Planned proposal

Two days ago I heard from a colleague that there was a mandatory business meeting for everyone in the office to attend. I was on annual leave though. So this morning when I got in, I was invited into a meeting room with two other colleagues who were also off yesterday, and we were told, that there are plans to close down the Glasgow office and shift the work to Poland. I won't mention my employer's name in this blogpost. The plans are still at "proposal stage" and nothing is confirmed. However, they want to give us all a heads up, because there are 91 staff members left here, after recent departure of another client group. Basically, if these proposed plans went ahead, we would all face redundancy.

When I heard the scripted official statement read out, it brought back a sense of deja vu for my time at Ford Customer Relationship Centre. I was only six months into the job when they officially announced the closing of the Glasgow office to relocate to the Midlands. My goodness, how devastated I was after hearing that. Back then I only had six months left before the changeover. Fortunately, the staff were all given lots of support to job-hunt and time off for interviews etc. That was how I came across my current employer, making it almost three years since I've been here. This time hearing the news, it was not as shocking or impacting as the first time it happened. Maybe because there were only five people in the room in contrast to the almost 90 people who would have heard it together yesterday. If the proposed plans go through the office will have until July/ August/ September 2010 to live before it goes.

Though my immediate future is planned out and I have job security, my heart goes out to those in the office who are feeling lost right. Those who don't know what to do, where to go and why this has happened. The unemployment rate is at an all-time high, so job competition will be fierce. I know that feeling from a few years ago. At least back then I was young and would be willing to take up any full time job to keep a living. However, there are more older workers here. Those who have dedicated their lives to this company, working very hard and learning processes, systems, IT skills etc in order to serve the clientele. What about them? Where are they going to go? They might question whether they are still employable, amidst the sea of youthful competition. It's sad, but I wish them all the best. Nobody could forsee this happening. Nobody has done anything to cause this either. It's cost-cutting, at it's finest. And it has happened so close to home!

Throughout the day my mind has been reflecting on how blessed and fortunate I am to have my driving instructor qualification now. I truly feel it has happened in God's time. Can you imagine me trying to sit an instructor exam with a cloud of sadness over me? Or with the feeling that my job/ redundancy/ future depended on whether I passed the exam? How much pressure that would be. I'm not sure how it would have worked that way, and I don't want to imagine it. Right now, I am very thankful to God for leading me to where I am today. Right at this moment, I feel God's love and care for me. I feel secure in His love and knowing that my future is safe in His hands. I will try to remember to pray for my colleagues as they start job hunting and try to find some security in life now. Not much more I can say here, but personally I am so thankful to God. =)

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Still busy!

A week since my last blogpost. Was hoping to blog before this but have been too busy. So what have I been up to...?

Wednesday 23rd Sept
Went to prayer meeting in the evening. We prayed with Gordon / Wei Yao's cell group before they started. Two more people showed interest in taking driving lessons :) Then I went to the gym. Late session this was. Arrived at 8:30pm.

Thursday 24th Sept
Last day of work before being off for five days. Settled all paperwork and all tasks up to date. Went to the gym and worked on chest and back.

Friday 25th Sept
Annual leave: Went to Lloyds TSB to set up a business account. Midway through filling in my details the manager asked me if I had some sort of business plan, giving an estimate of annual turnover etc. I said no. I didn't know I needed one to be honest. Main reason being I thought taking a franchise with AA would be more "secure" than starting my own business from scratch etc. However, I left the bank with the manager's card and some brochures. Took Elaam out for a driving lesson in dual control car from Arnold Clark, then went to town. Was SOO hungry near the end of shopping I could have eaten a horse!! =P Had Starbucks coffee break: crepe and a latte, then later takeaway dinner from Asia Style and watched "Pan's Labyrinth". Interesting film and I'm glad I've finally watched it =)

