Feeling great now~!

I just return home from helping out at Aston's office (although i think i didn't do much!), they were doing some major reshuffling, and i mean MAJOR (moving tables, computers, wiring and all)! Made some new friends too~ Aston's new staffs, Frances's new colleagues (well not exactly new, but hey, anything after i left is new ok).

I'm still feeling high now, dunno why also.

A few thoughts. It's pretty funny to see 2 guys squatting in the corner of the room trying to hide wires into the perfect camouflage. There, Marcus (Frances boyfriend) and i were trying desperately (but "funly") to put away some protruding wires that were rather obscene by pasting black tape over it~! Nevertheless, we succeeded ;)

I find that Marcus is a perfectionist, from the way he wants to perfect the wiring. I find that he is compose, smart, confident, pro-active and most importantly, he relates very well to people and in a very natural way. He is someone who i actually wish i am. Confident, pro-active and relates well with people. Not that i don't relate well with people, but i feel that i seem to lack that something that keeps the crowd coming back to me. Still i strongly believe that i have that something that attracts the crowd to me, just that i can never retain that crowd.

Connie too, is a very PR woman who is able to make you believe that she totally understand what you say and feel. And in a very sincere way. No wonder she is the Marketing Manager. That is something i hope to pick up one day.

Then there is Sabrina, a young and bubbly gal who have no quirms in simply communicating her thoughts to you, and in a fun and lively way.

Oh, what a vibrant atmosphere is Adroit! It's a beautiful place to work.

I would have love to go back and help them. Especially when Aston and Connie treated me so well when i was there. But i guess some things can never be changed, and i will really like things to remain this way. To be in a friend-friend relationship, rather than for me to develop another working relationship with them. In another way also, i don't want to have to tell them after 2years that sorry, actually from the start, being a Recruitment Consultant is not what i have wanted out of my career.

Side note: Went to help them coz i WANT to help them. In return, i sold off ALL my Donation draw coupons~! THE lady boss (Connie) bought them all on behalf of the company and put everyone's name on it~! Cool~! I love them~! (Coz not becoz they bought all my coupons la)

It was the most interesting lesson for Kumar's class for the past 3weeks. 1st he made us do a test on what we learned so far, then he let us watch a funny clip, after that he made us apply Crisis Intervention on an individual case.

I felt that i have learned about this model more then i had last week! Maybe so because he made me verbalise my questions to the whole class because he OVERHEARD me discussing with my group! Well, that helps in my understanding too.

After our class, we went for a late-night supper! Me, John, Kumar, Phyllis, May and Siew Geok!! So seldom Siew Geok will join us! Haha. We have an insightful discussion on how these days, there are suddenly so many "counselling" courses thats popping out everyday and so many people proclaiming to be counselors/social workers with thhhhat little training!

Kumar is right on one thing. He ask what makes us so special, so professional? How could we go out and tell people that we are qualified to help them? Our course teach us the skills to help, but does it ensure that we rreeaallly know our skills? The exercise he did on us tells us how ready we are to apply our skills!

His point is well, like Doctors are lisenced to heal, Lawyers are lisenced to debate! Counselors? Any tom, dick and harry in Singapore with a Diploma in Counselling from some unknown institute can claim to be a counselor. So how professionally bounded are we? No wonder we are not highly regarded.

In the US, we need a Masters in Counselling to do direct counselling work. You are bounded by a lisencing board, much like a doctor. And you need to pass the exams and screening to qualify for the work. We are far from achieving that, wondering what our own SASW and SAC are thinking.

So many more thoughts, but i guess i won't write them anymore. Tired. Another day has ended. Another day that i don't wish it to end has so ended. Monday is coming =)

Tommorrow need to be in court~! Work ok! =(

OK. Off to bed~! Nitez.

I'm home! From class.

I really love going to class (though i rarely understand what John Lee is saying nowadays), i just love going there! I don't know why also. The 3hours lesson is torturous, its really hard to pass the 1.5hrs mark, but whenever it hits the 9.45 mark, i don't wish for it to end either.

Whenever i board the cab for home, i don't wish to reach home as quick.

Maybe it's because of the company, maybe it's because of the friendship i forged in class. Maybe i just feel more like myself when i'm with the guys.

