Baby Reuel

Managed to take an hour off work just now to chiong down to Mount E to visit Kenneth and Yun. They both look well and good despite the little amount of sleep each had and the amount of entertaining they have to keep doing whenever someone visits.

Here's a picture of the cute little thing

He's like really literally wrapped up in swadling clothings and lying in a mang... Eh, no hospital push cart thing. Haha... :) he's real cute and it always makes me wonder how on earth we, sinful creatures, have been given the ability to pro-create. Wonderful gift from the Father that shows His love towards us. :)

Awww. So cute.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Day 3!

This is me, sitting on the top of the Hippo Bus. It’s actually topless so there’s no roof to the bus. Really fun experience and it makes driving down ANYWHERE so much more exciting and enjoyable. :) Went back to office to take some stuff down to the circuit area and so we [eva and i] took the hippo bus. Imagine that, 2 people, 1 bus. It was all ours la! Haha…
Here’s a video of my hippo bus ride. Tee hee


Then what do u know? The muttons walked in. I’ve emailed Vernon A before asking him to come to the SingTel Race party and all but to be talking to him in person was a different story. I like to meet radio personalities. That day also met Hamish Brown… and hearing them talk is quite entertaining. Listening to the way they talk and how they are articulate and all really makes me want to better my speaking skills too so that maybe one day I’d be a DJ or a newscaster. Quite a dream of mine. But anyways, they’re nice people and I realized that most celebs are always very welcoming with photo taking. As much as they are tired of getting interrupted in their walk, they never fail to stop, make u feel special and snap a photo. :) another side of PR I must pick up too.. but of course no one stops me to take photos with me la. But u get the point.

The following 3 pictures are just bored employees cam-whoring. Ashley and Jeanie are such nice people to work with. So much so that I’d find it so easy to work with them thru the long hours and all. :) the people u work with really make a difference to how it goes and I’m glad that I was plonked here in the lifestyle area with the girls and guys of vm&sd and Samsung. :)




Then since it was the last day and we needed to get high before customers started walking in, we decided to take pictures in the F1 Race suits. We normally let customers wear them and snap a shot but we’ve never done it before ourselves so we decided to. :) snap snap. Haha. Us looking dumb.




Later on in the day, PM Lee Hsien Long walked in. I was pretty surprised coz I thot it was just some Caucasian VIP walking up with all his bodyguards and all. Then my eyes shifted and saw the Caucasian man was talking to this other guy… HOLY SMOKE! THAT’S THE PM!!! Haha.. and we all weren’t expecting it. So it was quite a fun happy surprise. I managed to get my fren to snap this pic while I walked to position myself. Haha. :) quite an interesting experience.

And the highlight of the night. We managed to get ourselves into walk the pit. The pit is where the drivers actually drive thru and pit. So the crew were all there and it was just literally AMAZING to see how the inner workings are and all. :) We walked the whole pit walk and when we got to the Hamilton / MacLaren booth, HAMILTON himself was standing there talking with the crew. What a treat! We wanted to take pictures with him but he went off and the crew stopped us from coming in. But it was like WOAH! THAT’S HAMILTON! Haha…



Here’s a video and some pics of the pit.



And here’s a video of one of the crew of one of the teams getting sprayed coz apparently it was his last race. Haha wow… such friends. :) It looked quite gross too. I think it’s the fire extinguisher kind of stuff and sludge. Literally sludge… dunch know why they use sludge but it was GROSS. Haha poor guy



This shot was taken way back before the F1 actually started. It was taken before the teams got in and all la. Prep stage of F1 but still really nice photo. :)


Yup. So that’s that for F1… wonderful experience and I’m SO glad I took up this internship. It has been great! :) VROOM!!!!

Day 2!

F1 Race Day One and Two!

Sorry, busy now but here are some pics and videos to tease ya'll. :)

So far, day one has been a blast. :) whee!

Day 2

Today's a real tiring day but then again, it's the hype that gets us all going rite? :) Denise Keller is going to be doing a LIVE interview with the simulator peeps in half an hour and the crew's all set up here. we're all pretty tired but there's a job to do and we gotta do it. :) Don't worry, there WILL be pictures. :) whee.alrite! F1 to the max! vroooooom!

Finally, the party's On!

This is the day i've been looking forward to for quite a while now. My SingTel Race Party is finally happening tonite. It's gonna be a blast, lots of fun and ultimately, a good chance to network, meet people and have a good time out of the office. :) There's been Ots, there's been frustrations, there's been scoldings but it's finally come to this point.