Saturday 26th Sept
Stayed in in the morning reading about business accounts and the Driving Instructor Association. Then got myself a planner/ scheduler thing from WH Smith. Whilst at it I took a look at some bodybuilding magazines for inspiration for my October workout plan. In the afternoon I went out to meet Robert to give him some driving instructor practice. He told me booked his final examination on 29th October. Evening, went out for dinner with family and close buddies. A thanksgiving dinner for passing of my exam. Matt was there too :)

Sunday 27th Sept
Nicholas Tan expressed interest in taking driving lessons with me :) After church I came home to reformat my laptop and set up my new Sat Nav: Tomtom One IQ Routes. Updated maps, new features on it and not to forget the all important speed/ traffic camera alerts ;-)

Monday 28th Sept
Annual leave: Downloaded a few game demos for PS3 including Fifa 10, PES 2010, NBA 2010 etc. Hooked up with oldest schoolfriend, Bobby. Went for lunch at Costco then back up to my place to hang for a few hours. Was good to catch up, updating each other with latest news as well as talk about old times :) In the evening I went to watch "Dorian Gray" at the cinema. Film was horrible. Not like scary as such, but just a very odd plot and I didn't think it ended well. Just not what I expected. Nothing to do with vampires or half-lives or making a deal with the devil etc. And so much sexual content in it. Sigh...!

Tuesday 29th Sept
Annual leave: last day of leave. Had to make use of my time. Morning I spent at home reading up on HMRC self-assessment information, knowing more about what to expect to fill in at the important dates of 31st Jan and 31st Oct of each year etc. (Oh yes, I applied for a business account with Alliance and Leicester yesterday morning. Should hear back within five working days :)) Got my PIN for self-assessment through Government Gateway too. Oh I checked out my previous buddy, Ann's revamped website as well. Remember the woman I trained with back in June/July time? Here's her site, in case you're interested: http://www.annhughesdrivingschool.co.uk/index.html

Got some inspiration from her site about special offers I could give once I'm officially teaching. But then again, I might be bound by some AA rules. We'll see. Obviously, Chinese people will be treated with special care la! ;-) Then I went out for a drive to visit some DSA driving test centres with my new Sat Nav. Went to the one furthest away - Dumbarton. What a drive! I doubt I'd be teaching at or around that area anyway, but have it in my Tomtom anyway. The four main Glasgow DSA test centres are: Baillieston (east), Springburn (east), Anniesland (west) and Shieldhall (south). I think these test centres should keep me busy enough :) I went to the gym afterwards. Gym was really busy today for some strange reason. The cardio suite was roasting as well. Air con must have been off or something. I had never been so relieved to step into the strength suite! Seeing it being so busy made me consider joining another gym. Maybe paying £5 more each month to get improved quality and quantity of facilities. Hmm...

Things yet to be done:

Keep all receipts for purchases (on-going)
Sort out bank accounts (halfway)
Open business accounts (halfway)
Join D.I.A. (awaiting application)
Read up on Pass Plus
Read up on licensing laws (foreign / provisional / UK)
Learn test routes (on-going)
Inform HMRC of self employment

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Busy busy!

So it is almost a week since I passed my driving instructor examination, and since then the days have gone by very quickly. There's so much to do between now and actually getting my tuition car.

Thursday 17th Sept
Went to the gym in the evening after texting and calling people with the good news. At the gym, Ravish and Jonathan said they would be interested in learning from me once I get started. Another guy, Scott, who is self-employed, gave me lots of tips about tax and self assessments and pros and cons of being a sole trader etc. Thank God for the extra support and information etc.

Friday 18th Sept
Back to work. Congratulations from work mates. Some asked me when I'll be handing in my notice. My answer - not yet. I will wait till I get my tuition car first, then hand in my four weeks notice. Will use the four weeks to build up my client base and business and see how it goes from there. Went to the gym in the evening.