I really don't wish for everything to end. Really. Next year, we won't have such a big group anymore. No more. =(

I don't want to think about it, but i guess i'l miss them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note, John Lee really shouldn't talk about flower arrangements, precision engineering, and how SIA was previously MSA in his discussion about Social Policy anymore. We don't need to know that. >.<

Blogging in the office now... Now before you go thinking "WAH YOU SLACKER!! YOU BLOG IN THE OFFICE!!", in case you haven't notice the date... ... Quick, take a peep! Yes... Good boy! Its a Saturday!!! The time now is 6pm!

THEN WHY AM I STILL IN THE OFFICE??

Although i sometimes proclaimed myself to be some kind of a workaholic, i am not so crazy to spend my precious weekends in a 4-walled square room filled with tables and computers actually! I'm here because it's my working saturday, though my shift ended already, and it ended late! I decided to stay behind to complete my personal work.

Suppose to knock off at 2pm and head to the library (hell i even brought my lappie to work today, never use...), but due to some confusion and stuffs, i had to end work at 3pm! Since i have an appointment at 7pm and 4hours to left to do assignments, i figured it would be a waste of my time to go library then! And what better place than the peace and quiet of my office to settle down and do some serious work?

Heehee. Manage to finish off my assignments! Felt so shiok sia ;)

Come to think of it, i really love my office now! So comfy! Esp when no ones around! Got nice sofa to sleep on, got internet, got printer (to print my assignments =p), got fridge (i'm starting to load it with stuffs ;)), got radio/TV, pool table, now i am beginning to load my drawer with food =D HEAVEN!

On a side note, i met Annabelle Francis today! She came down to use our dance studio and i spoke to her! Heehee. She's a bubbly gal! Oh, Sheik Haikel was here too! In fact i saw him first before i saw Annabelle. Very funny, i seldom see a star in real life. Oh well...

Had an enjoyable time catching up with Frances over dinner! It has being like being 9-months since we last saw each other, and that was when... em, during Connie's wedding in Jan!

It was nice to finally see her, we talked a lot, about life now, about relationships, about Adroit, and about everything under the sun (wait, the sun's set, so everything under the stars!) Know what, we when to Swensens (this is like my 3rd time in the past 4 weeks dining in Swensen, so nice meh!?)

So hard to arrange a dinner, last week she cannot, this week we change from Wed dinner to Tuesday lunch, to Tuesday dinner at JP and finally at the wake of today's morning, we confirmed Tuesday dinner at PS. Almost cannot meetup, coz if i had to go Jurong today for work, i would most probably had to cancel the dinner... (as it seems that my colleagues at Jurong were all OTing and packing dust-filled documents to be delivered for shredding)

Nevertheless, a wonderful dinner it has been. We're gonna bring out Aston and Connie (my ex-boss) next time, so that they will pay for the meal and i won't need to pay for Frances's meal again~~ (hahah~~)

They are going staff retreat soon! To Phuket~! And i was like "so fast!? again!?" Never had i realised it has already been a year~~ How time flies~~ Never mind, Frances gonna get me shirts while she's there (she had better choose properly)~!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A side note, while blogging here, i had a chat with my ex-boy, who's a probationer. He was sharing with me about some problems he was facing in school and i gave him some advices on it.

It's nice to know that they (my ex-boys) still remember you and want to look for you when they encounter problems in their lifes. This shows that you have somehow impacted their lifes (a little or a lot), and they appreciated you being around.

These are the little things that makes this profession so wonderful. ;)

My lovely social work friend just gave me a loud slap (on my arms lah) when she finally hear about my broken relationship. It was erm, after 6months?

I never meant not to tell her lah, but i kinda put off telling many people about it until much later loh.

I am happy (not in the sadistic sort of way) that she beat me for that, coz that goes to show that it matters to her that i did not tell her. And that also goes to show that she treats me more than just a coursemate, but as a friend whom we can share feelings and stories alike.

And i am contented to know that. Thanks Phyllis! And i'm sorry for keeping it from you all these while.

(oh shitz, assignments are pouring in!)

My boss is a wonderful counsellor! (Though she's scary at times!) I find that i learned more from her than the 3months i spent at PSB. Ok, maybe not more. But i felt that the things i have done back at PSB now made much more sense as i listen to her.

Previously, i was asked to utilise theories in my field of work, being a greenhorn in the field of social work and practically zero experience in practical application of theories into practices, i was struggling hard to (not say utilised them) even comprehend them.

