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Don't let ego spoil a beautiful friendship.

I once had a friend so close to me that he saw my smiles, laughter, tears, and anger. We shared everything with each other. Secrets, stories, advices, beer, and everything else.

But something got between us when we left Secondary School. We didn't talk to each other anymore because of some small misunderstanding. Our friendship drifted, to a point where it seemed non-existent anymore. All the smiles, laughter, tears and anger no longer seemed to mean anything to this friendship.

Not until recently, out of the blue, he messaged me to meet up. I was shocked, at the same time surprised. My initial thoughts were that he needed me to help him in something that no others could. Nonetheless, I agreed. It offered me a good chance too, to know what's been going on with a friend whom I have not met for almost 4 years.

And so we met for dinner, chatted a little. My initial thoughts proved me wrong, and he seemed genuinely happy to see me after so long, and the same could be applied to me. I was happy that a friend whom I have shared so much with, didn't forget me. We had an amazing time chatting about what we were doing, our life in NS, and managed to catch up a bit, before he had to leave early to meet another friend.

Although it was another short meeting with a friend, that time spent was truly memorable. After he left, I thanked him for taking the initiative to meet up with me, because honestly, if he hadn't, this friendship would probably be left at the darkest corner of my life. He said something really true then. "Ego kept us apart.".

It's true. Ego did keep us apart, but I'm glad we've managed to put ego aside for the first time in 4 years. Thank you.

Picture by: supermans wife (Friendship)

Reminder on stuffs to blog. Meet up with secondary school friend on thursday & picnic with poly friends on saturday.

"He needs to buy a bigger mirror"

4 months ago when I entered station, my Officer-in-Charge welcomed me with a smile on his face. Today, he said his final goodbyes to me, and the 30 others that were under him.

In this 4 months, I've learned that he is a very optimistic and humble guy, a learner and most of the time, a motivator. It's difficult now, in this era, for someone to open up and speak their mind. Everyone seems to be held back by something. Maybe it's the fear of being embarrassed, saying the wrong thing, or saying something positive, but receiving a negative response. I can recall the many times he gathered us together, and told us that he has full trust in us in everything we do. When he ended his speech, most of the people walked away, laughing at his speech behind his back. I felt bad for him. But that never stopped him from speaking his mind.

4 months may be a short time for me to judge, compared to those who have been under him for the past 1 year 2 months. I can tell people are just respecting him due to his rank, and not for the person he is, and I'm sure he, himself knows it too. Maybe it's because of all the mistakes he has made during his time in the National Service. But then, everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves another chance.

It was his last day today, so he gathered everyone again, to say his final thoughts and goodbyes. He thanked each and everyone of us, and before he left, he asked if everyone wanted to hear this views on each of us. Nobody responded. I'm sure some of us wanted to hear his opinions, but maybe were too afraid to say. Nonetheless, he spoke his mind. He gave a very honest opinion on each of us, saying both what he liked, and what he didn't like about us.

When it was my turn, he smiled and said, "I like him a lot because he's very enthusiastic. But when he makes a mistake he always blame s himself. He needs to buy a bigger mirror to put at home.".

It's true, too. In the 4 months that I've been in the Fire Station, I've committed a few mistakes myself. And each time I committed a mistake, I put myself down and blame myself for it. We all say it takes 2 hands to clap, but the thought of implicating my other colleagues really demoralizes me. I'd much rather shoulder the blame myself than have anyone shoulder it with me, and if I could, I will. I guess it's just my character.

He then ended his short farewell speech by saying, "Remember, no one can put you down, except yourself.". And just like every other time he ends his speech, there will no doubt be people saying that he wasted their time. Then again, would those people be able to speak the words he had spoken? I doubt so. We need to appreciate this little talk more, and learn from them. We don't really know how much courage it takes, until we do it.