A silent prayer

Has it been 10 years already?

My mind is in a mess right now, and my thoughts are all fumbled up.

It didn’t sink in at first, that you are gone from this world. Until 2 days ago when it struck me that I will never see the five of you standing on stage together again. That I would never be able to say the fan chants again. That I will never be able to hear Please, Don’t Go live again. That I will never be able to see your quirky and crazy moments on variety shows again.

You are gone. You have really departed this world and you won’t ever come back again.

You dedicated a decade of your life working so hard bringing joy and happiness to us, but inside you are struggling, gasping for breath. Hoping someone would realise and acknowledge your pain. And when they finally realised, it's too late. No one bothered to know the real you, no one cared how you truly felt.

You tried to reach out for help, you didn't want to leave the world this way. But you were mindlessly turned down and pushed into a corner.

It got me thinking how easily people brush off others and take depression as an illness too lightly. How people don’t see depression as an illness but a “weak mind”, and nonchalantly say “It’s all in your head. You can overcome it if you want to.”

Well if they could, they wouldn’t be begging you for help already. I can relate to this on all levels because I have been through it. Not depression, but similar. It is easy for others to say all these, but you are not the one going through it. You will never know how painful and difficult it is for the person struggling. To have gone to the extent of taking your own life, I’m sorry that you couldn’t see a better way out of this. I’m sorry that leaving this world and leaving everyone you love behind was the only way out for you.

It’s too late for regrets. It’s always too late for regrets. Humans never learn from their mistakes of treasuring someone or something until they are gone from your lives.

But I pray that you will go peacefully, that you will know that you are loved, you have been loved dearly. That you have done well, you have done really really well and we are all proud of you, so you should be proud of yourself too. I pray that the family and other members will not be in too much pain, that they will free themselves from guilt and continue living their lives bravely for themselves and for you.

Thank you for all the songs, for all the beautiful memories, for all the laughter that you gave to me and everyone else in the world. Thank you for blessing me with your angelic voice, thank you for coming into my life 10 years ago. Everything happens for a reason. You came into my life not by chance, but because it was fate and planned that I would notice you, SHINee and your amazing dedication and work, and become a fan for life.

I would say, Please, don’t go, but I guess it’s time to let go now. I hope you will be happier in the other world.

You have worked hard. Goodbye for now.

Weakness

The past week has been nothing but horrible.

Sydney went for a house visit with a potential PA. They were a nice young couple that seem like they would be able to take good care of her. However the downside is that they were at work the whole day so she's left alone at home for long hours.

I was definitely sad when I heard about that. I mean, I could give her a house full of love and care, mum is always at home so she doesn't feel lonely, we are the perfect family for her. But yet I couldn't adopt her because of the parents' objections.

I am not one to give up easily, especially if it is things I feel strongly for. I attempted asking the parents again, begged and cried, gave them so many VALID reasons why I would be able to take care of Sydney and all they needed to do was to let her stay in our house. But alas, I was rejected again, over reasons that did not make sense to me.

Somehow I can never understand why they are so against me doing something so good, and I don't think I ever will.

I'm mentally and physically tired from this long battle, I just want to give up because I know I am fighting a losing battle.

I love you so much Syd, I am so so sorry for not being able to fight for you. If fate between us is meant to be, I am very sure we will cross paths again someday in the future. And by then I can happily and proudly say you're mine.

So, so tired of always giving.

Train thoughts

Ever had that fleeting moment when you walk the streets and wonder whether the person walking next to you, behind you, in front of you, may just play a significant role in your life next time? Or people around you that end up becoming a part of your future?

I can never fathom the human life, except revel in the beauty of life, and the beauty of living. 

Life as a matter of choices

It's 2am now and I can't seem to fall asleep, it must be the tea I drank at 10pm that's causing my insomnia right now. So while I'm lying on bed now staring into black (literally) space, I decided that I will do some reflection on how this year has been so far for me.

Here's a picture just to depict what I'm looking at now lol.

This year has been one filled with extreme emotions, a year full of change, a year which saw me push myself past my limits and tip myself out of the comfort zone that I was stuck in for way too long.

I left my previous job in April, and for the first month I felt a sense of liberation and happiness. No more waking up at ungodly hours for shift work, no more replying emails, no more OT, no more reports to write. Everyday was just waking up, exercising, playing with my dogs, catching up on Netflix, eating and sleeping. Repeat. Repeat again. It honestly felt so good living a life with seemingly no worries at all.

Seemingly because deep down I had this nagging abomination of irresponsibility towards my life. Was it impulsive of me? Was it the herd mentality? Was I just finding all sorts of excuses for myself to escape from reality?

I couldn't give myself an answer. And honestly I don't think I had an answer for myself. All I felt was extreme disappointment in a girl who friends looked up to as someone who never gives up in anything that she does. And here I am, letting go in the face of uncertainty. I guess it didn't help that the parents were breathing down my neck and further attesting to the fact that I made a wrong choice giving up on a job that paid me well.

