A peep into my world...

Classic detective novels with a twist

2007-10-18T14:31:00.001+10:00

Classic detective novels, with a twist

As you can tell, I haven't been working recently and I happily went PC games shopping with the hubby. I'm not much for PC games because I thought they were a waste of money. However, I didn't mind playing free online games when I got bored...

Anyways, I picked up 2 games featuring Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Arthur C Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. These characters remind me of the hours I spent as a child, pouring over those detective novels. The games actually involve solving a mystery, looking for clues and putting together items to create smoke bombs etc. They certainly are more cerebral, more suited for me rather than the shoot-and-kill sort my hubby favours.

The latest one I'm working on is Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. It's great really but it is made in the form of first person shooter (think Quake/Halo). Unfortunately, I get motion-sickness very easily and my mouse-navigation skills suck. Instead of being able to play the game hours on end, I have to stop and rest every hour.... sigh. I just forced myself to stop playing because I really feel like puking... *green in face*

Oh well... I start work soon. I shouldn't be complaining about the luxury of playing games while everyone else is working

An idle mind

2007-10-05T13:27:00.000+10:00

An idle mind...

It's been 5 weeks since I got here and I don't think I've got much done. I did set some goals for myself but somehow I always seem to get distracted by the tv... I am turning into a couch potato.

I'm get to lay off work for a couple of months so I shouldn't be complaining. Of late, odd thoughts seem run through my mind. The thoughts come to stay for a couple of hours, sometimes for days. An idle mind makes for a devil's playground. Not good, not good at all.

Top of the list - babies.

Touchy subject that one. I got news that a friend of mine got preggers just a month after getting married. Makes me want to have a kid so much! Is this what they refer to as the "biological clock"? I sure as hell haven't felt this way before, not until recently. There are things to consider for us, like our job stability, my job prospects and of course, money. Since we're not PRs and do not have adequate insurance coverage, we need to have enough cash to pay any kind of baby stuff. It's not like it can't be done but there is so much uncertainty hanging in the air... It's killing me.

Someone slap some sense into me... please.

Either that or help make this feeling go away.

Harry Potter yet again

2007-10-02T12:18:00.000+10:00

Potter-ing around...

I mentioned a while ago that a dear friend so kindly sent me the last instalment of the Harry Potter series in the form of an e-book. I has some trouble trying to follow the plot because I had forgotten almost all of what happened in book 6.

Anyways, I re-read the 6th instalment and am now going into the 7th one (again).

Yes I AM bored.

HELP!

Updates

2007-09-11T15:26:00.000+10:00

Updates

I have just updated my photo links. Yahoo Photos is shutting down so I got a free pro account with Flickr till December... Anyone wanna renew my flickr membership for X'mas? It's a cheap gift for USD25. :)

Us at St Kilda Beach

2007-09-10T00:13:00.000+10:00

Us at St Kilda Beach

Beautiful day to be out and about, a nice lazy sunday afternoon.

Big Breakfast

Us at St Kilda Beach

Running after seagulls

Luna Park

Utter Stupidity

2007-09-04T15:26:00.000+10:00

Utter Stupidity

1. I was late for my appointment coz I dropped off at the wrong stop. I had to walk back to VicRoads...
2. I brought his passport to VicRoads so I couldn't convert my driver's license - careless.
3. I went to buy tea for my sister and ended up smashing a mug on the floor - klutz.
4. Waited by the curb for the tram only to be told by a conductor that the tram stop was further down the road - dumb.
5. Went back to VicRoads to do license again. Had to walk back to VicRoads to change the address on license twice coz the lady typed in it wrongly and I didn't check.

All these happened in the span of 3 hours.

I should have stayed in bed.

Closing up the house

2007-08-23T02:37:00.000+10:00

Closing up the house...

It's tough work trying to clear up the house and at the same time run tons of errands which just is no fun! We're both on leave but this feels worse than being at work. The house is a mess (worse than usual) and time is running out.

I'm freaking out! Makes me wonder if we'll ever be able to finish... sigh.

The King & I

2007-08-18T02:45:00.000+10:00

The King & I

The King & I
(Some moron left his bag in the middle of my picture!)

I spent $200+ on tickets to the musical, The King & I. It was sorta like a belated b'day / welcome home present for the hubby. Sad to say, it wasn't fantastic. I must have been spoilt by Les Miz. It was not even as good as Miss Saigon! Sigh... What expensive tickets those were. however, we had a blast dressing up and going to the theatre.

The hubby got a new Vostok watch from Red Army Watches. It's a mechanical auto from Russia for about $300. Not a bad buy.

Dinner at Thai Express

Having a coke during intermission.

A picture for proof that we were there. hah

Bao Today

2007-08-16T11:40:00.000+10:00

So which is it?

Ok this is hilarious. Found it at VivoCity food court. Which is it? You go figure.

Jutice Bao or Bao Today?

Byebye SportSport

2007-08-15T02:20:00.000+10:00

The car had to go...

Hate to say it but the car had to go. We sold it to a dealer, who had a ready buyer for the car. It went along pretty smoothly I guess but I miss it! I know it sounds weird but my heart was breaking when it was being driven away. After all it was the first car we bought on our own. We had it for only 6 mths and I think the hubby only got to ride in it for a month in total.

Don't take our car!

To cheer ourselves up, we headed to Funan and Peninsula to do a bit of retail therapy. First up, we headed to Peninsula to see our tailor. WE got some shirts and a set of matching suits. Sounds cheezy I know but the material was too good to give up and who cares if we wear the same thing anyway? It's cut differently and it's cheap. :)

Next up was Funana. Needless to say, the hubby bought himself a small toy, something about a cooler fan for the computer he's building in Melbourne. Now that's something he didn't tell me about when we talked on the phone. :P For myself, I got a new digital camera. It's a Sony Cybershot T100 and its RED.

How cool does this look?! I absolutely love it.

Day at the movies

2007-08-14T14:09:00.000+10:00

A day at the movies

The hubby is finally home! YAY!

That's us at VivoCity and it's his first time there. (We've been hiding under a rock for a while now) We just had lunch at Marche then had ourselves a walk around the place.

After walking off some of the lunch, we had ourselves some popcorn while watching Transformers at GV VivoCity. I absolutely love the popcorn box. It's so cute!

Visiting in KL

2007-08-13T13:40:00.000+10:00

Visiting in KL

I stopped work early so that I could head off to KL for to visit some family and friends... and also to kick back and enjoy!

...thursday
First up on the agenda was to take a trip to see my aunt's new place in Puchong. I was excited because I got to see the new place and that they got a new place. As far back as I can remember, they have been staying in Subang... come to think of it, it's been over 20 years now. Here's a snapshop of the view from the living room. Nice!

Room with a view

...friday
It was off to KL to meet Michelle and Lawrence in KLCC for lunch. As usual, I was horribly late. I had to take the LRT from Kelana Jaya and the train ride took longer than I expected. I had a nice cuppa and cake at Starbucks while waiting for a ride back to Subang with Jan.

Mich and me at KLCC. Lawrence was not in the picture coz he was the one taking the photo. (duh)

The Vanity Fair cost me RM20. Way too expensive man... but it made for good reading, especially with Mr LeBeouf on the cover.

...saturday & sunday
These 2 days were dedicated to shopping and eating. Jan & mum took me to 1Utama and Cat's Whiskers for lunch and shoppping. 1Utama was no as fruitful but I did manage to pick up some tops and a pair of gorgeous shoes in Cat's Whiskers. I'm spending too much! Sunday was a time for a family brunch and I managed to squeeze a photo with my cousins outside of the chicken horfun shop. I'm gonna miss them!

L-R: Jan, Joyce, Ann, me, Muisim.

Not to forget my trusty travelling companion/bodyguard, Aun. Thanks for looking out for me.

Been Potter-ised

2007-08-05T05:14:00.000+10:00

Been Potter-ised

It's a good thing that it's the weekend and I am not working. I mentioned that I haven't had a chance to get my hands on the lastest Potter book coz I'm too cheap to buy myself a copy. My hubby's got a copy waiting for me in Melbourne but I really wanted to read it!

