Olympic Silver

Dear Diary,

China’s domination of the Olympics is clear to see… In just a space of less than 2 hours, Singapore’s female table tennis team was ousted to second place. Our team won the first game on two occasions but succumbed eventually. Somehow, I think our players lacked that mental edge and they did not know any other strategies other than the one they were good at. So the Chinese changed strategies along the way and our team fell like bowling pins. At least, our girls can applause the fact that they look more feminine than their Chinese counterparts with their pouts, eye-rolls and double-feet hops, hahaha… Jiawei will win the Miss Table Tennis if there is such in the finals. =P Then I watched Lin Dan of China demolished Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in straight sets. The result was kinda shocking and Lee was disappointingly poor. Basically, China is rampantly victorious in most of the competitions from what I observed over the televised coverage of the Olympics in the last two days. We need more Michael Phelps around to neutralise the Chinese juggernaut, haha… Nevertheless, our female table tennis team won us our first Olympic medal in 48 years! Good job! ;-)

Anyway, I am glad that I wasn’t involved in the second day of the SGH Colorectal Cancer outreach today. I got to attend church and listen to Rev Canon Dr John Benson from the pulpit. He was speaking about prayer and intercession. Among the various Anglican clergy I know in my life, I respect him the most. I still remembered the day when he took over my previous church as acting vicar after an embarrassing incident happened in that church and in short… restored order there. He was a Cambridge University graduate in physics before taking up Holy Orders. He resigned in April 2007 due to health reasons and being conferred the title of Canon Emeritus. He ever helped my sister on one occasion when she was studying in St Andrew’s Junior College too. So seeing him after so many years brought back memories and how time seems to zip past so relentlessly quick.

My car is officially paid up as I issued the cheque to clear any remaining shortfall in amount today. Now, I have to kinda slowly prepare for my upcoming 5-day company trip to Kuala Lumpur for the GUT 2008 symposium. Hope that most of the meals are provided at our accommodation in Shangri-La where the conference will be held also. I think I am getting the “hang” of mingling with people I don’t know at all. Though I hope I won’t get to be in that kind of situation again alone. Frankly, I was puzzled how I survived that luncheon on Saturday.

On the Saturday that just passed, I went down to the SGH Colorectal Cancer Outreach at Suntec City’s Atrium. There was no one accompanying me and I just said hi to a couple of nurses whom I knew a little by sight and that was about it. They were too busy with the crowd and I was wondering what I should do. Thank God I saw a former locum colleague and had a short chat with her on-and-off. Then my boss’s boss came along for the Launch ceremony and vacated just as quickly as “The Flash” when the ceremony by the Minister of Health Mr Khaw was over. I was puzzled when a guy joked with me all of the sudden, asking if I were there for the artiste Felicia Chin or the Health Minister. Hello…. I know she was from VJC but… Come’on… The Health Minister looks more interesting, haha… My boss’s boss asked if he was my friend and I replied, “Those jokes were the first communication we ever had.” He was and is a total stranger to me! Maybe people do approach you more when you are alone. There was this girl who suddenly strike a conversation with me. Telling me that she was a former physiotherapist and blah blah blah… even asked for my name card. Maybe as a pharmacist, I have been trained to be introverted and less outgoing I guess. The pharmacy crowd generally do not go around talking to strangers at road shows if they are not counsellors, haha…

Then we had that Bali Thai restaurant reception and I was shocked that I was allocated to sit alone with a bunch of surgeons whom I knew not! Other than a couple of greetings, I sat there rather quiet throughout, savouring the dishes that were served. Surprisingly… thank God, I was actually not feeling too lonely at all despite being visibly “alone” in that group. How I wished I was not sitting in those 3 VIP tables and can just help myself with the buffet and maybe even eat with my reporter friend there… hee… For the VIP tables, the lunch lasted an oh-my-god 3 hours! The Health Minister was just sitting on the table beside mine. I don’t seem to see any bodyguards around, hmmm…Then my boss came after the entire lunch was over and salvaged my existence a little by introducing me to some “important” (the way she put it) people, haha…

When it was time to leave and I was striding towards my car, a phone call came. Guess what… my colleague’s good friend had bad blisters and was hoping a lift from me. Oh well, I gave both of them a lift to the nearest train station and her friend was telling me that she ever saw me because she timed her resignation so that her last day of work would coincide with my first day of work at this company. Hmmmm… didn’t know people were curious about me. She asked me to guess her age although I declined to. I erred on the safe side but still guessed her 5 years older than what she really is… Oops! Hee…

Thank God that I am coping reasonably well in my new job. There are many challenges ahead but I am not thinking too much about them just yet. I really need to brush up on my prayer life though. My quiet-time (devotional time) is almost non-existent in recent times… and I gotta pray hard in desperation for the loved ones around me who have yet to know Christ Jesus. Do pray for me that I am faithful and steadfast in God. I am weak and I need your prayers. Thanks! ;-)

God Bless,

Andrew