I am breaking out of my hiatus to post something I saw on the net.

The original text is pasted below:

"Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of people using, manipulating, guilt tripping their friends for their selfish needs.

I know I did it before and I’m trying to change that, because it’s not fair. They will start to resent you because you’re treating them like trash.

Yes we’re all selfish, but you can choose not to do any of those. Think of how they feel, think what if that was you? How would you feel then?

Don’t treat your friends like crap for your selfish needs because they’re the only one who can drive, or afford things, or have A list club connections, etc. They have a life too. Abusing them will make them resent you and HATE you.

If someone tries to guilt trip/use/manipulate you and you know it, say that’s not alright and pretty fucked up of them to do so. If they complain and call you names… let’s be real here, they’re not your friend. So kick that bitch to the curve.

The one that I see most often is guilt tripping and that’s the worst in my opinion. How are you going to sit there and make your friend feel like SHIT so you can do what ever you do. You are one horrible excuse of a human being.

Don’t let someone walk all over you or make you feel bad for doing something you don’t want to do because it is NOT okay. Do yourself a favor, stand up for yourself because you have more respect for yourself then to let someone like that to disrespect you. Once again, if they call you names after you said no, they’re not your friends. Friends don’t make people feel like shit or call them names, that’s childish. So don’t feel like you lost someone important because you never did."

---

The reason why I felt such a need to share this is because I need to get something off my chest, something that has been haunting me for 2 years already.

I was guilt tripped and manipulated by a friend to do something illegal.

When I hesitated, she said “I don’t see why you are hesitating. You are helping me and my career”. I felt so guilty that I did it in the end.

I ended up hating her for guilt tripping me, and hated myself for not standing up to her. I still do, hate her and hate myself.

What I have been wanting to say to her is that: Yes, you can ask me to take part in your hare-brained scheme. But when I said no, RESPECT MY DECISION and BACK THE HELL OFF. FUCK YOU FOR GUILT TRIPPING ME. FUCK YOU! I hate you for making me feel this way. I hate you for making me constantly worried for 1 year. I hate you for making me lose trust in you. FUCK. YOU.

Never again. Never again I will let myself be guilt-tripped into doing something I don't want to do. I will say no, and if you don't respect my "no", then you aren't worth my time anymore.

Phew. It's great to get that off my chest. Now, back to hiatus.... As Relf has helpfully pointed out, it has been a month since I posted something on this blog.

It's true. And it's with a sinking heart that I am here to announce that this blog will be closing down. Okay. At least, on a hiatus indefinitely.

Have I lost the passion to blog? No. I still wish to share my thoughts, my life, my innermost feelings.

The thing is, this blog has gotten too popular, and too many people knows of its existence. And that makes it hard to share the really innermost thoughts.

So yeah. That's not to say that I am completely abandoning this. I just don't foresee myself blogging again on this blog in the near future.

Maybe I will revive this. Peut-etre. Until then, take care and have fun! =D It is a good morning when I did not meet my perpetually-black-faced neighbor along the corridor/lift lobby/void deck today. Seriously, her scowl can spoil whatever good morning that I have had prior to meeting her.

Ok I shouldn't be so bad. Some people can't help it being born with a chao bin. But I had prior bad experience with her, so... yeah... the less we see each other, the better. :) Dear Eye Candy,

Please be more regular in your appearances on the morning 913 buses. Make every of my mornings beautiful plskthnx. =p

Yours sincerely,
Kelvin 大概三个星期前，我的朋友在Facebook放上了一个蛮有趣的YouTube video。那个video是现在爆红的Hold住姐在《康熙來了》的片段。

在那片段里，最吸引我的不是Hold住姐（虽然她也蛮好笑的），而是《康熙來了》的两位主持人：小S（徐熙娣）和蔡康永。 他们俩的主持方式超有趣，又特别。

所以呢，我就去了Sugoideas看最近和以前的episodes。哇！我越看越上瘾！每一集都非常好笑的！我最喜欢的是小S和蔡康永的主持。小S就非常直接，经常不给面子的问问题或给她的意见，可是她不是“坏”的直接；她是用搞笑的方式来讲的（其实有点像我的朋友OPY的，哈哈）。蔡康永呢，他就比较温和善良，给我那种慈祥的感觉。