Saturday 19th Sept
Went to town. Got four passport photos taken for £4! =O Needed them for my driving instructor license application. Bought shirts and trousers etc. May need them when teaching as I think AA wants all instructors in business casual attire. Not sure yet, will need to clarify with Ronnie next week. Franchise pack arrived from the AA, offering me a special rates as a newly qualified instructor. Can only apply after I receive my instructor license.

Sunday 20th Sept
Went church and badminton. Filled in my instructor license application form, attached two passport pictures with it and enclosed a cheque for £300!! Yes, the license itself costs SO much! =O Congratulations from people in church. Three more potential students today. Derek and Arthur, new people from Hong Kong. Margaret, also from Hong Kong whom is interested in taking lessons soon. This brings my potential number to ten. Praise God! =)

Monday 21st Sept
Back to work. Was glad David was back at work, helped me half my workload somewhat. Met with buddy Robert to train with him again. Gave him a briefing on what happened on my test date. We went through PST One, the test I had on the day. Came home then sorted out all my paper work. Shredded all my payslips from 2003. Kept current employer payslips and current year statements. Everything else had to go. I had to make way for future paperwork, publications and stuff I will receive once I start my franchise. Wanted to be in bed by 11pm. Failed! Lol!

Tuesday 22nd Sept
Second day of a four day week. Not much happened today. Lunch break was spent looking at my money and anticpating things I'll need to pay for in upcoming weeks. License fee, fee joining the Driving Instructor Association, getting public liability insurance, getting a new Sat Nav etc. Also looked around for a Sat Nav. Was going to get it from Halfords for £169.99, then discovered it was in fact £129.99 in Tesco! So rushed off to Tesco to buy it before going home for dinner. Tesco is doing double points right now, so I got 260 points for my one purchase AND I'll get to claim back the tax on the purchase as I claim it through business. :) Met with Robert for two hours. I drove as a pupil as he tried to teach and control me. I analysed what he did and gave him some tips too. He is hoping to book his test around mid to end of October.

Right now, I have just updated my current Sat Nav and will pack it up and get it ready for giving to Cat for FREE!! Yes, FREE!! Haha! I will now finish this blogpost then back up my laptop files into my Terabyte harddrive and then reformat my laptop so I can refresh it and have it running faster again as I install AA driving instructor stuff etc etc. Will want to get rid of the junk and keep it virus and bug free :)

Things yet to be done:

Keep all receipts for purchases
Reformat laptop + reinstall AA discs
Sort out bank accounts
Open business accounts
Join D.I.A.
Sort out PIN from Scottish Gateway
Read up on HMRC Self Employed info
Read up on Pass Plus
Read up on licensing laws (foreign / provisional / UK)
Learn test routes
Visit test centres

On a PLUS note, the instructor license application which I posted into the local post box on Monday morning was finally collected today! Looks like the unofficial mail strike has been lifted now :)

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Trip down memory lane

Wow! Forgot I made these videos back in May last year when I first received my AA driving instruction pack! I was so innocent then! Lol! This might bore you, but hey! =P





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ADI Pass

With nothing interesting to write about my career in the past few months, I finally have something say! I passed my final driving instructor exam today!! =D

Though I am quite tired just now, as it is approaching midnight, I still want to put into words how happy I am feeling and how much God has blessed me.

This has not been an easy journey let me tell you. Since May 2008 I have spent many hours studying and practicing for a big theory test test/hazard perception test (not usual 50 questions, but 100 questions with the need to pass at least 80% of each of the four categories before achieving overall pass!). Passed theory test/hazard perception in August 2008.

Then had to practice and improve driving skills to sit and pass and advanced driving test. Honing my skills to make sure I would not get any more than six minors on my one hour test. Finally passed the driving test January 2009 with one minor.