I received a surprise email yesterday night with the Potter E-book attached to it. Needless to say I started reading it and finished it over 2 4hr blocks. No thanks to the book, I have amazingly dark eye circles and a crick in the neck. I wonder if they have a spell to help me get rid of 'em. I enjoyed the book for at least, there's an end to the whole series. Thanks Augustine!

I'll probably read it again once I get my hands on the hard copy. Yay!

Museum Cheapskate

2007-08-04T01:14:00.000+10:00

Museum cheapskate

I was looking for something to do today and I remembered that on Fridays, the museums open late, till 9pm. What's even better is that it is free entry from 6-9pm. Feeling bored and sorta nostalgic about the newly renovated National Museum, I decided to pay it a visit before I left.

I got there just after 6pm so I qualified for the free entry. Turns out that the History part of the museum closes at 6pm and that leaves the Living part open only. The Living part of the museum covers Food, Film, Photography and Fashion. I hope the History section has got more informative and interesting stuff coz I sure won't pay $10 for just these 4 exhibitions...

On the bright side, there was this small exhibition by a Chinese rock collector who has an extremely interesting collection of rocks/stones which resemble food! "A Banquet in Stone" it was called. Each piece of natural-occuring stone was presented in the manner of some form of food. That was one exhibition which I thought was extremely worth my time. There's an intro picture to it on the website under What's On.

After the remodelling, 2 restaurants/bars were introduced at the ground floor. It's a cool concept to be able to dine in the museum after dark but somehow the loud music from below sorta spoilt the peace and tranquility of the space. (Not like my new wooden clogs were any quieter on the wooden floor.) Oh well..

I still haven't been to the Art Museum and the new ACM at Empress Place. I should go have a look before I go. On the other hand, I do have a date to watch "The King & I" at the Esplanade. Woo hoo!

Last day at Medtronic

2007-08-01T17:29:00.000+10:00

Last day at work...

Bittersweet memories... Bitter coz I worked like a dog at MDT... sweet coz I did have tons of fun doing it. Sigh... Just when things were taking a turn for the btter, I have to move. Why why why?!

Oh yeah... to follow the hubby of coz. How can anything supercede that?

Caught in the middle... of an auntie brigade

2007-07-30T23:59:00.000+10:00

Caught in the middle...

of an auntie brigade! ARGH!

I was getting my hair done today and in walked 3 aunties and a daughter. They all wanted to sit together but there I was was, right smack in the middle of a row of seats, with 2 empty ones on my right and 3 on my left. Those nice ladies settled down... lo and behold, they started talking to one another, above the din of hair dryers and across me!!! The one on my left started telling the hair stylist about home-made cold remedies and the one on my right started debating with her about the effectiveness of different remedies. Urgh... All I wanted was some peace and quiet.

Thankfully, I only had to endure 45mins of their chatting before I had to leave... Can't say I learnt a lot from them. heh

Being bored AND lazy

2007-07-23T01:43:00.000+10:00

Of boredom and procrastination

I am bored. I am also one heck of a procrastinator. hah

Now that I'm not so busy with work anymore, I thought it'll be a good time to kick back and relax for a while, do stuff I need to get done before I leave the country for the next few years. Saturday comes along and I'm in bed till 11am. Next thing I know, I'm having dinner in Geylang at 530pm with my parents. After stuffing my face, the tv was companion for the rest of the evening.

Sunday comes by and I awake close to noon. Lunch then a bit of grocery shopping and then dinner. Where did my weekend go?!

Things that need to be packed / cleared / shipped / thrown out are clearly staring me in the face. I'm just turning a blind eye to it. Argh... I'm so gonna regret it when I run out of time and scramble like crazy to get things in order... Till then, I'm going to bed. :)

2007-07-11T03:28:00.000+10:00

Birthday at Work

It's my birthday! WOOHOO!

Ok wait just a second... What's with the woohoo? I'm another year older and not a day wiser. Well... maybe a little more cynical and wrinkled. That's about it.

The team went to Marriott for a birthday brunch on Monday, considering it's my, Siti's and Jason's birthdays in July. Nice! I ate a lot of big fat juicy cold prawns. Yummmmm...

Enjoy the photos. :)

The shared b'day cake

That'll be me, with 2 candles only, since I'm still in my 20s. HAHA

Jason, Siti and me celebrating our birthdays together.

Trip down memory lane

2007-07-03T01:05:00.000+10:00

Trip down memory lane...

It's been 3 years since I last set foot in Batu Gajah (BG). For those not in the know, it's a small town 30mins south of Ipoh, Malaysia.

I took the night coach with Mummy dearest on Friday night and arrived dark and early at 4amin BG. My poor aunt had to wake up and pick us up from the "bus-stop", which actually is the only Shell station in the town. We took a nap and woke up at about 9am to get ready for the day ahead.

First up, we went to get fishball noodles (Ipoh style) for breakfast. Then on to the temple to pay respects to my grandma. That's the main reason why we ventured there to begin with. That was followed by a drive around Ipoh, looking for Ipoh goodies! Man, I ate so much I got a tummyache.

It's amazing how much time has passed and how so little has changed. Ipoh's still the same as I remembered it to be when I was little. This trip was both nostalgic and sad coz this would be the last time I would be in Ipoh and BG for a long long while. We met up with my cousin for a quick coffee break at 4pm (after having lunch, egg tarts and buns) to catch up.

Then we headed back to BG to visit my grandpa who, unfortunately, is now completely blind from his 2 strokes a few years ago. Just when I thought that time hadn't change anything, I see my grandpa shrunken and sitting in his lounge chair all day. He's got trouble walking but yet is quite sharp in the mind. That's not the grandpa I know. I wonder how frustrating it is to be in darkness all the time and having no one to talk to. I can see that he misses my grandma very much. After all, they were married for more than 60 years.

I spent the rest of the night (till early morning) playing gin rummy with my cousins who came back for the weekend from KL. It was great to see them. It was like the good old times again. The coach ride home on Sunday morning took a nice 10 hours, no thanks to the caseway jam over in JB. It's good to be home!

I've never packed so much into 1 day before. I saw many things, relieved many memories this weekend. Tiring as it was, I'm glad I made the trip. The trip also made me reflect on my life and where it is that I am heading.

Just my first step to saying goodbye to life as I have known it and to my childhood.

Low Morale

2007-06-24T01:34:00.000+10:00

Low Morale

Bad days come only once in a while (thankfully). Things didn't go as planned in the case today and nothing went right!!!!!!!

Getting scolded, berated and stressed about something I could do nothing about at the point in time made it even worse. Stress from all corners made the room feel so much smaller than it already was. I was not going to break down and start pointing fingers...

Morale is too low right now, for everyone. Wonder when the rain clouds would clear.

Packing & UnPacking

2007-06-18T12:02:00.000+10:00

Packing & UnPacking

Packing and unpacking. That's what my life has come down to. Thankfully there were people doing the dirty work for my in Singapore but in Melbourne, it's a whole different matter altogether. We had a total of 87 boxes/packages which I had doubts abt it all fitting into the apartment.

The biggest headache was the massage chair. They had to make a special crate to ship it over and they had to unpack it before it could fit into the lift. If the chair was any "fatter" it would have not fit thru the door. I'd probably have to leave it in the hallway and charge $2 for 15 mins to the residents. Not a bad source of income... :)

It's been opening and throwing boxes out all the way from Friday morning and it's Sunday now, still not done. It's like Christmas morning and yet not so... I'm heading home tonite and I wonder if we'll ever get done. Looks better now, at least we don't have to dodge (so many) boxes anymore.

Being Workaholic

2007-06-08T18:56:00.000+10:00

Being Workaholic

Hi my name is Yen Ee, and I'm a workaholic.

When I was growing up, I used to look at people who worked too hard and I wondered - "Why do people torutre themselves that way?" (Admittedly, I am somewhat of a slacker. I like to kick back and relax whenever I can.)

I wondered - "Are they earning a lot of money? Is it worth sacrificing their time for the money and not have time for family, friends and even yourself?"

I wondered.

I recently got myself a job in a MNC after being in a govt organization for 5 years. Talk about going into the "real world". I drive around this little island, meeting clients and working till the dead of night, even on weekends.

I'm lonely. To fill my time, I work. It has become something of a solace to me. I hate for it to be like this, but it is.

Work. Sleep. Eat.