我觉得这样子他们两个超搭配的，their style complements each other。我也喜欢他们之间的逗弄，超好笑！以下是个例子，显现出他们的个性和互相多弄：

蔡康永：阿妹这张新专辑超级难唱
小S：感觉好像是瞧不起消费者
蔡康永：你不要自己练不好就攻击人家
小S：就好像一直在嘲笑说你们练不起来啊！就一点太得意了
蔡康永：你是不是朋友啊，讲这种话

Haha！我现在可算是《康熙來了》的粉丝哦！虽然有点说太迟了，but you know, better late than never！ =D Last Sunday morning, a small red bump appeared at the back of my neck.

Then on Monday, it suddenly ballooned into a huge lump. And it hurts leh. Seriously. It hurts to a point when I can't move my neck except to stare straight, cause any neck movements would cause pain to my neck muscles and spine.

So I have gotten 3 days MC till Friday, when I consulted my GP to get referral to KTPH A&E.

After a week of tolerating this stupid growth, I went down to KTPH to get it cut. I thought I would need to go under general anesthesia to get cut, cause that's what happened to my brother when he had a large abscess on his leg.

But it was just a simple procedure. They applied local anesthesia to my neck, and the consultant just opened a hole in the growth and scrapped all the pus out.

So, yes. There is now a hole in the back of my neck, and I need to change my dressing regularly. Luckily I got MC on Monday, so YAY for one more day of rest. =p

Edited to Add: Ok. It's like 1am now and I can't get to sleep. My body keeps telling me that there's a hole in my neck, and there's some guaze stuffed inside the hole and it's damn uncomfortable. It's not that painful (probably because I took painkillers just now), but yeah, nagging feeling that something is not right lor. Sigh. I love Ferrero Rocher chocolates (the original ones, not those yucky new flavor ones). So sweet and nice and chocolatey.

I eat the Rochers in a particularly weird way (I think). I will take the whole ball in my mouth, eat off the outer layer first and then slowly chew on the center chocolate ball.

I wonder how the rest eat theirs. Chomp off the entire ball in the mouth? Do share! =D It has been quite long since I shamelessly posted a photo of myself wearing something stylish. So, here's something I wore out today which received quite a number of praises:



Cardigan from Cotton On, Wisma Atria; Shirt from Matsu, Bugis Junction; jeans from Uniqlo, 313@Somerset; belt from Levi, 313@Somerset; shoes from Pedro, Citylink Mall; wallet from Prada, Rome, Italy//Photo shot by Joyce Sim

Basically, this whole look came together because I wanted to put on an outfit that goes with my newly-brought cardigan (I wanted to show that off ma). After tons of trying out outfits, I suddenly thought of Hyun Bin's style from Secret Garden and how he always put a cardigan over shirts.

In the end, I look more Brit-prep than Korean. But that's ok, my BFF covers the Korean bit. =p

The most positive comment of my outfit came from OPY, who said that my style resembles Mondo's, contestant from Project Runway Season 8. I happened to think that he is very stylish and fashion-forward, so imagine my elation when I heard that compliment. Made my night! =D For about 3 months, I have been treating my Galaxy S2 like a normal iPhone. Lockscreen and homescreen style largely remains the same. Despite all its virtues of being easy to change and manipulate skins, I have largely ignored that function.

Until I looked at some beautiful screens that fellow Android users have been able to create, and I realized that my S2 pales in comparison.

After reading up on how easy it is to change the lockscreen and homescreen, I decided to give it a go....

And well... It is really not easy as it reads. I initially thought "download a few apps only right?", but seriously people, no. I have to search for wallpapers, for design styles, for widget apps....

But after half a day of tinkering with all these, I am rather proud of my creations! So here they are...





Lockscreen:
WidgetLocket Lockscreen
Minimalistic Text
Minimal Light Slider
Wallpaper from this post

Homescreen:
GO Launcher EX (icons: default theme)
Simple Calendar Widget
Simple Text - Text Icon Creator
Wallpaper I just spent 45mins making a card for a colleague who got really really sick.

It's to contribute towards a giant gift box that the entire department is giving her. I don't really know what everyone is contributing (I haven't taken a look at the contents of the box yet), but I figured that I should do something thoughtful and that I know how to do.