A few hours away and i'm still settling the guest list. To print it all out and make sure it's easy to check against when the guests start coming. I'm really looking forward to getting this party kick started, off the runway and over with. Will check back into reality when this is over and the F1 race has run its course.

Vroom, there goes my life. :) ahha the pinnacle of my whole internship actually is tonite. But yet, it's such an anticlimax of expectations. Maybe i've just made it more of a duty than an enjoyment like my first week of work was. Whatever it is, let's party hard!

SingTel Race Party! We'll see you there!

Powerful words: Father Forgive them

You know, often times we don't really take into account a lot of things. When we hear the words "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" we tend to think, wow. God's great. He forgave us at the Cross and He's a wonderful savior. Nothing wrong there. Just that, do we understand the propensity of that statement? Could we really see what He had gone thru just in those few days before the cross and could we even begin to think how much Strength He needed to have to say those words?

We spat at His face, spat.
We mocked His words, His title, His being.
We laughed at Him and called Him names.
We accused Him falsely of so many things.
We speared His side and beat upon His back with whips that would tear flesh.
We pressed a crown of thorns upon His head until it bled down his face.
We let Him hang there for so long and traded His garments.

Now if someone did all that and so much more to you, would you say "Father, forgive them?"

Regards,
Joel Tan

Starting the day right

Today was so easy to be closer to God. don't really know why but maybe because i woke early, had time to talk to my best brother about his r/s life. It was good to encourage him that what he was doing was the right thing although it tore at his heart. I can't share who this is or what he has to do but i just want to say that when the beating of your heart and the desires of your flesh goes against that which is said in the bible, you really do need people around u to help u focus on God because the screams of the world can be so loud and tempting.
I pray that my brother will find peace in the Lord and ultimately, satisfaction in knowing that although the narrow road is hard, it is the path that leads to righteousness and life eternal.

Then there was the weather. Cool, breezy with a sniff of light rain. It was wonderful and maybe i should have just walked all the way to the MRT this morning. Just that short 2-3 minute walk i had was enough to refresh me and make me real glad to start the day fresh. It was like God's breath breathing down upon me and gently urging me onwards. It was such a great feeling to feel God so early in the day.

Then, there was N.Chan who was innocently standing there waiting for his bus. For some funny reason, i thot i'd see him today. Managed to have a real quick word with him and that was enough. :) It's nice seeing a familiar face and just saying hi.

Then the train ride and now i'm at work. Spent some time this morning doing QT too; something i haven't done in a bazillion years. I'm glad that God let me have that time alone.

oh but my boss jus spoilt my day. :) never mind, won't let her. I've got God on my side. heh

Have a good day peeps!

Sing's 21st

Just came back from Y.Sing's 21st birthday party. I knew that this party was one that couldn't be missed due to who she is to me and many other reasons. It was also a good time to catch up with some of our mutual friends whom i haven't seen in bazillion years.

But sumthing nagged at me and bit at my conscience as the weeks progressed towards the actual day. Bits of me were quite reluctant to go and actually as i drove there today, i was almost half hearted about it. I actually thot i'd feel quite out of place because most of the people i knew there were coming with their significant others... and i just knew that they wouldn't be able to entertain me or catch up proper. So half of me was actually thinking maybe i just shouldn't go. but i wouldn't and couldn't miss this party. so while driving there today, i honestly was having an internal battle knowing that yes, i'll reach there and attend but how much of it would i enjoy? haiz.

but thankfully when i reached there, i realized i knew so much more of her friends than i actually thot and catching up with some of them proved to be ultimately very very refreshing. what shocked me more was how some of her friends i haven't seen in close to 2 years still remember me and how when we talk, it's like there's no barrier at all. Wonderful.

Got to meet some people i've yet to meet too. like Simon... he's someone i've been hoping to meet ever since A.Chew got together with him. so today was like a treat, managed to learn more about him as well. I'd say that she's in good hands and i thank the Lord for him and her coz she looks real happy now. managed to catch her and the rest of the girls laughing away gleefully and all :)

yup. it makes me think how much friends mean to us. we don't say it but we all hope that we'll have enuf frens to make us feel wanted or make us feel like we impacted someone. something her sister said while she was talkin to me stunned me. she said that she wouldn't have enuf close frens to throw a 21st party even if she wanted to last year... made me think, my my... frens ARE that impt to us all. and that's why i was sitting there tonite... becoz of who sing was to me. and becoz i know that if i didn't make the effort to support her and keep her in my life, she'd drift away as well, just like every other fren who has.

scary stuff.

So God brings u new frens, but He also wants u to remember to keep up with those He's already blessed you with.

Happy 21st my dearest Y.Sing. Here's to many many many more years of good, rich, edifying friendship. you mean the world to many people, myself included.