Next was the hardest part of this ADI journey... Instructor training. It was common for people to sit and pass theory tests and driving tests. I had been through it back in 2001/2002. However, this final hurdle really took the best from me. It involved a lot of studying at Hillhead library few nights after work. It involved meeting up with my instructor on a weekly basis to go through and learn teaching techniques, instructor techniques and various subjects and topics that would come up for my final exam and for my career as an instructor. I had to give up a lot of things, socialising being one of them. Had to reject certain parties or dinners cos needed to study or "train" with my instructor. Had to give up the gym at certain times to meet with training buddies.

There were times when I found the course very difficult. The things I were doing was not "up to standard" according to my instructor. When will he ever be happy? When will this end?

Through this time I met a lot of new people. Nice people. Ronnie, my trainer whom AA assigned to me from the very start. He's been my personal coach up to now, and will now be my business coach as I set up a franchise with the AA. Anne, my first training buddy. Ronnie paired us up to practice with each other in between the times we were not meeting him. We met up to train quite intensely between end of May and July. She sat test - Failed. I sat my test - Failed. She resat - Passed. She left to form her own business. I was left buddy-less. I was kinda hoping she'd still offer to come out with her new Corsa, but no. She got busy. It was ok. I had to plod alone. Ronnie kept telling me I should try to find a friend who is able to drive, ask to sit next to them and correct any faults they might do. Or just ask them to role play as we do, and pretend to be a pupil and "learn" from me. However, where could I find such drivers? I didn't ask anyone because it would be hard for them to use their time and petrol (money!) just to help me. Who would do it if they weren't to gain from it? And I certainly didn't have a lot of money during this time. The ADI test cost £111 a shot!

As I prepared for my second test date, 17th September, I was still meeting Ronnie regularly. But something was missing. There was no Anne, there was no buddy to train with. However, I thank God I met a guy called Matt. Matt is a very highly qualified driving instructor who also trains Potential Driving Instructors (PDI's as we're known) and he offered to take me out for a whole day of job shadowing him. My goodness. That day - Saturday 22nd August was a real eye opener for me! Learnt so much from teaching three of Matt's pupils and getting analysed each time. Having a real live pupil was so different from my instructor role playing as an inexperienced driver. Learning from Matt really opened my eyes and introduced me to many aspects of driving instruction which I was not exposed to. I found it so so useful and was very grateful for Matt's FREE offering of tuition. This gave me the much needed boost into getting my mindset back on track. I was looking forward to seeing Ronnie. When I did, Ronnie was impressed.

After two more meetings with Matt, my confidence was boosted to an all time high and I really looked forward to seeing Ronnie, showing him what I had learnt and how I had developed. Ronnie saw more improvement from me. Good - something is going right. Matt is a blessing from God. I wouldn't have met Matt if I didn't attend Ling's leaving dinner at Loon Fung back in July. I wouldn't have known Ling if it hadn't been for going to church. I wouldn't be going to church if God is not so great! :)

In the final meeting with Ronnie before my test (Friday 11th Sept), he told me he found me a buddy! The guy's name is Robert. Robert trained with BSM six years ago, but never passed his final exam. And after a few years in the financial industry, he decided to give driving instruction another go. He was needing practice with a buddy before booking his test again. Ronnie felt it would be great for the two of us to meet up to practice in the run up for my test at least and it would be good for Robert too because Ronnie went on holiday to Lanzarote! So Robert and I met up last Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday (yesterday). The practice sessions went well. Nothing intense, but managed to iron out and discuss my issues with each other.

This afternoon, I drove up to Baillieston Test Centre and met with a guy called Bryan. A newly qualified AA driving instructor whom I had to borrow his Ford Focus to sit the test. Bryan was a cool guy who gave me more insight into the life of a driving instructor with the AA. Telling me more about the car, the mobile they'll give you, how they sort out pupils for you, gave me tips on business accounts, insurance etc. 1:05pm I sat my test. 2:40pm I was out of the test centre with my test sheet and an application for my Approved Driving Instructor badge (ADI)! What happened between that time felt like it flew by! I was nervous, yes, but at the same time everything was so fast I didn't really have time to be nervous. One thing I must say is, I worked my ass off this time. I realised how many mistakes I made in my first attempt and boy did I do everything I could to avoid them and correct them.