I was caught in this never-ending dilemma. One of trying to find any job quickly versus being ultra selective so that I can find a job im truly passionate about. But in this dilemma I find myself warped up in another dilemma. #dilemmaception What exactly am I passionate in? What if the things I thought I am good at doing and am passionate about turned out to be far from right?  

I pondered over these thoughts not knowing where I was heading towards in life. Kinda like a headless chicken running along a long, empty road that never seemed to cease. Before I knew it three months flew by and I was still at status quo. No job, no clue in what I want to do with my life.

Anxiety kicked in and thoughts of "just spamming resumes to any company" kept flooding my mind. I knew that was the wrong mindset. The same wrong mindset that led me to a bad decision, resulting in my departure from my previous job. But i didn't care. All I could think of was "I need a job, I need to get my life back on track."

I spammed resumes for a few days, and then some. But I don't know what happened but I guessed you could say I got lucky? Just when I was ready to accept fate and take any job offer that came my way, a company that I would kill to get in contacted me for an interview. 13 pages. That was the number of pages of questions I had prepared for the interview. I have never ever prepared so hard for an interview before. It was as if I was back in university again, preparing for finals. It was my dream job and I was dying to get in.

But as fate would have it, I guessed my luck ran out. I passed all the rounds of interview but failed at the final one because I lacked the technical skills they needed in the candidate taking up the role. What was I doing in the past three months when I could have picked up a new skill and ace this interview? Life is unpredictable as such, you take things for granted until the opportunity brushes past you, and by then regret comes too late and begging comes to naught.

I signed up for a course on that very day I got rejected by my dream company. It was a computer coding skill which I would never, never in the life of me learn unless I really had to. Despondency brought out the competitive spirit in me. I did not want to be the cause of any lost opportunities again. I'm really glad I did it, because coding turned out to be amazingly interesting and nothing like what I pictured it to be - boring and confusing.

In the midst of all this, I found a job. Not a job at my dream company, but a job I know I can confidently say I enjoy doing - not passionate about (at least it's too early to say now), but definitely not something I accepted "out of desperation". And looking back on the past five months, I regretted nothing. Phases of emotions I experienced over the past five months eventually led me back to a sense of calmness and balance. Five months was all it took to push me out of my comfort zone into this cruel world of uncertainty. 24 years of choosing to live in my own comfortable bubble ; now revived and renewed.

Life is a matter of choices. You choose what you want in life. To live within walls and be comfortable, or to step out and embrace challenges that come your way. You decide your life and no one has the right to intervene, because it is YOUR life and your own responsibility.

I am super excited about my new job and what is to come. And to my dream job, I guess you will have to wait for awhile. Perhaps by then my perspective and goals would have shifted, and my definition of what constitutes a dream job would have changed.

Guess I will never know until it comes.

Revived

Sorry for the previous emo post, so heres a beautiful sunset picture to take away all the negativity.

Guess I really needed a place to rant and my blog was the best option. I'm glad to say that with each emo rant, I recover and move on with life. Such is life right? Theres always sadness and unhappiness, but theres no time for regrets. You just got to pick yourself up and get going again, and with each failure, you trudge along braver and stronger.

I had a mixture of emotions overwhelming me the past few days/weeks, and it got unbearable at one point that I couldn't wring myself out of it. It was so bad that I could not bring myself to do anything. I had no energy, all I wanted to do was just lay in bed and sulk. My mind was filled totally with the issue at hand, and I finally told myself that I had to do it for myself. To get out of this mess. I won't really talk about what this issue is since its in the past and I should just let bygones be bygones, but long story short was I did it. I did it and made the effort to pull myself out from the wrecked mess.

The outcome wasn't very pretty, I felt embarrassed and angry with myself for being so stubborn and making myself look like a fool. I knew deep down inside that the final outcome would be like that, but I knew I had to choose one option: be embarrassed or get out of this misery. Of course I chose the latter, because I wanted to move on with life. There's no time for regrets, there's no time to waste on such ridiculous stuff that was filling my mind. My life was worth more than all these.

I'm truly glad I did it in the end, because amidst all the embarrassment that I felt, I knew I was truly revived again. Recovered and getting myself out of this mess. I saw the issue clearly for what it was, accepted the outcome, and moved on with life. Now I feel like this big burden that had been weighing down on me for the past year was finally being lifted off my chest. And I know I can finally put down everything and move on with life and be happier.

Life is a continuous lesson, with each failure comes success. As the saying goes, "The only way is up".

The only way is up, Jas. You will only become better.

Despondence

Putting down your pride to do something you feel embarrassed about, is the worst feeling ever.

Sometimes I really really hate my never-give-up personality, why do I have to be so insistent in things, when I know what the final outcome will be? Why am I trying to force things to happen, when I know they won't? Something at the back of my mind just keeps telling me "just try, you got to make the effort first in order for things to happen." And "if you never try you'd never know."

