charity work, alright.

i'm sure you've seen these group of people that carry around a clear folder with their identification or certificate of employment to a certain company, they also carry with them a handful of pens and they can usually be found outside of shopping mall or prominent train stations.

yes, they that i am referring to are the people who claim to work for their living by asking for donations from you. i've noticed that recently the trend has increased rapidly. you see them everywhere.

these companies "hire" ex-convicts and make them wallow in the society's pity towards them. why am i being so harsh? i feel that there is no justified reason for such companies to use these people and earn profits for themselves. why? you make a donation of $2 for a pen that cost 50cents. from what i heard from one of the "employees", he earns 50% from the whole day's "sale". at the end of the day, the companies will earn a 100% profit. true, the "employee" will earn his wage, which is dependent on how many people are willing to purchase a 50cents pen for $2, all in the name of helping the society's ex-convicts.

with more awareness created by the government towards people with criminal records, such companies will not hesitate to take opportunities to bask in reaping profits masked by the intention of charitable work.

in short, these ex-convicts are not learning anything much to get themselves back onto the right path of society. they make themselves look pitiful in order to have people buying from them - "i've just been released from prison in March for the crime of housebreaking", "by buying these pens, you will be helping me earn my daily salary" or "i have been working the whole day and it would make my day if you could buy these pens from me". tell me, how is this beneficial to these people when they have to "beg"? how could this be called helping if all you get is pity?

it also creates unnecessary loitering and grouping of people in public places. they sit around and group together. it also brings about public harrassment. some of them do not know when to stop. they will go on and on, being irritatingly persistent.

and when will it stop? are these people allowed to use this reason forever? if that's the case, when will they ever be able to stand up on their own two feet? these companies give ex-convicts reasons not to look scout for a proper job - "oh, it's hard to ex-convicts to get a job". initially, yes. eventually, you will be able to secure one if you can convince your interviewer that you are willing to learn and have changed for the better. though not all the apples are bad.

i'm not saying that we should not give support or acceptance to ex-convicts. i feel that these companies should not be given such license easily. it will lead to an abuse of charity. there are companies out there who are for the Yellow Ribbon Project. they hire ex-convicts as waiters/waitresses, delivery/courier person and many other positions that are readily available for them. and i feel that when given such working positions, these ex-convicts will have some decent dignity and confidence to start anew.

wouldn't they then be the same as the auntie selling tissue paper? only "employed".

23, oh 23..

dear all, thank you for all the wishes. be it pre, present and post birthday wishes. as they all say, better late than never. =)

i'm happy to share this month with Guorong, Awin and Bernard. even at work, i shared it with Jasmine, Pat and Farhah. now, the thing about sharing is that Faiz's girlfriend shares the same birth date as me! it's hard to share MY day with someone whom my brother is dating but it doesn't hurt for me to be nice eh? haha!

anyway, here's to you July babies - may the year ahead bring all of you abundance of joy, wealth and health! =)

there wasn't any gathering on my part this year because my birthday fell on a weekday. plus, i was consumed by so many things that i didn't have the chance to really plan for one. so, it was spent with my loved ones. eve of my birthday, i had dinner with my family at Fig & Olive. the food's okay, i would say. the portion is good and it's healthy with lots of vegetables. =)

i spent my birthday with my sweetheart, who allowed me to gobble whatever i could at Fish & Co. i had the Pasta & Shrimp Salad and the Garlic & Lemon Butter Mussels. while he had the New York Fish & Chips and Calamari to share. pretty ambitious? well, we finished them all. or rather, i had the last of everything. haha. we watched Hellboy 2 and simply spend blissful time together. love, love, love.

presents? my parents gave me monies, i like! Nik gave me a hair straightening kit, so that i'll stop whining about how unruly my hair curls. i like it too! haha. and Preetha, gave me $100 worth of vouchers from Takashimaya. i can hear the shoes department calling me. let's go shopping!

speaking of which, i just received an unexpected birthday present just now which i can't truly describe my full appreciation for. I GOT THE WEEKEND PASS FOR SINGFEST 2008!! my goodness. i have yet to properly digest that fact in my head. MANY, MANY thanks to Auntie Jun (Nik's mom) for buying it as a gift for me. can i say - i love you Auntie Jun?!

i'll get you a Coke Polar Bear, and all that it takes! haha.

the more you lie, the angrier you become defending that lie.

i have been having introductory lectures, tutorials will commence only next week. at this point, thinking about tutorials makes me a very angry girl. simply because i was denied the right to choose or make a decision. being denied your rights brings about a whole lorry full of frustrations which in turn gets dumped at the wrong place and in this case, person. bluergh.

my boyfriend is undergoing training to become the next big guy who worked his way up the corporate ladder in the faultless, everybody-loves-us, Starbucks.

okay, he's not. though he'll be working part-time and he intends for it to last till he graduates. in some sense, we could never see eye to eye in relation to F&B. i still believe it's not all that bad. and i believe, it doesn't mean that you are not pursuing your dreams. what is yours may not be mine. anyway, the point is our hectic schedules - his daily classes in the day and working part-time. my full-time job and thrice weekly night classes. up till now, we have not faced any difficulties (i'm lying if i said zilch but it's not that all bad) in spending time together.

we have time for friends. we have time for family (which by default is Sunday). we have time for each other.

absence makes the heart fonder. yes, and absence too creates opportunity for distrust, lack of affection and attention etc. i definitely do not want any of that. i'm looking over the hill. i'm picturing the end of 3 years. and it's that vision that will keep me sane for the next couple of years. so, bear with me.

and yes, i still do want achieve that before i turn 28 (we may negotiate for 29, but no later). i love you.