Throughout this whole time I have met very interesting people who have helped me get thus far. I will no doubt meet more wonderful people as my career kicks off as an driving instructor. One thing is for sure. God has been my refuge and strength throughout. I've been through the toughest times in life, not just driving instructor training, but pressures from life in general. But each time, God carries me through. His mercies and grace every day are enough for me to carry on. I hope to bring glory and honour to His name through this career path.

:)

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My testimony

This is the "updated" version of my testimony of how I came to know God. My original version was on my previous Xanga blog which I forgot to copy before closing Xanga. Not quite a bad thing, as I spent time reflecting on God's goodness to me. Also, who needs Xanga anymore anyway? =P

I was born and bred in the east end of Glasgow. Also known as the rough part of Glasgow. Being Chinese in the east end was not easy, especially being the only Chinese in the school one point. I tried to fit in with people and ended up doing crazy stuff to be accepted. I mixed with the good, the bad...and the neds. After school activities included playing football with friends, games consoles in their house, climbing walls, getting chased by gangs and even getting into trouble by the police. I didn’t feel like I was a ned, but looking back now, the way I talked, the way I dressed and shaved my head...yep, I bet I looked rough!

It wasn’t until 1994 that I set foot into the Chinese church. Prior to this, my only experience of church was going to local church with the school for Christmas and Easter where we would all cram into a building and sing songs and listen to a minister talk. But this Chinese church was different. I met so many more Chinese people than I was ever exposed to and I learnt that I belonged to a wider group known as the BBC’s. (British Born Chinese)

At the start I didn’t understand why everyone was talking about God, and a Jesus, even a Holy Spirit! You can imagine how confused I was! But through weekly church attendance, annual EDGAS camps [EDGAS stood for Edinburgh, Dundeed, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling Chinese churches) and summer camps I started to discover there is an amazing God in this world, who not only created everything around us, but who loves us so much He sacrificed His son Jesus to die for us.

Each time I returned from a camp or retreat I’d feel a spiritual high. I felt very close to God and felt very loved by Him. But I never took the leap of faith into accepting Jesus into my heart and becoming a Christian. I thought I was a Christian through my actions: church attending, going to camps, swearing less etc. But in God’s eyes He was still calling out to me.

The more I got to know God, the more I realised my life could be better. That there are more to life than what I was then living. I met mission teams from the US and Canada who came over to help with our camps and shared their passion for God with us. They were joyful, they were full of God’s love. I wanted to be part of that too!

In 1998 my dad passed away. I was suddenly the man of the house at the age of 14, going on 15. This time was tough and set me apart from many of my peers. I had to mature very quickly mentally and emotionally. I had to learn true responsibility and make important decisions. I knew my actions and decisions could also affect my mum and my sister. I could not have done this without support from the church and without God’s guidance.

So in 1999, ten years ago (30th July), I plucked up the courage to tell a church leader I wanted to accept Christ into my heart. I confessed my sins and confessed that Jesus is God’s son whom died on the cross for my sins, to make things right between me and God.

Since becoming a Christian, life has been different. Life was never guaranteed to be easy as a Christian. I still faced issues with family, education, jobs, money, relationships etc. But what is different is that I don’t face issues myself anymore. Even if friends and family can’t help me, I know that God is always there for me, watching me and caring for me. I know the Bible is the greatest guidance book into finding out about God and about God’s will for us.

Even today, as I am going through and almost completing my driving instruction course, I have faith in knowing God is guiding me through it, providing me with valuable lessons learnt, and letting me meet great people who teach well and are supportive. Whenever life is tough, I am always reminded of God’s promises in the book of Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

And I know my future is secure in Him. No matter where I am and what I do. I know God is looking out for me and caring for me. :)

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