Eating's slowly becoming optional. I don't see myself losing any weight.

Time flies...

2007-05-03T02:18:00.000+10:00

How time flies...

My mother used to tell me that time flies, especially after you start work. I was going "yeah yeah yeah" but never really heeding nor understanding her words. Time didn't go past very fast for me in my old job. It was a steady job, 8-5 everyday... Now, things are so totally different!

It's a great experience working for an international company, especially one so established. I have learnt a lot of things along the way and I must say it's hard work. Long hours and short fuses... but it is rewarding. I learn new things and meet new people everyday. It's like coming out from under a shell and meeting the world for a first time. So suaku... heh

Andrew got a job offer 7 weeks ago, to work in Melbourne. We made the decision over 1 weekend and now, he's been gone 4 weeks. I look forward to him coming home, to me. Very soon, I will also join him in Melbourne. I wonder if I'll get used to living there. Oh well, that's a whole other posting altogether.

Time for bed.

I QUIT!

2006-06-06T00:58:00.000+10:00

I QUIT!

Yes I have tendered my resignation. After almost 5 years with the company, I decided to call it quits. It was not a decision made at the spur of the moment but the application for a new job was. heh

At the end of the day, I've decided to break away from my comfort zone and venture out to deeper, muddier waters. It's not all bad going on to a new job. I know I'm going to be nervous and lost for a while but I guess it will all pass. After all, I'm a big girl now. haha

FREEDOM!

All burnt out

2006-03-19T03:05:00.000+11:00

All burnt out...

The company send you on a training trip in Shanghai and Beijing and everyone oohhhs and aahhhs at the chance o go overseas. Admittedly I thot it was great too but when you hit work again, you see a monstrous amt of work to do. BUMMER!

Others just think that we went on a fun trip, yeah right. 3 days of annual leave for a bit of sightseeing and followed by 5 full days cooped up in a classroom with terms flying right over my head. I hardly call the latter fun.

So what on earth am I trying to get at? I'm T.I.R.E.D.!!! Pooped, exhausted, sleep-deprived, grouchy, eye-bagged, plain burnt out. I so need a break... and maybe a change of job? Any recommendations... anyone?

So glad I'm on leave next week. Phew.

Slumber Party

2005-12-19T02:37:00.000+11:00

Slumber Party (according to meimeiwong)

My sister's back from Melbourne after her graduation ceremony. My parents and sister landed at an uneartly hour of 5.10am and I had to get up to go get them. Meimeiwong stayed over, slept for a few more hours then we went shopping in Cheenatown! I haven't been shopping for a long long time. heh

Andrew had fun bowling in the mini tournament while we had a whale of a time shoppingggggggggggg!!! We both got dresses for the nights out we've planned for x'mas eve and x'mas day. I can't wait!

My sister's first time taking a shower in the bathroom and she BROKE the shower head! I swear she's a walking disaster. She's putting up in the spare room at present which does not have much furniture in it. It's got a soft couch and a soft matteress on the floor. There's a mini hi-fi and a few golf bags in the corner. Let's see what she destroys next. Bleah...

Back from Bintan

2005-12-10T02:26:00.000+11:00

Mini Honeymoon

We went to Bintan for our "honeymoon". Why "honeymoon"? Coz it doesn't really count! I'd love to go really really far away and visit far off places. I sound like a hopeless romantic. heh But hey I am!

What did we do on Bintan? Golf, sleep and stuffed our faces. For the 2 evenings there, we had 2 buffet dinners and it was FANTASTIC! Kudos to the chef. 1st night we had French cuisine. Ok I'm not the person to comment on French cuisine. After all, I've never had French food before. But hey what does it matter when it tastes good!!

2nd night we had Tex Mex for dinner. MMMMmmmmmm.... *drool* I miss the buritos, tortillas and fajitas so much and I got so many nice memories from my stay in California. Wheee... Excessive beans and onions made the room kinda stinky that night. heh

Wedding's over

2005-12-05T16:14:00.000+11:00

It's been an insane week for me and I'm both glad and sad that it's finally over.

The wedding went great and it's all thanks to the friends and family who made it happen. Without them, we'd be so lost and bogged down by the little details. We wouldn't have been able to enjoy ourselves. It really touched our hearts that so many people put in so much effort into making it happen.

I have yet to receive the photos but rest assured they will be shared with one and all.

Special thanks to Meimeiwong, who created the photo montage for me and did my little errands and for helping out in everything else.

To Michelle and Clara, thank you for everything, and I mean everything. You guys helped to organize my wedding at short notice and to create a wedding I'll never forget. Without you, things would not have been possible. I especially love the little speech given by Michelle. Very humourous. Thanks you Clara for not making the dinner too cliche. :) Thanks to Lawrence for making my nice little bride-y sash.

To Kai Zhuang, Ah Tan, Samuel, Kelvin, Tracy, Ian and all those I've missed out (sorry) thank you for the party poppers. It did fit very well into the second walk in and it was a very nice surprise. also thank you for waking up so early in the morning to accompany him to the tekan place.

To family, friends and colleagues, both near and far, thank you for taking the time out and attending the dinner. Your presence and gifts were much appreciated.

Thank you again one and all, from the happy groom and blushing bride.

Tea Ceremony

2005-12-03T00:54:00.000+11:00

Tea Ceremony

I was tired out from all the running around. The make up artist came by at 7am and I was so tired coz I didn't have enough sleep. I was SO moody it scared me. hehehe

Andrew was a good sport when picking me up and he played along when my cousins tekan-ed him. It was hilarious! He even sang me a song he made up on the spot and everyone was laughing their heads off. Michelle stuck my camera out the window upstairs so that I could see what was going on downstairs.

After picking me up, I wlked out under a RED umbrella which my dad carried. My mum was throwing rice into the air over the umbrella. Yeah chinese traditions at work again.

We haded to Geylang for the tea ceremony at Andrew's dad's place. tons of tea going around, tons of photos being taken.

After lunch, I changed into my red kua with beaded long and feng on it. Went back to Bt Batok for the tea ceremony at my parents' place. There was a huge roast pig and some other goodies with us from my in-laws.

Then, we had to go back after the tea ceremony with the head and tail of the roast pig and some goodies to my in-laws. That is just the gist of it. Phew... what a day it has been.

The bride goes home

2005-12-02T02:55:00.000+11:00

The bride goes home...

So what have I been up to since 5am in the morning? TONS!

0800 - Picked Muisim and CL up from traing station then went for breakfast.
1000 - Packing for the trip bak to mummy's home and Marriott.
1200 - Settle down for a nice 2hr nap.
1210 - Phone call 1.
1225 - Phone call 2. (%&!#$*(&
1230 - SMS 1...
1243 - Phone call 3. AAAAHHHH!!!
1305 - Awakened by the doorbell. It's Ann & Jan!
1500 - Head out to bridal studio to do up the car with cousins.
1700 - My sis goes shopping with cousins while I head home.
2000 - Frantic last min packing.
2100 - Mummy calls to ask when I'm going back. *lol*
2315 - Nice mummy and Papa come from Bt Batok to pick me up. YAY!

I gotta get to bed SOON.

Sleep deprived

2005-12-01T08:14:00.000+11:00

It's 5am in the morning and I haven't had a wink of sleep since last night. Neither has Andrew. Why so? Coz we were busy cleaning the house! My cousins are 2 hrs away from Singapore and I have to go get them from the train station. I might as well not sleep coz I'm afraid that I won't be able to to wake up. It takes a while for me to warm up after I awake so I'm better off with no sleep.

I'm goin to get coffee...

Massage and spa

2005-12-01T02:49:00.000+11:00

Supposedly Chilling Out

Andrew's jealous of me, having the time to relax and chill out over the last few days. It's officially his first day of leave and it's the day before the day of the wedding. Phew...

We went to pick up the rental car in the morning, only to realise that there was a HUGE dent on the front of the car. The fella was nice enough to lend us another car while he got the Santa Fe fixed. Carplate's 8991 - for those who'd like to buy 4D.