Updates - Ping Pong!

Thanks for reading... i'm sorry this hasn't been updated in a while. honestly, i keep seeing this page everyday and telling myself i've got to update it. but yet i don't. :)

so here goes.. for the sake of the superman [who's actually a girl. weirdo. lolz], the panda and the onion. [woah. what weird people i attract to my blog] haha. jus kidding.

Recently not much has changed. i've picked up table tennis [ping pong] again and actually went to buy myself a ping pong bat. i believe investing into something would make u want to learn it better much more... it's like... u feel the pinch if u pay for the bat and u dun justify it's use? :)

other than that, work has been so-so... been trying to get more interns in to join us but i'm not liking what's to come coz i'm actually real happy with where we are now. with my colleagues and all. but due to some circumstances and situational changes, my goodest fren as to leave us. so bleh... :S but i guess it's also a good opportunity to break out of my comfort zone and get to know other people. kinda like prepping myself for overseas. :)

speaking of that, i'm still waiting my results for the applications. hopefully it's gonna come back with options to choose from then i'll have to pray and pray pray for God to help me make that decision. as for now, i'm jus gonna wait on Him and His guidance and soft prompting...

Yup, so i guess this is about it. thanks for reading and thanks for bothering. i pray that God finds u well wherever u are and that His glory is seen in my life and yours.

My Office Desk

That's a picture of my desk in the office. They say you can tell a lot about a person by looking at his desk. Some people's desks are crazy messy, some are super neat and tidy. Where they place their stuff also make a difference, what's within reach and what's chucked in a corner.

So here i feature just a bit of my desk. The 2 mirrors that make sure i don't get caught by some silly sneaky colleague. I have to say how USEFUL this is. it tell me who's behind me and all that jazz and it also makes sure i'm in the know if anyone's staring at my screen. haha... it has also saved me quite a few times from being caught not working. haha.

My 2 handphone cradles. One bought by J.Chen and one by me. It keeps my handphones upright and always ready to be answered. :) i kinda like the fact that it keeps it propped up instead of on the laying flat on the table. :) haha... i must say that these 2 cradles have cause me quite a bit of frustration trying to get them. it isn't easy buying cradles i tell you! haha.

And finally, the crane that's stuck to my laptop. This has some history coz it was made for me by a colleague of mine during a very stressful period of my work. It was like all the work was crashing down on me one by one like waves hitting the shore and i was just taking them one after the other. My colleague was on her last week of work and so had set up tent next to me sharing my desk. So quietly she just took my notebook, tore off a bit of the paper and while i went hectic crazy on my side of the table, she jus silently folded a paper crane for me. She left it on my keyboard while i wasn't typing and it made SUCH a big difference to me i just stopped everything i was doing and appreciated the moment. It was really really heartening to know that amidst all this nonsense, there was a glimmer of care and concern shown by my fren. I promptly stuck it onto the laptop making a promise to myself never to forget that i still had frens with me. It has so far gotten me through a lot of frustrating times. just looking at it puts my mind at ease even though my fren has already left the company. :)

So that's just a rough run down of my desk... it is quite neat thankfully and i intend to keep it that way. :)

Welcome to my 8.30-6pm weekday life.

Just another day in the office

Yesterday was a smashing day out. Real packed and quite tiring coz it was LONG!!! but i'm glad i did wad i did yesterday. big changes.

Had church service in the morning followed by a good time of fellowship at the fellowship hall. Then we moved up to the roof for CE class, which is ALWAYS good. Just reading and discussing about God's Word with likeminded and intellectually stimulating Christian peers are always a joy and highlight of my Sundays. We managed to cover stuff that were surely debatable like whether or not Peter's vision of the food being called unclean was also literal... did they then eat unclean food after that vision or not.
Even talked bout dreams and visions which we promised to carry on discussing thru email though no one has shot anything out. mmmm bad.

Then after, i rushed down to Orchard Hotel for the Aust. Unis open house. real glad i went coz i was able to apply for the ones i want and get a clearer picture of everything.

Met up with a fren there and we [a.yeo, n.chan, r.wong and l.kwan] all went for dinner. After the nice delicious dinner, we proceeded to try to watch a movie but there weren't any suitable and good shows to watch so we bus-ed to Minds cafe and spent an hour there over fun and games.... wow. it was a happening night and i'm glad everything went well. :)

God puts people in your way so you won't miss them in the crowd. Just a random thot that popped into my head. :) i gotta run to the airport now. ciaoz peeps.

