It's now a week to my 25th. 

It's a few more days to my big party.

What am I feeling?

Well, first thing first, ever since my last post....

I've squeezed into the Finalist of Singapore Tourism Award,
Truly a wonderful night.....

A testimony of persistence,
Affirmation of competence,
Display of effulgence,
Journey of excellence
Assessment of omnicompetence....
on this very day of significance.

Very humbled to be among the stars of customer service in various fields.
Made a few connections, and inspired by many stories from these amazing people.

Then I went for Diving in Bali.
I went for my Open Water Course and Advanced Open Water Course altogether.
And extended a few days for leisure.

At the pool sessions we did a few of the drills, which I thought we would never use,
eg Tired Diver Tow, Change Mask, Manual BCD Inflation.

Then first dive my mask too small every 5 mins full mask clearing.

Second dive my friend fins lost, so we Tired Diver Tow.

Third dive my mask snaps, Underwater Change Mask.

Fifth dive our friend air consumption abnormal so we did CESA.

Sixth dive my BCD auto inflate so I gotta do Manual Inflation.

By the end, I'm truly blessed that I have a very good Dive Instructor,
very earnest guy who takes care of us a lot yet after dive we are like long lost bros.
We extended our gratitude by offering to take him around nearby areas for a quick tour of scenery, and then throw a big feast.

Following that I checked off my list for a few more Michelin places,
then went to Indonesia Best Chef at Jakarta Nusa Gastronomy, Cheft Ragil.
Had a good fine dining experience with parents with detailed explanation on each course,
having the origin source, the process, the inspiration and the innovations.
We even had a kitchen tour at the end when everyone leaves! Back of house!

Then back to reality.

I guess every company will sooner or later face HR issues here and there,
And as I explained in earlier post, I'm still alone on this journey.
But I guess it's time for us to come together one more time,
To update everyone to be on a same page,
and to solve issues there and then,
an to delegate some ownerships here and there,
or to clear off weeds if there is.

At the end, its :

Price of Stability vs Price of Freedom

When the bigger things in life, housing, safety, healthcare, retirement, is taken care of, thats national stability; albeit may be loss of individuality, but compensated with niche subculture; like animals in zoo, in captivity, but with basic survival taken care of, there's allowance for appreciation of sub talents, and leisure activities..... May be delusional, l call that organised freedom ....

Sometimes, its better the abnegation for the best of national interest rather than to abrogate the need for progress and staying relevant and competitive in the world.

Same as life actually, was talking to a few students and concluded : choose the suffering you are willing to take. (reference to blog post October 15, 2018)

What every you choose, there is never an absolute smooth pathway,
It's just matter of perspective, choices, sacrifices.
There is always a way, as long as you dare to sacrifice.
(reference to blog post April 24, 2019)

Gone are the days where academic excellence its the only way to climb the ladder.
There are multiple ways in today's world.
And we moved on from labour intensive world
to a capital intensive one, to a skilled based,
to a knowledge and innovation based,
it's all about connections, opportunities, and time.

What do we really want to achieve?

In my 25 years,

I have achieved a position that provided me with
Comfortable Salary, Flexible Schedule, and Job Satisfaction

What more can I ask?

I wake up everyday to say "yes let's kick start the day",
I end everyday with "oh right today I learnt something new again",

What more can I ask?

Speaking of which,
I read into a greater deeper world of Beers,
and it's so fascinating about the origins, process and innovations of Beer,
and will be looking into getting a Certification.
The same with the realm of Tea,
It's just so amazing that all Tea comes from the same plant Camellia Sinesis,
only differs in Cultivation, Climate, and Process.
The history, the links, the catalyst, the influence, that shape the various culture.
 and thus planning on a Certification too.

Today I just did a One North : Silicon Valley of Singapore tour,
Stepped into the future of Singapore, of innovations and ideas,
From Bottom-Up Ideas Materialization and Fueling the Flames of the Future,
it's just simply amazing!

Life, is so much to learn, so much to discover,
and made colourful by each stories, each perspectives, each every-improving day.

I conclude.............

With Family, Friends, Career and Purpose..........

I have the greatest life anyone could ask for.