We went for a nice 3 hour pampering spree this afternoon, the complete works! Had a body scrub followed by a massage then a facial. I never felt so relaxed for such a long long long time. He's having a hard time relaxing because of his job commitments. He just can't let it go. Admittedly, it's a busy time at work and he can get SO grouchy sometimes. *shurg* Oh well, we all have our moods. I know I do... heh

We had to head all the way back to Serangoon just to exchange the car. I was tired out by then coz I didn't get much sleep the night before. It's tough having to concentrate on driving such a large car when you're so tired. My eyebags are becoming worse and worse and worse. I'm supposed to be bride! How to face people like that?!

The house is in a mess and I've got relatives coming tomorrow morning, at 7am! Oh boy oh boy oh boy... I'm exhausted already.

First day of freedom!

2005-11-29T02:58:00.000+11:00

It is the very first day of my 2 weeks of annual leave. I must say that it feels great to be away from the office. Getting invitations out to all the people has been a hassle. I still have some invites left to send out. Yes yes, I know I'm a bit late but then again I've already got verbal confirmations. I'm blardy tired.

Had diner today with Clara and Michelle, my 2 gfs who are helping me handle my wedding. I felt so unprepared for the wedding. Uh oh... not a good feeling. We sat and discussed stuff all the way till late. Poor girls, having to work tomorrow.

Exchange of gifts

2005-11-13T23:18:00.000+11:00

Exchange of betrothal gifts

I just got back from Shanghai yesterday morning and pretty mch slept the whole day away. Flying the midnite flight to and from Shanghai was no fun. I got so stiff and The fella next to me kept jabbing me with his elbow and stretching his legs over to my side. I stomped on his foot with my shoes and he got the idea. Thank goodness.

I headed out to Mummy's home about 30 mins before Andrew set out from his mummy's place. I arrived at 10.15am and they arrived past 11am. Andrew came over with gifts (*drool*) together with his 4th aunt and his eldest bro. Got tons of Henessey, auspicious goodies, 24 cans of pork legs and bling bling!

Andrew's 4th aunt and alcohol!

Auspicious-sounding goodies in those cute baskets. Ah... Chinese traditions.
My tai gu (my dad's eldest sis) was great coz she came all the way from Malaysia to help out with the exchange. My yee pak (my dad's 2nd bro) and wife turned up too. Nice! :)

Mummy sorting through the baskets sent by my in-laws. We are supposed to send some gifts back to the in-laws.

Mummy's gift basket to be sent to my in-laws. Includes a pair of lamps, 2 sets of chopsticks, spoons and bowls and oranges.

Audit's over

2005-10-30T05:02:00.000+11:00

The long dreaded audit is finally over! WOO HOO! Needless to say, our hard work and long hours have not gone to waste (thankfully).

I lack a lot of sleep. Major sleep depravation and I've got the eye bags to prove it. We've still got a lot of work to do for the wedding. I hope that things will work out fine for us eventually.

I'm heading to Shanghai in a week and I've got tons of stuff to settle before I leave. It's gonna be 1 week in China and it's kinda like 1 week lost for my wedding preps. My colleagues and I are catching the midnight flight to Shanghai so that we can spend more time crawling ard the area. I'm catching the midnight flight out of Shanghai immediately after the course to come back for another little ceremony.

Man, I'm gonna be so tired. I'm kinda glad that there's gonna be 2 public holidays next week. It'll gimme some time to catch up on my sleep and to rest a little. Things have gotten so hectic I don't even sleep well at night anymore.

I cannot wait for all this to be over...

Wedding Blues

2005-10-13T02:09:00.000+10:00

Wedding Blues

Wedding preparations are driving me crazy~ Either that or my parents are driving me nuts. At least the invites are at the printers and they'll be done by Friday. -sigh-

You get so carried away... sometimes I wonder if it is our wedding or our parents'. There's conflict about wine, guest list, dowry and even my choice of evening gown.

-sigh-

It's great that Andrew's my sounding board. Without him, I'd probably have broken down by now... hey wait I did already! I'm so frustrated and stressed out words cannot even begin to describe it. -sigh-

I'm told that it's normal for brides-to-be to feel these kinda stress levels but it's just SO unhealthy. I'm craving for chocolate and I indulge sometimes. Not much good for my diet (or wat I think is a diet). -sigh-

I'm heading to Shanghai again in early Nov. Not sure if it's a good way to destress or to become more stressed coz I'm leaving Andrew behind for a week to fend for himself. And to think the wedding's less than a month away from my training stint in Shanghai. -sigh-

I should indulge in some retail therapy.

I'm going to bed... to sulk.

Stolen Bikes

2005-09-15T00:43:00.000+10:00

In case you're wondering why the sullen faces, the T-shirt says it all. Some (@^)%*^()* stole our bikes!!!! Andrew's bike is only a week old and mine's just a month old. Those fella came with wire cutters and cut right into the locks.

Yes yes maybe it was our fault we didn't use chains but they stole our bikes!!! ARGH!!!!!

Shanghai trip

2005-09-09T00:58:00.000+10:00

It has been a really fruitful trip this time. Why so? Coz there was a lot of shopping! tehehehe

I arrived on Sat early morning and took a nap at my parents' hotel room then we all went for lunch. It was shopping galore at Xiangyang market after that. We spent the whole afternoon shopping till we lost track of time! We picked Shufen up from the hotel and headed out for Japanese buffet where they served free flow alcohol. Shufen and I enjoyed the plum wine very very much... heh heh heh

This is the Jap restaurant where we had the dinner. Apparently, it's owned by Jackie Chan. Nice decor eh? Love the light fixtures.

Staying at the Sheraon Tai Ping Yang was real nice altho it was kidna far from the city. The cab ride cost us abt RMB25 each trip but it works out to be abt S$5 only. Not too bad lah. If it were in Singapore, it'll probably cost us twice as much to travel the same distance. They turn down the beds everynight for us and we get a cute little bear sitting on the bed each night. I think there are 4 bears in a set and we stayed enough nights to get a whole set. Yay!

That's our beds, turned down for the night. See the little teddies on the covers?

It was on to Xiangyan market (again) on Sunday, this time with Shufen in tow. We went nuts buying stuff. I didn't really have a good lunch and I totally forgot to eat until it was dinner time. Dinner was a scumptous meal of dumplings and I think we really overate. The vineger complemented the meal real well and we both had our dumpling fix for the trip.

All in a day's shopping. Stuff we bought in just 1 shopping trip. And there are some more stuff which weren't in the picture. -grin-

Monday was the 1st day of our training and it took us an hour just to travel to the training ctr. After training, we headed back to the hotel for a shange of shoes and before we headed out to Xiangyang (again). Dinner was at Paulaner Brahaus where we each had sausages and beer! After all, they are famous for their German brew.

Tuesday dawned on us and it was the 2nd day of our training. We had the privalage to go to the animal lab and perform an experiment on a pig. Pity we weren't allowed to bring our cameras in. I could have gone crazy in there. :P

After training, we went to Xiangyang (again), this time with Dr Ching in tow. Of coz we didn't want to bore him too much so we kept it as short as humanely possible. It was off to Palauner again where Dr Ching so kindly bought us drinks an I myself guzzled 1 lit of their delicious beer, my fave. That explains why I've got a beer belly right abt now.

Notice I didn't talk much abt my training course there, altho it was supposed to be a business trip. I won't wanna bore you guys with such details. ;P

Wednesday was the last day of our stay in Shanghai so I took the chance to head to their well-equipped gym for some exercise and a swin in their tiny but pretty pool. It was off to Pudong airport to fly back home. I had a blast there. I wanna go back again!

That's all folks!

New interests

2005-09-01T01:08:00.000+10:00

I've downgraded myself from 4 wheels to 2 wheels.... a short while later, I upgraded myself from 2 wheels to 8 wheels... What the hell am I talking abt?? Transport!!!

From a car, I downgraded myself to a bicycle. I got meself a nice new bike and it's black.... whee... Later on, I retrieved my old blades from andrew's place and that makes 8 wheels rite? :P Yes, corny as it sounds, I have many ways of transporting myself around now. I've even taken to cycling to Parkway Parade. Amazing huh?

I was kinda unstable on 2 wheels coz it's been a LONG LONG time since I've been on a bike, I kid you not. Maybe I need training wheels. I took to my long dormant blades much faster than to my bike. But then again, I'm still unstable. Anyone knows of training wheels for blades?