So, I made a card. =D I went to Art Friends after work today to get materials, and I just love shopping for art supplies. Really inspired my creativity, heh heh. The card didn't turn out super spectacular, but I think it is quite a decent effort la (self-praise ttm man =p). =D

I do hope that my small contribution will cheer her up and help her get through the tough times. Hope she can conquer the darkness and recover soon! =D All these while, I have been getting affected by what X says to me everyday at work.

She is the type who won't think twice about putting me down, whether privately or in front of colleagues, or worse, in front of my bosses. She jumps to conclusions way too quickly and will not hesitate to chastise me for my "mistakes", and when I clarified the situation and prove my innocence, she did not even bother to apologize.

I am quite affected, because frankly, I care about my image. Who wants to look bad in front of other colleagues, worse still, my own boss? I keep replaying all the horrible things she said about me in my head, and sometimes, I really toss and turn in bed thinking about them. Yeah. They say that guys care about "face" and "image". It's true.

But you know what? Today, I reached an epiphany. I am not gonna get affected by whatever she says anymore, because, she is making herself look bad instead. Yes, my reputation may be destroyed, but at the back of people's mind when they witness the spectacle, who really thinks highly of a person who puts her teammate down? So, the more she scolds me in public, the more she is ruining her own image instead. I don't need to go around the office bitching about her and telling the whole world how nasty she is; she can do a fine job of it herself.

So from now on, whatever negative things she says about me, it will be one ear in, the other out. That's the best way to deal with someone like her. No point in wasting brain cells thinking about people like her, right? =p I would rather use my energy to make sure I do a good job in my work. =D Wa! Seriously! Today I really got 桃花运 leh!

Today, I have the chance to meet two cute doctors. One asked me which HR rep to approach to apply for parking, the other sat in for 2 interviews I had today.

Wa I whole day happy leh. Especially for the first one! So freaking cute can? And I think the second one will be coming for interviews tomorrow too. So must prep myself a bit, and not ask repetitive qns (so that I won't sound like I only know how to ask one type of qns only ahahaha). =p

#shyboi #despoboi 最近，我又迷上了一部台湾偶像剧 《醉后决定爱上你》。这台剧是我朋友Joyce介绍的。我从星期二就开始看这部连续剧，一直追到今天才把整部剧情看完。

我跟你们讲哦！这部台据真是太好看了！剧情精彩又丰富，又令人感动。今天我从第13集一直看到第18集大结局，每一集看到又哭又掉泪的，我的眼睛现在超红超累了！可是，男女主角之中的爱情之旅就是那么感动。

我觉得男女主角之间的爱情和所经过的波折是非常逼真。我真的可以想象所有的一切发生在我们的身上，所以我才会这么投入这场戏。

我想啊，竟然我自己没经过设么爱情的，所以会这么迷恋这些爱情喜剧片，活在这些浪漫的世界里吧。

我真的建议大家看着部台湾偶像剧吧！保证看了津津有味！=D
Having not voted in the GE elections (because I was in Nice, France, which was really nice), this Presidential Election will be my first.

Honestly, I haven't been keeping up with PE news. The first big reason was work. I have been working tirelessly for the past 2 weeks, and missed most of the big hoo-haa.

Secondly, honestly, the president is largely a ceremonial figurehead. Do I really need to spend so much of my energy to care, especially when Facebook is strangely quiet about this whole thing. I don't see any interesting notes or articles about the President, unlike the GE period.

So, who am I voting for? Even though I haven't been keeping up with the news, I do have some sort of a basic idea who the 4 candidates are, based on my colleagues' comments and general observations. So, I have shortlisted 2 candidates.

I am definitely not voting for Tony Tan, because seriously, it's just like voting another PAP yes-man back into power, and let's just say that I think Singapore would be a better place without PAP. I am not voting for Tan Kin Lian, because he's too far-fetched already. I mean, $1500 for NSFs is nice and all, but it seems too populist and impractical, and I question his ability to "safeguard national reserves". I survived with less than $500 per month during my NS days, therefore, so can the incoming NSFs.

It is either Tan Cheng Bok or Tan Jee Say. Should I vote for a moderate, or vote for a voice against the PAP? Decisions, decisions, decisions.... Looks like I gotta read more before going down to the voting booth later.



