will work out better for me, and all I could hear God saying was that He understands...But did He really understand? I mean, after all, He is God. How would He know the pains that humans feel?
But today, I saw it all. I saw how it all happened 2000 years ago. I saw how Jesus was despised, look down upon and discriminated. I saw how He would be ever so tempted to doubt God and to question His love. This is when I realised why He understands...
There is a particular song that always calls out to me. Every time I hear this song, it is as if God is talking to me...time and again. And the funny thing is, it always appears at the right moments...when I so needed His assurance.
"When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark,
Have a little faith in me
When the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try,
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here from a whisper start
To have a little faith in me
When your back's against the wall
Just turn around, you will see
I will catch ya, i will catch your fall
Just have a little faith in me
Well, I've been loving you for such a long, long time
Expecting nothing in return
Just for you to have a little faith in me
You see time, time is our friend for you and me
Cause for us there is no end
All you gotta do is have a little faith in me
I said I will hold you up, I will hold you up
Your strength gives me enough
So have a little faith in me
All ya gotta do is have a little faith in me
All ya gotta do is have a little faith in me
A little faith in me"
Posted by Jo at 3:44 PM