Wedding preps are underway but I'm having a hard time discussing matters with the parents coz they're always out of town! Either my mother-in-law is in Shanghai or my parents are in china. Maybe they shld just meet in Shanghai and discuss stuff with us via teleconferencing. bleah... I'm charging my camera up for my trip. Yay!

Ok gtg start packing... Don't wanna be unprepared for the trip. Need to change money too!

I was going out to dinner and I looked at myself in the mirror. I got a shock! For a moment, I thot I saw my sister! I'll let u guys decide.

Changes

2005-08-12T02:04:00.000+10:00

My sis and cousin are currently overseas, away from home. They're thinking and discussing about what it's like being away from home, from family and where they'll go from there. I'm terrified that my sister would stay in Australia for years and years and years coz it does get kinda lonely here when she's not around. Not much mention of my parents coz they're hardly in town anyway.

I was only in the States for 2 months and I felt kinda odd when I got back. First thing to hit me was, of coz, the humidity. Just the other day, I was telling Andrew that I have a feeling of passing the same places over and over again and yet feeling alien after you've gone away for a while. It's a feeling of knowing the place intimately but yet not feeling like you belong. Maybe I haven't grown into my new place yet. After 3 mths of being here, I still feel like a guest in my own house. Oh well...

Happened upon an old photo taken 2 years ago. How time flies. Half the people in the picture aren't ard anymore!

Going to Shanghai

2005-07-26T02:35:00.000+10:00

It's been a hectic week for me... Andrew's grandma passed away so it's been running back and forth the funeral parlour for us both.

Upside to the week is that I'm going to Shanghai! -grin- It's gonna be a 2 day course but I might extend for a day, leave pending and daddy pending too. My girlfriend just asked me if I have thought about what to do for the wedding. honsetly, I haven't given it much thought recently. Been so busy!!!! I guess I should start planning now huh? :P December's gonna catch up on me sooner than I think. On top of that, I have a thesis to write. Blah...

Time for bed. -yawn-

Birthday Girl

2005-07-12T00:56:00.000+10:00

It's my birthday, it's my birthday... *does a little jig*

Yup I'm officially 26 years old and still behaving like a kid. Some have asked me where I've been. Yes, it's ben a while since I've updated my blog. Been so busy!!!

August and gang went on a trip over the 4th of July weekend. I was on call the whole entire week and I had a rather bad time over the weekend. Sigh. I was called back to the office on Saturday and Sunday and I couldn't help but think abt the guys on their trip. So envious! :P

We went for lunch at Thai Express and I had a bit of TomYam soup. It's real nice but the little bit that I had sent my ears ringing for a while! -phew- Then we went for a movie and watched the Fantastic Four. Eh... not fantastic lah. Don't bother watching it. I gotta catch Batman soon, before it stops showing in the cinema. Went for a bit of pool in the evening. A nice day in all. -grin- Haven't felt so carefree and leisurely since I left school!

Pay day!

2005-06-26T01:50:00.000+10:00

It's payday! Bonus time too! No... I'm not gonna reveal how much I got... heh but it's gonna go towards my wedding fund!

Work's been exhausting and I now have to keep house. It's no fun having to clean and tidy up after yourself. I sound like a spoilt brat huh? Makes me miss my mummy a lot. Meimei's back home today. YAY! but only for 3 weeks. Boo HOO!

A week's worth fo road trip to Malaysia. I wonder if anyone's interested. Only drivers need apply. :P

By request of my cousin, I'm posting a couple of pictures of my place. I took the pictures just before my housewarming a few weeks back. That explains why it looks so neat and clean! I can't say the same now. heh heh heh

This is the living room, taken from the main entrance. the dining hall is off to the left. It looks kinda dull coz everything is brown. I still haven't added much to the place to make it more colourful.

This is the dining hall with the living room to the right and the kitchen on the left, behind the counter my bad is sitting on. Master bdroom at the end of the hall on the left and the other 2 bdrooms on the right.

Computer Antiques

2005-06-15T23:36:00.000+10:00

I found this while clearing out the boxes in the office. First time I've ever seen something like this! Check it out!!!

What on earth do you think this is???

An Antique HP Trackball!!

Went to the market on Saturday and decided to buy myself some roses. Cost me a pretty penny and they didn't last as long as I wanted them too but they made anice addition to the house for a while. :) They've got HUGE thorns on them and I pricked myself many many times!

Pretty roses in a bunch.

After the flowers stall, I went to the minimart to buy some groceries. There was this can of pasta sauce sitting on the shelf, screaming to me "Cook me! Cook me!". heh So I decided to buy it and cook pasta with the bits and pieces of stuff I had at home. Forgot to buy onions so didn't turn out as fragrant. It didn't turn out too badly but I shall not take all the credit for myself. The pasta sauce pretty much held it's own ground. Hey... at least I didn't burn it. :P

Yummy pasta? :P

Dodgy pictures

2005-06-11T02:05:00.000+10:00

I was going thru some photos and I found one me and meimeiwong took in China in 2000. I was 21 then and she was 16. Some lady in the tour group mistook me for 16 and my sister 12. I dunno to feel flattered or insulted. You decide for yourself! :P

Me and meimeiwong in Hangzhou

This is meimeiwong a week ago. You can pack tons of luggage in those black eyebags of hers! She's always had eyebags but I've never seen them THAT bad before.

Falling sick

2005-06-09T23:30:00.000+10:00

I'm on 2 days worth of MC. WOO HOO!! On the flip side, it's no fun being sick. I've got a running nose that's stuffed and I'm achy all over as well. Time to go to bed!

Pedicure

2005-06-04T02:18:00.000+10:00

Got a pretty pedicure yesterday. I couldn't decide on what colour to put so I got a french pedi instead. Talk about no-brainer. Cost me a pretty penny but it was well worth the money. Haven't pampered myself for a while heh

A friend and I were talking about raising kids. She's been looking out for her little bro since he was young and he really looks up to her, kinda like a mother-figure even. I'm still very much like a kid myself. How to have kids of my own?! Andrew's niece is real cute at 19 months. Nice to play with once a week, not nice to raise. Not that she's a brat, I just am not ready! But like my friend pointed out, I got other things to worry about right now. :)

Is the niece cute or is she cute?!

Pool and more food

2005-06-02T02:10:00.000+10:00

Pool and more food!!!

Went to play pool the other day. Had my trusty camera with me - as usual. I like this shot of Andrew's friend breaking. Still not too used to my camera so some of the shots are kinda iffy...

9 ball! August, I'm training up! :P

The break - Not too bad a photo lah

Steamboat buffet in Geylang. Great place to eat! Had tons of mutton and other stuff. Yup that's mutton floating at the top. Tom Yam's real delicious and the chicken stock with herbs gave the food extra flavours. Have to bring you guys there. heh

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, I had prawn mee too. Standard seems to have dropped a bit. Anyone got any recommendations?

Food fest

2005-05-29T05:56:00.000+10:00

It's been nothing but a food fest since I got home. Food glorious food! I got my bak chor mee, prawn noodles and I had steamboat buffet today. *drool*

All these food for only 2 people. How not to get fat?!

Bak Chor Mee with a bit of chilli and tons of vinegar. Didn't do my ulcer any favours.

Getting lost

2005-05-24T22:20:00.000+10:00

I had to go drop off some things somewhere in Macpherson on Sunday. I'm not very comfortable going to that area coz I hardly go there... Bizzare thing is that I made a huge u-turn in Whampoa and to realise I ended up in Potong Pasir! hahaha I never really knew where Potong Pasir is and now I know! I took a little tour of Potong Pasir to end up in Macpherson again. I'm so suaku...

"Do you trust me?" I asked.
"Urm... yes I do?" he said.

Well, I got us lost. Trust misplacced. heh
It was a laugh getting lost tho. hehe

Casio Exilim Z750

2005-05-23T18:12:00.000+10:00

Out with the old and in with the new. I am now abandoning my trusty Sony digital camera and embracing the new Casio Exilim Z750. -grin-

My new camera! Whee...!!

Went golfing for the first time in 6 months... My trusty gloves decided to act up on my and I tore a hole in it even BEFORE I started the game! Gee... Oh well, it's an excuse to go buy new gloves eh? But these thingys don't come cheap you know, at least $30 a pair! Sigh... And I've only had it for under a year.