Why is my voting booth so different from my parents and brother? Issit because I never voted in the GE and just got my name reinstated? So weird.... I can't believe I spent about 11 hours watching Secret Garden (not continuously, of course...) today.

Joyce intro-ed me this drama, and from the rave reviews that she has given me, I was like "why not?". And so I did. I found English subs on Youtube, and from the first episode onwards, I was hooked. Now I just finished watching Episode 8, and there are 12 more to go! So exciting!!!

I realized that like Boys Over Flower, the main leads have the same personalities and characteristics. In both dramas, the male lead is some rich arrogant snob, while the female lead is some poor (financially-speaking, of course) girl with a feisty attitude and likes to 顶嘴 with the male lead (just like me: I am king of 顶嘴s heh heh heh). BFF told me that this is a common recurring theme in almost all Korean dramas. Ha. Well, the plot is exciting nonetheless, so I ain't complaining.

Oh. Today is Singapore's 46th birthday? I hardly noticed. I was talking about CVs and cover letters with my friend who is looking for a job, and that made me realize the usefulness of both.

In school, especially during all those career lessons and seminars, our profs and NBS Career Services kept emphasizing on the importance of cover letters. They said that a well-written cover letter would determine whether the HR opens up your CV to consider.

Actually, I realize that for myself, I don't do that when it comes to screening candidates. I would just open the CV straight and read from there. At a short glance, I can immediately tell if the candidate is suitable or not, based on qualifications and experience. Seriously, in the amount of time I spent to read a whole chunk of cover letter, I could have browsed through several CVs already. Rarely do I take cover letters into consideration, when it comes to selecting candidates to forward to my hiring dept.

So yeah. Do you still think a cover letter is necessary? I don't know. Or maybe it's just me and my quirks. Haha, or maybe I shall consult my colleagues on this matter. =p Kelvin Yip, repeat after me:

I don't care.

I. Don't. Care.

I! DON'T! CARE!

#selfdelusional #stopthatshit #getalife I watched the final movie with Joyce, Jack and Joo Eng, our colleague at work. It was all thanks to the hospital union that I got to watch an IMAX movie at half price.

I gotta say: The IMAX screen is fabulous! But the 3D effects in the movie has nothing to shout about.

Just like the plot really. For all my rave and reviews about how true Part 1 is when it comes to adapting the book, Part 2 is the complete opposite.

I mean, the basic idea and flow is there la, but the details of each scene were drastically different from the book, and I can't say that they were better. I understand that they did the changes for cinematic effects, but that just destroys the beautiful intricacies of the book and plot.

From a non- book purist's perspective, my friends who watched the movie said that it was only "so-so". Ha. Guess it wasn't really that good after all.

So yes, the final conclusion is that: books > movies. =D Signs that our local English standards are dropping:

Just look at the following subject titles for an email to apply for a position, written by a local and a foreigner from a non-English speaking country:

Local: Application 4 (position)
Foreigner: Application for (position)

You see la. What kinda standards sia? Tsk!!! The books have long been written, and it takes time for the movie world to catch up.

Finally, the last of the Harry Potter series of movie arrives. Thanks to the hospital union, Joyce and I got 3D Lido tickets for $12 (half price off OMG) for the movie TOMORROW!

That's right! We are catching it on the very first day! YAYs!!! After watching the very good Part 1, I have high expectations for Part 2.

Let's hope it doesn't disappoint! :)

And YAY for 2 days of training! It's good to get out of the office for a little while. =D This is the kind of day when I wish that there will be a partner to come home to, to hold me close and tell me that it will be over soon, and the future will be better.

Yes, today is this kind of a sucky day, and I foresee more coming ahead. Sigh.

Edited to add: Oh this is my 365th post. I have officially blogged a year's worth of entry. Hooray? =p Happy birthday to me,
happy birthday to me,
happy birthday to meeeeee,
happy birthday to me!

So yes, happy 24th birthday, Kelvin Yip. Let's hope all your wishes come true this year. =) Okay, I may have been slightly slow in this major update... I mean, one would immediately 炫耀 when one purchases a new phone, especially when it is a bloody good phone like the Samsung Galaxy S2...