Now that i have moved on to SCS Youth Centre, all the integratation of theories start to make more sense to me. The type of work at my current centre is very much similar to probation work, the client's profile (youth with problems), the intervention process, as well as the objectives for intervention. Maybe as i reflect upon my past intervention, i was able to integrate what she said into my previous practices.

I guess this is the difference between a social service agency and the ministry...

I was glad to be able to sit-in both a case conference yesterday and a counselling session today with my boss. (Not much chances anymore as i won't be doing casework..)

(a case conference is a meeting where all the case workers sit down to discuss a case, presented by one of the staff, whom he/she is facing a problem in the intervention process, during which, the case worker receive different perspectives and feedbacks on how he/she could better handle the case)

It was during the case conference that i first experience the theories of SWK in applied situation. The staff presenting drew up a genogram of the client, giving us a background of the family thus allowing us to ask questions to fill in the gaps of whatever is missing for our knowledge. Boss then intergrate the case and explained to us using different sets of theories (which was very applicable in the situation). Theories include Maslow's hierachy of needs, Freudian theories, cognitive behavioral theory, and one interesting name that i never heard of: Carl Rogers (i am going to read up on him)!

Interestingly, the following evening when i went for my Skills classes where we were suppose to discuss 4 major theories for SWK, i was able to use Maslow's theory of needs in the case where we were discussing, and also interestingly, the name Carl Rogers came up too~~

(Oh~! Did i discuss too much SWK~~!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I love my colleagues man! Especially the older ones! Today they drilled me on my pass relatinship over lunch until i almost pulled my hair out! And social workers being social workers, their inqusitive nature pulls in... and assumptions too... and reading between the line... ... and... ... twisting my words around >.<"

But it was fun lah.

I can get advise from these people about girls man, they are all the been there done that! Hahaha... They almost wanted to hook me up with some girls! >.<" ">.<

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long does it take to put down a broken relationship? I ask myself. I had a sharing with John on our way home on Thursday. John shared that it took him the same amount of time he spent on his first relationship to put it down. I am certainly not spending 5years to let go of my past.

Have i got over the lost of having a loved one? It takes courage, and things should never be rushed. I must say, i am healing. Maybe...maybe all i need is someone who will pick me up and complete my healing process. Maybe.

Sorry haven't been updating for a while (I know i promised someone that i will write more often, there there, i'm doing it now ok! Hee.).

Well at least things are still going straight for me. i am starting to regain my confidence in talking to others, partly due to the nature of my job which require me to do a lot of talking to people i don't know.

About the job
I found out through hearsay that i will be taking over the activities of a drop-in youth centre called Roundbox under TPC. Not good! I've been to the centre, which is just across TPC (in JSSC), it's a dying centre, with an ever decreasing number of active members. The total number of members reported (for management's report knowledge only) is over a 100 youths, but the really active ones... erm, 25?

Man! How am i going to revive that place! No doubt the facilities are quite good! 8-inch pool table, 29-inch TV accompanied by a full set of dolby surround sound system, dvd player, PS-game console system, Dance-practiced floor, full set of band equipments (plus mixers) and topping up with a nice pantry, refrigerator and plush sofa!

On the down side, the band equipments are deteriorating, the dance-floor is not fully utilised, the TV has got no antenna, we don't have a collection of movies to show on the DVD player, the PS-console dosen't come with any games, the pantry is usually empty and best, the centre dosen't open most of the time (only when there are activities) and is located in this tiny corner of the JSSC that i believe most can't find it. The good thing is that the Pool table is in real good conditions, partly due to the fact that no one really came in and the boss says that we should set up the rules for the table before we officially "open" it!

Side-track about the job
I am beginning to hear stories about my boss, although i have not actually sat down with her to discuss my jobscope... My new colleagues had already pre-empt me on what to expect, seems to me that my boss is a super direct person who will shoot her mouth off whether in things that she likes or dislikes (usually dislike)! It seems that they get scrutinized by her often.

Considering my past experiences with bosses, i think i really have to be on my toes ALL the time! I definitely don't want to be stepping on her tails, especially since i am considering to stay on for a while for this job! I hope i will be able to communicate well enough with her, and get "in touch" with what she wants!

(Go easy on yourself Alvin, just do what she wants! Although it's not good to think this way, but for now, boss first, youth second)

Recce Macritchie and Lower Pierce
It has been an interesting week, even though thye boss is not around! Mon recce hiking trip, tue and wed running groupwork!