Gloves with a hole

I'm going back to work tomorrow... BLaH...

Just relaxing...

2005-05-20T05:38:00.000+10:00

I'm still trying to get back into the groove here in Singapore. Not easy considering that it's so blardy hot here and the humudity is just suffocating! Work for me starts only next week so I'm getting a taste of taitai-dom for a few days. Shiok!

I had the chance to indulge in food heh and duck rice was my first pick. Not my fave food but then again it had the shortest queue in the hawker ctr. I took a few pictures from different angles of my food and the uncle sharing my table was giving me odd stares. My husband thinks I'm nuts! I got to eat Katong laksa! Whee...!! All that lemak's sure to go to my butt but I ain't complaining. Was midday and it wasn't exactly the best time to eat spicy laksa lah... Sweating like a peeeg!

Me and my laksa!

I finally got round to drilling my new bowling ball. Ok, admittedly it ain't new. It's a cast off from Andrew (as usual) but he hardly used it so it aint too bad. I went bowling and now I'm aching all over. Been way too inactive for way too long. And to think the ball's only a little under 12 pounds.

I've got the big bully, papa's got the bully, mummy's got both bully and bakyard bully and Andrew's got the backyard bully. All meimei lacks is the princess bully. haha

Yes, my ball's known as the BIG BULLY.

It's 3.30am in the morning and I just got back from the pool hall. I tanked up on tons of coffee before I went and now I realise it's not a very good idea. I haven't played for at least 1.5 years and my cue's a little mouldy. ArgH! My precious expensive pieces of wood. It realy needs some air and TLC. Gotta work on that.

I should go to bed... O_O"

Home sweet home

2005-05-17T07:10:00.000+10:00

I'm home and it's 5am. Can't sleep! Nice to know that I'm missed. Can't wait for you all to be back here. Thank you for everything! Coming and sending me off touched my heart plenty.

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again after a moment or lifetime is certain for those who are friends."

The nice people in Stanford bought me a cake on my last day. How sweet can they get?!

Took a picture with Tahn Joo and family too!

The Chin Family, my hosts

A grand total of 7 ppl came to see me off at the airport, so touched. heh Pictures were taken at Peter's diner, just before I left.

Clement, me, Augustine

August & Gavin

Som & Junyun

Winston & Meijia

Do It Anyway

2005-05-12T12:28:00.000+10:00

DO IT ANYWAY

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa

Chocolate Mania!

2005-05-11T17:48:00.000+10:00

I was introduced to Cold Stone ice cream yesterday and I had choc ice cream with choc chips, brownies and choc fudge. How sinful can it get?! Check out the chocolates too!

Cold Stone Creamery

Z Chocolat

Tired from Yellowstone

2005-05-10T11:44:00.000+10:00

I'm officially exhausted from the trip. I hardly slept in the car. It was a little smaller than the previous one we had but I don't sleep much in cars to begin with anyway. It was a long long ride home! I've got raging hormones and I felt like crap. I still feel awful! It's the feeling of parting I don't like. I bawled my eyes out last night. I'm all puffy eyed now. heh

Courtesy of a friend: (Thank you!)
Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. -King Whitney Jr.

Yellowstone National Park

2005-05-09T20:06:00.000+10:00

Yellowstone National Park

From L-R: Gavin, Meijia, Me, Clement, Augustine, Junyun

I'm back from Yellowstone... The place is absolutely fantastically beautiful! We headed out on Thursday at midnite and we drove and drove and drove. We arrived at 5pm on Friday. Yes, we drove thru California -> Nevada -> Idaho -> Montana -> Wyoming in 17hrs straight. On the way we passed thru Reno, NV and it's kinda like a mini LV. We had BK for breakfast on Fri morning and we were all so stoned.

This is Reno, NV the mini LV at 4am on Friday morning.

First shot in Yellowstone with bisons and pronghorns in the background.

We arrived here at around 5pm on friday evening. There was still light till ard 8pm, thankfully!

Our first stop was Old Faithful (what else?). It "blows" on average 21-23 times a day and we hung around long enough to watch it blow. hehe We also visited many spots in the park and saw tons of geysers, waterfalls and mineral pools. Some stink like rotten eggs and you can see mineral deposits everywhere. It was real cold so taking pictures were a chore at times. Being a shutterbug like me, I couldn't get enough of the place!

That's me with Old Faithful in the background.

Pretty picture with a river.

One of the waterfalls we spotted along the way.

If I'm gonna recall any one thing abt this trip, it'll have to be the time when August unintentionally scared the s**t outta me! I happened to turn and he happened to feel like lunging and I got the shock of my life! I went all pale and I teared. August you made me cry! hehe But all's well and fine now, I've regained my colour.

There are more photos on the way but I haven't gotten my hands on them yet. Thankfully Clement had the sense to bring a tripod so we had a whale of a time posing for group pictures. I'll be loading more pictures soon!

Tired out...

2005-05-05T11:05:00.000+10:00

I'm sleepy and tired and cranky. I don't make very good company. I need to rest my eyes so that I can navigate! Drink some potion to keep me wide awake.

O_O

I'm heading to Yellowstone tonight (yay!) and my poor baby is slogging his ass off coz it's month end reporting (again). Makes it doubly hard and lonely coz I'm not there to give support. But I can give moral support! Bear with it for a while more okie? I'll be home before you know it!

Another thing about going home is that I don't wanna go back to work! heh heh heh Who does? :P

IPod mini

2005-05-04T13:55:00.000+10:00

Wanna make a guess what I bought? *grin* Mine's green!

I'm heading out to Yellowstone over the weekend. Weather forecast says it'll be 0-10 deg C. Wish me luck! brrr....

Sausalito & Haight

2005-05-02T12:28:00.000+10:00

Sausalito & Haight

We headed out to Sausalito on Sunday afternoon, me, Augustine, Winston and Meijia and the driver! It's just about 10 minutes across from the Golden Gate and the view's to die for! There are homes in the area that are perched in the side of the mountain... How gorgeous. The weather was great that day, plenty of sun and no clouds in the sky. Check out the ducky display in one of the shop fronts. heh

Street of Sausalito

Duckies going round & round!

Me & Meijia at the fountain

It's amazing how he balances the rocks on top of one another.

We headed over to Haight Ashbury to have a look see and then had dinner there. Real nice shopping strip and pretty shop fronts too!!

Intersection of Haight and Ashbury.

Funky shop fronts in the area.

A guy and his TV

2005-05-01T03:06:00.000+10:00

A guy walks into the cafe. He spots the huge LCD behind the counter and remarks loudly to the waitress "I love the TV!". She smiles and continues to fill out his order. He proceeds to tell the other waitress "I love the TV!". She smiles politely and walks away. He sits at the cafe and admires the TV while eating his ice cream. He turns to the customer next to him and says "I love the TV!". When he's finally done with the ice cream, he tells the waitress again "I love the TV!". If the cafe ever gets broken into and the TV's lost, you'll know who took it.

Suckered!

2005-04-29T14:00:00.001+10:00

I feel like I've been suckered... I caved in and bought myself a pretty white jacket that says STANFORD on the front. hehz Don't ask how much it costs coz it's obscenely expensive, but I like it! You'll see it in the photos, someday.

I went on a little sightseeing tour as well. Went up 14 floors of Hoover Tower and just check out the view!!!

Overheard:
Hoover Tower was Hoover's last erection. Go read the history and figure this one out. heh

Hoover Tower

View from above

As far as the eye can see!

View of Memorial Hall and the fountain.

Overheard

2005-04-29T14:00:00.000+10:00

Overheard...

Man on the phone in a supermarket:
Yes honey I love you too.
But you shouldn't say " I love you" anytime you want something!

Matters of the heart

2005-04-27T11:00:00.000+10:00

Matters of the heart

A girlfriend sent me an e-mail the other day, asking for advice and a listening ear. I'm not sure if I'm the right person to dispense advice but here's wat happened. I've been thinking abt it for a while and honestly, I don't know what to say. I got her permission to narrate some of her events (no names of coz) so here goes...