Ahaha! That's right! I got myself a very powerful phone (don't believe me? Read some reviews here and here!). I figured it's time to chuck away my malfunctioning iPhone 3GS and start getting a data plan already (I can truly be connected on the go OMG).

So, what is my verdict after 1 week of using the phone? I am too lazy to write whole paras on the beauty of the phone (which you can read if you click on the 2 links above), so here goes some in point form:

1) BEAUTIFUL SCREEN. Nuff said.
2) Smooth and fast scrolling and use. Dual-core 1.2GHz Tegra processor is seriously no joke.
3) Very good battery life. Can last me for one day, most definitely, even with games-playing and radio-listening on the train journeys to and fro work.
4) Easy to customize. Android clearly owns! Drag and drop file system rocks my socks off (no more depending on iTunes YAY), and I can even change keyboard (which I did. I figured I destroyed my reputation of being a good SMSer in the first few days using the Samsung keypad OMG so full of errors. I switched to the wonderful stock Gingerbread keyboard ever since) and other stuff, without even rooting (Android's equivalent to iOS jailbreaking). Cool right?
5) Free Angry Birds. TAKE THAT IPHONE USERS! =p Android Market's app content may not be as great as Apple Store, but it is definitely growing. =)

Okay, after all that text, now you will be subjected to pictures of my phone! =D

First off, pictures of the box and the actual phone on my hand. The first two pictures are taken using the camera in my phone:







Then, the final 2 pics are screen capture of my phone. The first is the lock screen, and the second is the home screen with my commonly-used apps (WhatsApp me to save money!! =p I am always on 3G unless I am sleeping, hehe). I know it is rather bland, but I am thinking of changing my lock screen. If I ever decide to pay for a locker app, LOL! But nonetheless, enjoy the beautiful pics:



I feel so satisfied when candidates thank me for giving them a job. It makes me feel that I am actually making a difference in their lives, and reminds me why I am in this profession in the first place. =D Oh dear. It looks like I am getting addicted to Angry Birds, whaha! 我说一套，做另一套。
我真的是无可救药。 For all these while, I have always been the one taking the lead.

够了。我累了。 Rule #1: Do not call HR to ask how to delete your payslip from the computer. We are not the IT department.

Yes, you will be surprised what kind of requests I have received. I should really start a chronicle of strange requests that I have encountered. =p The higher one places his expectations and wishes, the harder he falls when they don't come true.

Is it better to have tried and fall down hard, or be safe but wondering what it could have been? On Thursday, 9th June 2011, 12:00am, I clicked on my examination results and waited with bated breath. In these few seconds, my life hangs on a thread. Will I graduate? Will I still get my second-uppers?

The suspense. It kills.

So yes, here are my grades:

Year 3 Sem 2 Results:
HR Metrics: A
Negotiate To Get What You Want: A-
FYP: A-
French 4: Satisfactory
Semester GPA: 4.63
Final CGPA: 4.33 (Second Uppers Honors)

These results are really a mixed bunch of results for me. Lemme elaborate:

HR Metrics: I was actually disappointed with this. I expected an A+, based on how well my group projects were. In fact, all of us got A for our final grade. But yeah. I know it's the same grade point, but the + really makes all the difference you know. =p

Negotiation: Based on my calculations of the grades on my coursework, I honestly expected at least an A-, so YAY at least this met my expectations. I had fun during this class, and I think the skills learned in this class will be helpful and useful in my daily life. So, =D!

FYP: I was SO SURPRISED that my group and I got A-. Seriously I was only expecting a B+. Seriously, based on the level of work I submitted, I don't expect an A or A+ (for one, it wouldn't even pass the review panel). So yeah, very surprised to see an A-. HaHa.

French 4: Heng ar! I think the tutor was damn kind and let everyone scrap by with a C. French has been most interesting and useful (yep, I did use French in Paris! =D), and perhaps, I would continue with my studies. If I have the time or energy to. =p

So, YAY! I finally graduated with a Bachelor of Business (2nd Upper Hons), just like what I set out to do 3 years ago. I feel very proud of myself for making it this far and for achieving my dreams. =D You know you are becoming a workaholic when you bring your laptop home...

Only in the second week of you starting work.