I Will Survive

During my schooldays, I often received comments about my speech incoherence. As a result, it made me more apprehensive when talking to others. In my final year in Poly, we were told by our lecturer to make a presentation in the class. I was a bundle of nerves! In fact, it was so bad that I was seen trembling violently. To this day, I still recall the roar from my classmates over my debut presentation...

Determined not to let it affect my first job, I tried to put my efforts into practice sessions. With ample preparation, it helped to calm myself and I began to see marginal improvements. But deep down, I feel that I could improve on it further through professional training.

Then recently I have the chance to enrol for a communications course held at my workplace. It was a two-day class as we were taught a series of plans to structure our thoughts prior to our speech. In my opinion, these basic plans have proven to be useful and effective during our group projects. The instructor also shared some positive feedback about my progress that I hope to motivate myself to use these techniques in any off-the-cuff talk. I will survive:)

One Step Closer

Feeling the Sunday blues... So I cajoled my friend to join me on an excursion to a mushroom farm close by. The mission was to visit the farm on our bikes to see the array of mushrooms. You see, I am the proud owner of the FlyBy foldie as of yesterday:) Well, almost...

In total, we pedalled 14 km (two-way) from Hougang to Seletar West in my quest for the mushroom feast. For those who share the same taste bud, the destination is MycoFarm Pte. Ltd. at Seletar West Farmway 5, Singapore 798057.

Rain greeted us at the onset of the ride. I have to agree with my friend now that it is enjoyable to cycle in the rain as the drizzle perks up the soul instantly. Furthermore, traffic is less on the road and makes it more fun to enjoy the space. More importantly, I have learnt to use my brakes and gears better under such wet condition on top of the regular up and downslopes.

Before long, we have arrived at the mushroom farm on a slightly less than dry condition but chirpy. Happily, we parked our bikes and stepped into cafe to satisfy our appetite. Unfortunately, we were too late as the mushroom soup, muffins and other offerings have already been snapped up. Feeling hungry, we left the place shortly in search of roti prata in the vicinity of the farm. It was a no-frills prata eatery and we wasted no time ordering our food. Between the prata and mee houn goreng, the latter was a clear winner.

After fuelling ourselves, we headed back home. The return ride was slightly warmer as the rain had ceased. No worries, as I have my cap to count on. Feeling more confident to ride on the road now, I should be ready for the next one…

Trouble Is A Friend

Welcome back. After almost one and a half week of retreat, I am ready to face the world with a stronger resilience! I don't wish to dwell on the past, so I shall skip the details...

After all, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift." Let me talk about my plan to eradicate the issues at work. After much thinking and online research, I conclude an infallible plan should encompass the following:

1. It has to meet my need - Better appraisal outcome

2. It's realistic and can be implemented

3. It's specific and results can be tracked against the plan - It has to include tasks, timeline, budgets, and metrics. It's measurable.

4. It clearly defines responsibilities for implementation

5. It's communicated to the person who has to run it and understand the plan

6. It gets the person committed

7. Last but not least, success is in sight with regular review and course correction

Let me know if I have miss out anything and keep smiling.

Dangerous and Sweet

If you have a sweet tooth, here's something to pique you. Located at Jalan Mas Puteh (nearest MRT is Clement station), IceDreamland is a stop you could not miss! Greeted by different seating parlors, this inconspicuous cafe offers an array of Movenpick ice cream flavours to residents in the west.

To share how I stumbled upon the place, I was accompanying my friend to get his handlebar replaced. Then we noticed IceDreamland a couple of units away. To make my story short, we took the advice of the staff and ordered the milk shake on this very sultry day. My friend decided to go for a rum and raisin milkshake. As a special order, I requested for a milkshake concocting of both the strawberry cheese and vanilla ice cream. Yummy! Look at my happy face:)

Surprisingly, the place did not seem to be packed with customers given its warm service and unique seating theme. For the latter, I have to commend the business owner for coming up with different seating ideas, including Cinderella's carriage, in-house swing for two, party table among others. In my humble opinion, the business could see a boost in patrons if the following is adopted:

- Opening promotion
- Develops the current website to showcase the quaint fairy-like setting and ice cream, as it only shows the home-page
- Special rates for students
- Flyers to residents and workers nearby
- Ice cream tasting for passersby
- Continue to offer good customer service as word of mouth proves to be most cost-effective

Let me know if you have anything to add on and enjoy the ice cream, if you drop by!