Gist of the story is that she met a guy a few months ago, through a church friend. She's already attached but her bf's away at the moment. Has been away for a year, won't be back for a while more. New guy likes her and she likes him too. He knows of the bf being abroad and that's why they haven't officially sat down and had a proper "talk" abt the situation. Knowing her, she's not the kind to dump her bf for someone else. On the other hand, she's afraid that if she doesn't do anything, she may lose this new guy.

My opinion is that the bf's a real nice guy but the 2 of them do have some compatibility issues. Should she try to work things out? Or throw caution into the wind for something new? Or date both at the same time? ;P

Any comments anyone?

Dinner and gossips

2005-04-27T01:20:00.000+10:00

I had a very filling dinner tonight, a bit late lah, but still great. Anything's good so long as it's cheaper. Plus I got to out at night! hiaks I make myself sound like a loser on a curfew. It's a self-imposed one. I don't wanna venture out and get kidnapped/molested/raped/killed by some psycho!

Girlfriends, food and idle chit-chat. What a nice way to end the day. :)

Girlfriends

2005-04-26T12:00:00.000+10:00

Girlfriends

I just finished a book about 5 women and a book club. Talks abt friendship and stuff. Corny it may sound to some but it tugs at my heartstrings. Why so? Becoz I have my very own "book club".

2 friends I have known since the start of secondary school. We ended up in the same class and we ended up hanging out. 4 years later, 2 of us went to 2 diff JCs and the other went to poly. The paths we took cannot be anymore different. We, as ppl, cannot be anymore different. After JC & poly, we kinda lost contact for a while. While one went to Australia, 2 stayed behind in NUS. Yes, we were at opposite ends of the campus BUT, on hindsight, that was no excuse not to keep in contact.

Years passed and here we are now. One is a lawyer. One is a soon-to-be Masters holder. I work in a hospital. Looking back, I think we started meeting regularly (again) when I ran into trouble in my relationship. That was almost 4 years ago. I had trouble, they gathered around me, held my hand and helped me through it all. They were there for me when I got married. I'm very sorry I couldn't attend yours, Clara.

I'm away for 2 months and Clara's going away for 6. I won't be seeing her until the end of the year. Will we be able to withstand the distance and keep it going? I think we can. (I still got Mich. Don't run out on me!)

Thank God for girlfriends. Here's to 13 years of friendship. Cheers!

Santa Cruz at sunset

2005-04-25T12:33:00.000+10:00

Santa Cruz at sunset

I didn't really know what to expect at Santa Cruz. All I knew was that there's a boardwalk and it's by the beach. We left MV at around 4pm and I was wondering if it might be too late to see or do anything. Dark clouds seemed to be hanging over our heads and I kept my fingers crossed it won't rain!

3 girls and a Tsunami...

We arrived by 5+pm and the boardwalk was still bustling... sorta. We chop-chop took pictures at the amusement park and we wanted to take a ride on the rollercoaster BUT by the time we decided to ride the coaster, the park was closing in 5 mins time. Bummer! In case you're wondering, my T-shirt says "I love surfer boys". Yup, I knew we were heading to the beach. -lol-

4 sitting duckies

So we headed out to the beach instead. So pretty! Couldn't resist the temptation to take off our shoes and go walking into the cold cold water. Instead of the amusement park, we ended up walking and playing along the beach. I think that was even better. Beaches are never this pretty back home. Admittedly it's not the prettiest beach I've seen but scenery and company more than made up for it. Took quite a lot of shots. Here are some of my faves.

Group picture at the Boardwalk.

Dirty feet!

Santa Cruz at sunset.

Anniversary

2005-04-23T23:56:00.000+10:00

Anniversary

It's not us to go all out for any kinda anniversary, birthday nor special occasions. Things just go by the way a normal day goes... It's not that important that we go out and spend s**t-loads of money. A dinner would be a bonus. What's more important is the fact that the other remembers. I got a card from a friend who remembers my anniversary. Thanks for being such a dear Clara! :D

A year ago, I never thought I'd be celebrating my anniversary so far away from home. How'd I spend my day? I spent it sitting at a cafe, working on my thesis. How nice.

Love noted

2005-04-22T17:00:00.000+10:00

The warm fuzzy feeling of being loved.

Rose is Rose by Pat Brady

Life is sometimes a pain in the ass

2005-04-22T11:29:00.000+10:00

Why do things turn out the way they do?
Are we in control of our own fate?
Do we do what makes up happy or what is right to others, even if we do not agree with it?

On Relationships

2005-04-21T15:54:00.000+10:00

On Relationships - a Buddhist's saying...

"Two pillars of a building cannot come so near together or the building would collapse eventually."

Pearls before Swine

2005-04-21T12:14:00.000+10:00

Pearls before Swine

This appeared on 30th March. Just love the crocodiles. heh

Pearls before Swine by Stephen Pastis

Another personality test

2005-04-20T22:20:00.000+10:00

1 bagel (& cream cheese)
1 cup noodle
some juice
tons of coffee
That's all I had today. Amazing...

Another Personality Test

The Passionpreneur Personality Test

I'm an Exciter. You agree?

Exciter-----(18) ----- 45 %
Competitor -----(1)----- 2 %
Informer-----(5) ----- 12 %
Supporter-----(16)----- 40 %

Wish List

2005-04-20T15:19:00.000+10:00

Wish List

Yosemite
Santa Cruz
17-mile Drive
A picnic
Nice quiet sit-down dinner, with hot food SERVED to me
Visit a club / bar
Cheap Shopping!

Sunny side up
I took a seat on a park bench in the sun during lunch, at high noon. Fell asleep with my head bowed down. What was I thinking?! Skin at the neck feels a little sore, maybe it's cooked already. Felt good to be out there. Sad to leave this weather behind.

Death Valley

2005-04-19T12:30:00.000+10:00

Death Valley

I had Fun in Death Valley, fun with a capital F. I've never experienced a road trip so it was something really different for me.

Lemme first introduce my travelling buddies. They are (from left) Clement, Meijia, Augustine and Junyun.

Early Sat Morning (16 Apr)
We set off at past midnite on Friday and we were in the car for so long I lost track of time. Of coz I didn't have the guts to drive initially so I was relegated to the backseat. Twas an SUV, a real big and comfy one so it was a great ride! We got lost once, ended up on a pitch black farmland. Odd to say, it was kinda fun getting lost!

Saturday Afternoon (16 Apr)
Our first stop in Death Valley was at Father Crowley Point. Real scenic and my first taste of the desert to come. We saw 2 fighter jets coming straight at us and they flew right into the valley in front of us! they were moving too fast for us to get any pictures of them. *sigh

Saturday evening (16 Apr)
We then drove around and around and around. It's amazing how large the Valley is. We visited Wilrose Canyon, Salt Creek and the Sand Dunes at sunset. It was beautiful, the way the sun catches the dunes in the evening time. We hiked closer to the sand dunes and I got this picture of ripples in the sand. One of my favourite pictures so far. Pretty huh?

Sunday morning (17 Apr)
We stayed a night in Beatty, Nevada and then hopped on to rhyolite, a ghost town. It used to be the biggest mining towns in Death Valley. I like this picture very much, of the 3 girls at Rhyolite and the mountains as the backdrop.

(From left) Meijia, me and Junyun.

Oh did I mention that I drove from Beatty all the way to Scotty's Castle? Yeah I finally got my nerve to drive. There weren't that many cars in the Valley so I thot it'll be a great time to experience left hand drive. Not as tough as it seemed but it took a lot of getting used to.

After Scotty's Castle, we departed from Death Valley and that took a while too. We had dinner at IHOP (International House of Pancakes). It was Clement's b'day and we bought him dinner.

There are more photos at my Yahoo! Album so do feel free to check it out. Links are on the side.

Sometimes I find myself to be long-winded...

Whispering Trees

2005-04-19T01:31:00.000+10:00

Whispering Trees

Stopped walking down the street.
Closed my eyes.
Felt the winds wash over me.
Felt warm sun on my body.
Listened to whispering trees.
Day's stress left behind.
Left with a smile on my face.

California so far...

2005-04-18T20:05:00.000+10:00

I haven't touched a blog in ages. I guess I kinda let the other blog site go to waste. It's not everyday you get to travel and work overseas so I figured I'd set up a blog, at least for now. We'll see how long I can keep this up. ;)

Things that I've learnt about myself on this trip (so far)...

