Chaa chaa dai phraa lem ngaam

Chaa chaa dai phraa lem ngaam (Thai) - Slowly, slowly, you get a beautiful knife.

A reminder that patience leads to the best results. Not to rush things. Take my time to understand as much as possible before making a decisive decision.

Work

September is a really busy month for my office. I'm not really that involve but as HR - "Internal Operations", I need to know pretty much very thing that is going on with the office.

The Greeks colleagues from our Athens office and the owner of the company came to the office. The Greeks were here for 3 days while the owner was here for 6 days. Then 5 of our German colleagues from the Hamburg office came down for the IUMI Convention at Sentosa from Monday to Wednesday. Due to the success of the event, we had 7 meetings with potentials spread out on Thursday and Friday. Then Friday night, there was a MarineTime One Scholarship ceremony, which I attended with my CEO as we awarded a scholarship to our intern. 

Then next week, 2 of my German colleagues and 2 of my local office colleagues will be going to KL for 2 days to meet up with potential clients and contacts. The following week, my French colleague from the Hamburg colleague will drop by the local office for a week, to prepare for his transfer. He will be posted to the local office for the next 2 years, with effect from October onwards, though I'm not sure of his start date. Also, there's another 2 day convention, a half-day seminar and a networking event during the same week. There's also a couple of dinner meetings with clients along the 2 weeks.

I just want September to be over but on the plus side, I honestly feel that I have more things to say and leverage on during my appraisal.

In Shaa' Allah, I will be able to get what I am targeting at.

BTO Applications

So it was another unsuccessful attempt at applying for a BTO.

• First time, it was back in February 2022. I applied for Tengah BTO and I was unsuccessful.
• Second time, it was in March 2022 via the Open Booking of Flats exercise. Apparently, the remark stated that I did not attend the flat selection appointment. If I remembered correctly, 1 day before my appointment, I received the text stating that all the flats were selected.
• Third time, it was in November 2022. I remembered that my number was 1,057 and there was only 600 units so I didn't bothered arranging for an appointment since there was a difference of almost 400 applicants. But apparently, now HDB stated that there was 16 units available by the time it was my turn.
• Fourth time, it was in May 2023 and I got the queue number of 1,052. There was around 400 units. I pretty much wrote it to cancel my application because I thought I could apply for the next batch of BTO. After that, then I received the notification stating that I could not apply for the next batch until the process for the May 2023 batch was completed.
• Fifth time, it was in October 2024. I applied for Bedok BTO and I was unsuccessful.
• Sixth time, it was in February 2025. I applied for Tampines under the Sales of Balance Flats exercise and I was unsuccessful.
• Seventh time, the most recent, it was in July 2025. I applied for Tampines BTO and I was unsuccessful again.

The next BTO exercise is in October 2025, I will applied for the Bedok area. Based on the maps, it is in between Bedok MRT station and Bedok North MRT station. It is also 9 mins walking distance from Masjid Al-Ansar. 

In Shaa-Allah, I will get it.

Gosaeng kkeute nagi onda

Gosaeng kkeute nagi onda (Korean) - At the end of hardship comes happiness.

At the end of the day, the mess that I got myself into and struggling to get out of, I am finally able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Monthly Goals

I am doing well so far. I have hit 8 out of my 12 goals. 

1.  January - Pay credit card debt. ✔️
2.  February - Pay credit card debt & set aside for Hari Raya. ✔️
3.  March - Pay credit card debt & set aside for Hari Raya. ✔️
4.  April - Buy Bangkok flight ticket & book hotel for December.  Pay credit card debt. ✔️
5.  May - Pay credit card debt. ✔️
6.  June - Buy Bangkok flight ticket & book hotel for December. Pay credit card debt. ✔️
7.  July - Pay credit card debt. Buy Bangkok flight ticket. ✔️
8.  August - Pay credit card debt. Book hotel for December. ✔️ 
9.  September - Pay credit card debt.
10.  October - Pay credit card debt. Book Bangkok activities.
11.  November - Pay credit card debt.
12.  December - Pay credit card debt. 1 week birthday trip to Bangkok.

18th July, Friday - GDIBA Summer Party

As part of the company's tradition, they will always have a summer party within the first month of their summer holidays. This year, we went to Sentosa for GoKart racing, followed by dinner at +Twelve. I have so much to lament about but I won't since it's not worth it. Anyway, I learned that I am a safety driver. We played 3 rounds of GoKart at HyperDrive, each round is 8 laps and all 3 rounds, I was in last place. While everyone was speeding around, I was taking my own sweet time pacing myself ensuring that I did not bump into the curb. Other than the first round that I bump and pretty much block everyone, I was good but slow.

Then followed by dinner and drinks at +Twelve. Honestly, the elevated cabana area with their respective mini-pools facing the beach and seeing the sunset is just gorgeous. The food was mediocre and the crowd was just disappointing. There were like 12 elevated cabanas there and only 5 were occupied with 2 of them having a party of 10 and the remaining 3 was only like groups of 4 people. And then the beach lounge area with all the daybeds are pretty much empty. I was surprised by how laid-back it was considering that it was supposed to be a beach/party club.