And this is where it sucks. Because I'm putting myself in a vulnerable situation and just preparing myself for failure. There's always that possibility that everything will come to naught after i tried, and that feeling is the worst ever.

I know this feeling too well, so why do I keep allowing myself to get into such situations?

Post Holiday Blues~

So I am back from a month full of holidays, and im having severe post holiday blues right now. Served my notice in my previous company at the beginning of April, and I hopped onto a plane to Korea to catch the cherry blossoms. It is the sixth time I am in Korea, but the first time I am visiting during Spring season. Haha I can never get sick of Korea, really. It is a place that holds special memories for me, and I feel so comfortable there it really kinda feels like second home.

Anyway, the cherry blossoms were beautiful, but not breathtaking enough for me to want to see it again. Maybe it was because I caught the cherry blossoms nearing the end of its bloom, so the flowers had already lost its vibrant colors and were just a dull pink shade. But I count my blessings, at least I was fortunate to be able to see this sight once in my life.

That was the highlight of the trip. The rest of my trip was spent shopping and eating in Seoul, which, as boring as it sounds, it really isn't. I went to Korea with my exchange friends, so we pretty much knew our way around and knew where all the good food and shopping were at. Seoul is a shopping and food haven, so if you do want to know where to go in Seoul to get the best deals, hit me up and I will be glad to share them with you! :)

After a week, I was off to Hokkaido to meet my family. We decided on a family trip at the last minute because we realised there was a extended weekend due to Good Friday. I had always dreamt of visiting Hokkaido because of the unbelievable scenery pictures I saw on the internet. True enough, Hokkaido's scenery was nothing short of amazing. The sights I saw were simply indescribable in words, so I shall let my pictures do the talking.

 Mt Tengu, Otaru

 Noboribetsu, Hell Valley

 Shirahige Waterfalls, Biei

Blue Pond, Biei

Of course, I had some pretty good seafood and chirashi rice bowls there as well!

Ikura Hotate don

Oh, to add on to my already awesome holiday, I met some of my favourite Kpop idols there haha. Yes, I was a secret Kpop fan. Okay I mean I do still listen to Kpop songs now, but I don't think I am as idol crazy as I was last time. I think its really true that you will grow out of these stuff once you get older. I just kind of gradually stopped following the new bands when I started University. Now I only listen to songs from the older bands that I used to listen to when I was fervently following Kpop. And I happened to meet the band that I used to listen to in my teenage days!! So it was really a surprise for me, and I was definitely excited to meet them. Haha I took a photo with them, but I shall not post it here cos I think my face was pretty cui there LOL. So to save my ass, I will just keep them for myself hehehe. Unless you really want to see them. I might oblige and show it to you if you ask, but maybe only after I mosaic out my face hahaha.

Hokkaido was pretty awesome also because I got to spend time with my family. I can't even remember when was the last time we all went on a holiday together. So it was great spending time together and having fun! :)

I was back in Singapore for a week before I left for another short getaway, this time to Batam. I was there over the Labour Day long weekend with my closest clique of friends, and we went to a kelong to stay, to experience life as it was back in the old days. I admit I was initially skeptical if i will enjoy the trip, because how fun can doing nothing at a kelong be right? To a city kid like me, no wifi/internet = no fun. I kept worrying about how I am going to contact my friends and family when I am there, how am I going to update my instagram story etc.

Luckily, my worries were all for naught because doing nothing can really be so fun. And I don't mean it sarcastically. The three days there passed in a blink of an eye because we were having so much fun just playing board games, lying on hammocks, playing frisbee, talking about life, chilling and star gazing. Some of my friends even tried their hands at fishing there. And it felt really, really good just disconnecting with the outside world for that three days, with no worries about job hunting, no stress about errands to run and emails to reply.

And contrary to what most people think, the kelong was very clean and comfortable to stay in. There was no aircon and only limited hot water everyday, but that wasn't really a problem to me since I am not very reliant on aircon anyway.

My friends brought their boyfriends along as well, so it was really nice getting to know all of them better through this trip! Hopefully in our next trip together everyone can bring along their boyfriends hahaha! (stress for the single gals to quickly find a partner haha)

So with that, I am finally back in Singapore after a long period of travel. The month of April just flew by like that because I was having so much fun traveling the world. How nice will it be to just travel for the rest of my life haha. And because I was away for most of the month having fun, I am now having severe withdrawal symptoms and am finding it hard to get back to reality. Everyday I just feel like lazing in bed and not doing anything. Haha but I am slowly getting back on track! I think writing this blog post is a good start and progress. Cos at least I am exercising my brain and fingers instead of spamming dramas in bed. Next step will be to start planning my fitness and diet schedule and get back to a healthy lifestyle. All that feasting in the past month had some detrimental effect on my waistline, so I better stop procrastinating or I might just end up having to revamp my wardrobe with larger sized clothes haha. Oh, and time to find a job too. I really hope I can find a job that I will really love and be passionate about.

Okay I should probably stop chattering away and get some real work done. Till the next post! :)