Thank God for friends. they keep me going and pointed to God coz without them, i wouldn't have the discipline to seek God... which is sumthing i'm trying hard to change. :)

Office Olympics

I found this extremely funny. It's taken from the most recent issue [Aug 21st] of 8 Days.

Devotion by Max Lucado

Read this for QT yesterday but was too busy to blog. have a read, it's real simple and easy... but speaks volumes... quite a cool parallel of Adam and Jesus; some we know, some new.

My father taught me the lesson early: Don't create havoc in the garden. You can play ball in the yard. But the garden? Leave it alone.
Satan learned the same lesson: Don't mess around with a garden-especially a garden that belongs to the Father.
The Bible is the story of two gardens. Eden and Gethsemane. In the first, Adam took a fall. In the second, Jesus took a stand. In the first, God sought Adam. In the second, Jesus sought God. In Eden. Satan led Adam to a tree that led to his death. From Gethsemane. Jesus went to a tree that led to our life.
Satan was never invited to the Garden of Eden. If he has invaded a garden in your life, then invite Jesus to reclaim it. He will enter and do what He did at Gethsemane. He will pray, and He will protect, and He will reclaim.

Take off my clothes. joke

LOLZ. wad a stupid joke. but it got me laughing. Enjoy

My wife came home the other night and told me to take off her blouse.
Then she told me to take off her skirt.
Then she told me not to wear her clothes anymore.

Forgiving and Forgiveness

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
John 13:3-5

I read an interesting bit of info in today's QT. it was talkin bout how Jesus washed the disciples feet. we all know how it was a servant's attitude that made Him wash the feet of the disciple but 2 points struck me today.

1. He washed the feet of the disciples. not the hands, not the head, not the arms... the feet. the most dirty part of a person's body that's caked in mud, grime and dirt. Imagine those times, people walked from place to place either barefooted or in sandels. The dust kicked up everytime someone shuffled their feet or ran. Apart from being the same beige color as the ground, i'm very sure the disciples feet were as cracked and cast in mud. To wash the feet of a disciple was reserved for the servant and it was unheard of for a host of the house/party to wash the feet of his/her guests.

2. We will never be able to wash the feet of those who have hurt us until we allow Jesus, the one we have hurt, to wash ours. That is so true. how often we forget that sinning and making Jesus die on the cross [though technically we can't make Him do anything He doesn't want to do]
hurt Him and God. To see His Son dying there and to actually BE dying there must have hurt God and Jesus emotionally. And then there we go screaming, kicking and whining complaining about how this or that person hurt us and how this or that person is so unfair. We wallow in self pity and always esteem our problems higher than others... now we jus need to take a step back and ask Jesus for forgiveness and let Him wash our feet, to make us clean, to teach us humility.

Powerful QT today. thank the Lord for this wonderful book given by J.Goh... He's such a blessing, and thus, I should be one too. :)

Job Description

Since Angel asked... here's a chat i just had with a fren....

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:29 AM):
from now till end nov... intern at SingTel to do the F1 race.

*May Ann* says (12:29 AM):
in what area?

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:29 AM):
it's Really quite exciting and fun. i'm workin there now la. and we're quite understaffed.
::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:30 AM):
well if i'm not mistaken, she'll / he'll be managing the GRID Girls, websites, the F1 simulator [really cool] and party and events that lead up to race day and post race stuff

*May Ann* says (12:30 AM):
heh.. it does sound interesting

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:30 AM):
coz that's what i'm doing and we're all working on it.

*May Ann* says (12:31 AM):
heh.. weekends?

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:31 AM):
yarh give me a heads up?
::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:31 AM):
no no. normal work day.
::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:31 AM):
8.30am to 6pm. but work kinda only starts at 9. or 9.30... whenever our supervisor comes in.

*May Ann* says (12:31 AM):
at where?

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:31 AM):
it's cubicle job... Somerset Singtel Building.

*May Ann* says (12:31 AM):
what's the pay like?
*May Ann* says (12:31 AM):
haha..

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:31 AM):
but like i said, grid girls, parties, road shows... so it's not always stuck at the desk.

*May Ann* says (12:31 AM):
the most impt qn

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:31 AM):
if i'm not mistaken $800 a month.
::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:32 AM):
singtel canteen is DIRT cheap. and it's REALLY good. so pay's not that big an issue la. it's really the exposure and the chance to say i was SO involved in the first night race in spore.
::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:32 AM):
singtel is the sole title sponser of the F1 race. the first ever night race in spore.
::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:32 AM):
needless to say, it'll shine on the resume.

*May Ann* says (12:33 AM):
hehe.. alrighties =

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:33 AM):
bosses are GREAT and our big big boss [head of corporate comms] is an openly religious Christian sunday sch teacher from BarkerRoad meth.