I wrapped it up by saying that I'm watching a movie and went off by 10.45pm while most of them went off to continue with their karaoke session. I had fun and now, I need to start looking for next year's options.

19th July, Saturday - Night Safari Surprise

I have respect for Haikal. It was been so long since I have seen any of my friends going all out for their partner. Basically, Haikal booked a 3 days 2 nights stay at Mandai Rainforest Hotel to celebrate Aidah's birthday, which comes with a pair of complimentary tickets to Night Safari, Bird Paradise & Zoo. 

On the first day, he planned with some of us to surprise Aidah at Night Safari. It was Nazron, Netty, Fana, her son, Taufik and me, so that's 6 of us that he paid our tickets for. And it was also my first time going to the Night Safari. Even though it was humid that night, we had loads of fun and only went back around 3 in the morning. On the second day, it was for her immediate family - her parents, siblings & their partners & kids - almost 15 people. And he paid for all of them. Both outings was a surprised for Aidah.

Anyway, I also got kind of excited to get Aidah a birthday present, I ended up spending almost $500 buying things from Bath & Body Works, Lush, Sephora & Kinokuniya. I was trying to make a DIY Spa kit for her, that I just got body scrubs, massage bar and tons of face masks for both Haikal and her too use it together.

2nd August, Saturday - Dinner at Tokyo Shokudo Hotpot Buffet

Our annual dinner plans with Aidah and Haikal. Pretty much, we only meet up about 3 times a year ever since the 2 of them got together. It will be one for fasting month, one for her birthday, then one around November or December. The place was warm and the food was okay but honestly, the cheap price justify the ambience of the whole thing. Then we went to Coffee Bean at East Coast and just hang out till past midnight.

9th August, Saturday - National Day Celebration

Originally, Syima said that Iman wanted to barbecue for us for Hari Raya gathering which all of us disagree to it. Then her gathering ended up with her inviting her cousins and a few of her friends. I found out that Iman actually loves to barbecue so I just suggested to her to do another gathering at her house on National Day.

Well, it ended up with her being busy and all over the place. I mean it was the 2nd time that she played host and can tell that she was trying. Compared to the rest of us who have played host numerous times that we know how to do the prep work and entertain the guests. 

It was nice but honestly, the thought of going to Queenstown just to hang out is exhausting for me.

Bangkok Trip

I have booked both my flight ticket and my hotel. And both are rather on impulse since I booked a business class ticket and a suite. But either way, the total cost is still way cheaper that my Dior backpack. Now it's time to start planning my itinerary. I have already splurge like crazy last year so I can't afford to spend too much this time round. I have to keep my budget simple.

In Shaa' Allah, everything will be fine.

Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià

Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià (Chinese) - The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Everything is about taking that first step forward. 

HDB Things

My 2nd sister finally got a house in Tampines. A process that took so long, a couple of years actually but now, she has 2 houses - one in Singapore and one in JB, Malaysia. So she is paying for the Singapore house while her husband is paying for the JB house. At the end of the day, all I can do is pray and wish the best for them on managing 2 properties in this current age with just a salaryman's pay. 

Because of that, it got my mom into the mood to sell off the current house. She wanted to downgrade to a 3-bedroom HBD since it will just be the four of us - my parents, my youngest brother and myself. But sadly, after checking and appealing to HBD, we found out that my parents do not have enough CPF for their retirement thus they are not able to sell the house.

Thus I suggested to buy a resale under my name with both of them staying with me, which will allow them to sell off the house. After the HDB calculation, I am able to afford a 3-bedroom HDB but my dad was saying that he is willing to top-up so that we could still buy a 4-bedroom HDB. The only issue is that the purchase of the new house and the sale of the current house have to happen at the same time, due to my lack of finance. 

It was obvious that my mom really wants to shift house and it was mainly because she wants it to be nearer to the mosque so that she can just walk over for her classes. But at the same time, I honestly do not want to give her too much hope. 

Anyway, after much discussion, my parents say that they will look into this again after my 2nd sister shifted out of our house in September. Thus, my parents told me to go ahead and apply for the July BTO and since the result will be out in September, we will discuss it again then.

Working Out

So it has been a month since I started working out. I have had 8 sessions with my trainer and I have been to the gym twice on my own accord. 

On the bright side, I am maintaining my weight (fluctuating a few hundred grams daily), I am keeping track of my calories so I pretty much have stop munching on snacks and I am trying to at least hit 5,000 steps on a weekday basis. I mean I pretty much don't even go out on the weekends. On the rather disappointing side, I am still so lazy. Like I am not committed to it yet. I am still trying to motivate to put in the effort.

I will be more discipline in losing weight. I have already taken the first steps, now is the time for me to commit to it.

In Shaa' Allah, every will be fine & I can do it.