What kinda of job allowed you to change into sport gears and go hiking in the middle of a working day? This! Went with my colleagues to recce the hiking route for the youth groupwork (although in the end we never went on the groupwork day). We recce the Tree-top Walk as well as the lower peirce trail. I have never been to the tree-top walk, i had wanted to go there, but during my last attempt (while i was still with my ex), it rained heavily while we were halfway up the track and we had to backtrack!

Alas, i've seen the tree-top walk! And it also dawn upon me that i am no longer as fit as yesteryears, felt my heart pumping precious oxygen while walking up the track!

The scenery at the Lower Pierce was beautiful though! Calm beautiful lake. I enjoyed myself there!

Parents/Youth groupwork
Tue and Wed were the parent and youth groupwork. Tue was for BW and BPC while Wed was for GP. Oh yes, i haven't write about what my centre does! Basically we deal only with referal cases, BPC or GP! BPC basically stands for Beyond Parental Control compliant and is refered to us by the Juvenile court while GP is the Guidance Programme which is refered to us by the police for youth who had committed petty crimes and the police wants to give them a second chance by not charging them.

In both cases, it is our job to counsel them and to help them resolve their issues and change for the better. The parents and youth groupwork is a half-yearly event that is conducted for both programmes, and this year, we had cooked up a series of activities for them including a sexual-awareness talk by HPB, parenting talk, activities to educate parents on our youth's activities today as well as a BBQ which allows the parent and youth to enjoy doing something together!

I particularly liked the activities where parents learned about where our youth hangout nowadays! We brought the parents to Orchard Road and gave them a series of tasks to accomplish, which are usually what our youths do today. For example, find out how much it costs to put on a tattoo~! This activities (accompanied by the youth) was supposed to be done by the parents themselves with the youth supporting them. It is interesting to see the way the parent-youth interact/communicate to get the tasks accomplished! I felt that was a good way to engage them to start communicating and to better understand one another!

Other activities include: Using $50, dress your child up and let your child rate how well they liked it. Choose an archade game to play with your child. Fun~~~

Oh, i led 1 game on the 2-days activities! Was kind of pushed to lead the game, but it was a good experience and a good opportunity for me to showcase my ability to lead a game ;)

More to come
There's certainly going to be more to come~~ I'm starting the new sem next week. 8 weeks of no-life sheer torture starts again~~ I hope i can cope, especially this time round, i don't think i can do as well as last sem.

Why do i say so? Coz last semester, i put in a lot of effort for my studies, i got to go home everyday at 3pm and have a lot of time to complete my tasks! This time round, partly due to the nature of the job, partly due to the boss, i foresee i will need to spend more time at work... Plus, i have also decided to put in a little more effort at work and to take things on a slower pace. Also, the module this time round are like so boring! Social Policy and Law... I've seen the assignments, i don't understand half the shit what it is talking about man! See...

(Come what may)

Supper and Mahjong
I went for supper at Geylang (eating tao hui) with Jieming and his gf yesterday night. Quite impromtu, called me at 8pm ask me to go! Tao hui was good, but the Shui Jing Bao the boss recommends sucks! I wanted to eat egg tarts, but the f** guy in front of me bought the last piece =.=, that's why the boss recommended the bao...

Whatever.

Worse loh, the boss suddenly ask us "Are you 2 brothers? You 2 look very alike leh" It's not the first time already, me and Jieming really look alike meh?? (is it is it, Jieming, tell me leh >.<) Maybe it's because we stay in the same bunk for 2years thats why! Co-habit, everyday see each other, then grow to look alike. If that's why, then how come Konghan dosen't grow to look like us yet. Blah.

Aiya, then after that, Jieming's girlfriend keep trying to spot the similarities between me and him untill i like whatever lah! (Then later he let me drive his car! Whoooohooo~~~ So long never drive le!! Heeheee)

Ok, on to mahjong! Played with Jieming, Hao (JM cousin) and his girfriend! Played till 5.30am and reach home at about 6am! Hao is enlisting today! It's amazing how someone who is going to lose his civilian identity in a few hours can still have the xin qing to play mahjong =.= Hope he's doing well in tekong now... (must be shouting this now: SAF 7 core values... blah blah blah... forget already!)

OK! That's all! Nothing else to say already!