*May Ann* says (12:33 AM):
nice =)

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:33 AM):
please, pass the word around and get back to me if u have anyone.

*May Ann* says (12:33 AM):
sure =)

::† Prisoner Of Freedom †:: Vertically Loved. Horizontally Blessed. says (12:33 AM):
thanks.

Need Intern!

URGENT....

if you know of anyone [girl preferably] who is starting school in Aust in Feb OR who's ok to work 8.30am to 6pm job from now till end nov, please let me know ASAP... the company I work for, SingTel is looking for an intern.

CALL ME if u have someone in mind. We're in need of help. thankies! Trust me, the job's a blast.

Pipe vs Bucket

I was on my way to work yesterday when I was treated to the likes of Bob Sjogern. Finally disciplining myself to continue where I left off, I plugged in my phone's MP3 and 'sermon-ed' my way to work today. It was good just filling myself with the Word as irritating people squeezed me in the MRT. However, I wasn't going to let the surroundings affect my mood and concentration on the gospel. As it filled my ears, I made it a point to let it fill my mind as well. Listening to the Word as the first act of the day [minus brushing up, changing and leaving the home] really does make things different... perspective of the day just changes in some indescribable way. Well, enough bout that... about the sermon...

He was speaking about how there's a TOP line of a message and a BOTTOM line of the message. How the Bible isn't 66 books but ONE solid book. And just like every other book, this book [the Bible] has an introduction, the main content and the conclusion. But that's another story for another day. The TOP line of the message is that God blesses us. yay whee we win. God loves us yipee... ah but we often forget the BOTTOM line of the message. Which is to say, we bless others. Take for example this simple example of how the 'Levi' people were priests. They were given the right to meet God and to be the middle man between God and people. However they were also given the responsibility of preaching and giving the people the Word of God. likewise, we are also priests. We're given the responsibility of preaching the Word to others also.

One more point i thot was really good was how he likened us to Pipes instead of buckets. We don't jus collect and collect and collect the blessings from God. rather, we should be like pipes and channel the blessings to others as well. so as much as we are blessed, we should bless others as well. This is Christ's work in us and through us. :) Amen to that.

Benefits of Work

Woot! today was QUITE an interesting day. I got 2 things from my work place... first of all, i managed to get some car seats... long story and i dun intend on going into details... but i might jus get some new seats in my car... for free! haha.

But what's more... umm cooler [no.. not those kind u keep beer in]...i got a work line. means i have 2 phones now... so when i call u work line, dun be surprised. it's jus me being cheapo and trying to save money at as many places of my life as possible. :) what is ultra cool is that it turns out the phone they gave me to use [after whining to my boss Eva about not having a phone to use] happens to be the exact same model as mine, jus that it's in red color. oh my goodness.. was so shocked when she took it out.. i was like WOAH! THAT'S MY PHONE! haha... so now i have 2 w760i phones... oh goodness *faints* :)

i am a happy man today. oh and i got my job scope liao. haha nope, i'm no longer in charge of the grid girls [i'm actually quite happy bout it]... i'm in charge of sumthing else i dunno if i can reveal. so i shant... but it's working with people too la. so it's quite the happening. real glad. haha... hope the 2 interns coming in to replace my colleagues are good looki... i mean.. umm presentable and nice people to work with. :) grinz. apparently, they're employing 2 girls. grinz (x2)

whee!

Bcoz M.Chan complains how i always retard [make a photo retarded looking] with my face... here's one without me

birthday wishes

Didn't do much this year. worked till bout 6plus then had to go church for singing practice. was treated to good fellowship in the night and that's a summart of the 31st of july 2008. :)

Thanks for all the love and wishes from so many ways [sms, email, in person, over the phone]...

specially to:
tricia, adrian, sab, joanna, jamie lee, jodi, daphne, arthur, ian, harold, nick, auntie dawn, ivan, zhi han, angel, wendy low, meliza, cheryl, mavis, yvonne, jamie, joella, marcus, chelsea, vera, yan sing, yuan, joash, michelle, nick, chun kit, shawn and others... i only recorded a bit.

I'm grateful for everyone's wishes but seriously, a birthday is just another day. nothing that special about it... so dun feel bad u didn't wish or wished late... to me, it doesn't matter. :)

Things i'm glad for over this week [totally off the top of my head]
Hair is growing longer... yayz finally. hope it all works out
future plans for after work are getting more and more interesting with where i might go
work has been interesting and fun, colleagues are a super fun bunch.

crickets are tasty... kinda. :)