I can be rather stingy with myself. It's amazing considering I used to buy bags and stuff at least once a month.
I eat less when I eat alone. (duh)
Being Singaporean, I had no patience for long queues and small talk initially. Now, I'm beginning to appreciate a slightly slower pace in life. I wonder how I'll fare when I get home.
I can drive! On the left I mean...
Too many burritos make me gassy.

What have you done in your life?

2005-04-15T16:51:00.000+10:00

What have you done in your life?

Got this off meimei's blog, who got it off her friend's blog BUT... this is me.

(x) snuck out of the house
( ) gotten lost in your city
(x) seen a shooting star
(x) had a surgery
(x) gone out in public in your pajamas
( ) kissed a stranger
(x) hugged a stranger
( ) been in a fist fight
(x) Had alcohol
(x) laughed and had milk/coke come out of your nose
( ) pushed all the buttons on an elevator
(x) been close to love
( ) been to a casino
( ) been skydiving
( ) broken a bone
( ) skinny-dipped
(x) skipped school
(x) flashed someone the middle finger
( ) saw a therapist
( ) played spin the bottle
(x) gotten stitches
(x) drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour or water
(x) bitten someone
(x) been to Disneyland
( ) gotten the chicken pox
( ) kissed a member of the same sex
( ) crashed into a friend's car
( ) been to Japan
(x) ridden in a taxi
( ) had a crush on someone of the same sex
(x) had feelings for someone who didnt have them back
(x) stolen something from your job
( ) gone on a blind date
(x) lied to a friend
( ) had a crush on a teacher
( ) celebrated mardi-gras
( ) been to Europe
( ) slept with a co-worker
(x) been married
( ) gotten divorced
( ) had children
( ) seen someone die
( ) had a close friend die
( ) been to Africa
( ) Driven over 400 miles in one day
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
( ) Thrown up in a bar
( ) Purposely set a part of myself on fire
(x) Eaten Sushi
( ) Been snowboarding
(x) Met someone in person from the internet
( ) lost a child
(x) gone to college/ poly
(x) graduated college/ poly
( ) done hard drugs
( ) tried killing yourself
( ) fired a gun
( ) purposely hurt yourself
(x) taken painkillers
(x) miss someone right now

Looks like I ain't too happening huh?

Jogging Makes you Sick!

2005-04-02T19:27:00.000+10:00

Exercise is bad for you!

I cannot believe I'm sick... damn it! I went jogging yesterday. I think that was what did me in. But then again, it wasn't too cold or anything like that. Maybe it was because it was cold when we went out to dinner?

I took 2 Panadols and drank some kinda herbal tea. I'm so full of liquid I feel like I can throw up. Trying hard not to throw up though. Luckily for me, they made porridge for lunch. Good for me. I had a small bowl of porridge just now and I'll have another when they have gone out to dinner. I can't eat anything right now. I never thought that plain porridge can taste so good. :)

Just when I was feeling a tad bit athletic, I fall sick from jogging. Is someone trying to tell me somthing?!

Stanford's Memorial Church

2005-03-30T15:52:00.000+10:00

Stanford's Memorial Church

Stanford has a church on their grounds. They call it the Memorial Church. It's non-denominational (I think tt's what they call it). Check out the mosaics and stuff. It's said tt there are over 20,000 different shades of mosaics on the front and in the church itself . I like it in there, it's so beautiful and peaceful.

Memorial Church Main Entrance

Charity Archangel Uriel

More Ramblings...

2005-03-22T21:13:00.000+11:00

More Ramblings...

I had a case today, a tamponade case. I was right up there, next to the patient while they did the tap. It’s so cool! There was echo guidance of course. The doctor made an incision, affecting the diaphragm and the patient had hiccups while the case was in progress. They drained the fluid from the body, a little more than 1 litre of fluid. I could see the fluid being drained successfully on the echo itself. My first time! Well I guess there’s a first time for everything.

I got home before it got dark today. No IVUS cases for me today and the machine was used in EPS, they were doing AF ablation I think. They use the ICE catheter attached to the IVUS machine to visualize the pulmonary veins. Not very interesting though. They started at 8+am in the morning and when I left at 5pm, they were still at it! I guess AF cases aren’t only long back in NHC… it’s also really long here. I’m kinda glad I’m not the one assisting in the case. Hehehe

I was walking home today and I saw a lot of cars parked outside of the homes, although these people had garages. At times, I pas by houses with their garage doors open and I realize that the reason why they don’t park their cars inside is because they have tons of stuff in there! Most probably it’s got to do with the ever changing weather and the 4 seasons in these countries that they need all kinds of stuff to survive.

I’m taking life easy here, not too much stress, although I should buck up more on my readings in between. I hang out at the library real often and I feel like I’m back in school, doing research and studying for exams. Not a bad feeling though. I’m “back to school” and getting paid for it.

Ramblings...

2005-03-17T22:47:00.000+11:00

Ramblings..

Was kinda scary, walking home alone the other day, after it turned dark. I made myself carry the torch cum charger with me to work nowadays. Better not take the chance right?

There are people who keep commenting that my English is very good and they keep asking me where I learnt to speak English. Singapore’s first language IS English. Must take it as a compliment.

Flowers are really pretty now, blooming like the cherry blossoms in Japan. Damn pretty man! Wish I was doing some sightseeing too but like I said many many times before, it’s expensive. Weather forecast says that it’ll rain over the weekend and all the way till Monday. I have to find a way to get around so that I don’t rot at home.

I’ve got an ulcer so I went to GNC to buy a small bottle of Vitamin B12. So proud of myself. Mummy will be proud of me. Hahahaha Yeah right...

Almost weekend and I’m settling down ok. Discovered internet in the library so things ain’t so bad but the internet connection at home is driving me nuts! I’ll just turn to watching TV instead. :P

After tonight, 58 days to home. I’ve hit the 5 already. Yay…

Homesickness

2005-03-11T21:20:00.000+11:00

Homesickness

Arrived in Palo Alto at 1pm. I’m staying with Tahn Joo and family on Emerson St. Flight was excruciatingly long, I’m not sure why. After all, I should be more comfortable on SQ. Maybe it was because I took the UA flight with Yeow last year. After all traveling with someone makes it less dull.

The night before I left, it finally hit me that I was going away for 2 months. I hugged him and cried but nothing could change the fact that I was leaving. At the airport, I didn’t want to let him go. I cried then too. Every time I think about him my tears start to roll… I can’t seem to help it. I have never ever felt so home sick in my entire life!!! I feel so… disconnected. I feel real bad because I know that he doesn’t feel any better than I do. I don’t want him to feel bad or worry about me. I need to be strong.

I’m already counting down the days till I go home. Crossing the days as they go by…

65 days to go.
10 weekends to go.
Hopefully when I start working, work will keep homesickness at bay.
Cried buckets today.

Things that suck...and things that don't

2004-07-19T21:00:00.000+10:00

This is the second time I'm typing this. I stooooopidly did something stoopid and now I'm doing this again. Don't ask... -whine-

So wat sucks?

1. Debts - Credit card bill to be exact.
2. Work -bah-
3. No money
4. Assignment - it's due on TWO weeks and I haven't even started. I'm not joking.
5. Meimei's going home! My last entry was about her coming home. she's leaving this Saturday. -whine again-

I bought a new HP the other day. I'm supposed to be broke so Mummy's not going to know about it, at least not for the next week or so. heh It's a nice cool black little Motorola E398. It's got an MP3 player, camera, bluetooth etc. My hubby decided to get it too so we traded in 3 phones for 2. The 3 phones pretty much paid for 1 new one. :)

China was great, living the expat life. Never imagined I had to go all the way to shanghai to get my first taste of Paulaner Brahaus. Beer was yummy. We had beer at almost every meal coz it's cheap over there. My beer belly's much bigger now, no thanks to beer and good food. But I'm happy.

Shopping was great, especially at Xiangyang market. For those who are going to Shanghai, DO NOT miss that place. It's got every kind of imitation good you can think of. Some look quite good actually. You can cut the price down to more 40% off the opening price. If you think that we are good at haggling, wait till you see the angmohs. They are even better.

Art of Chinese Haggling 101

Me: How much is this bag ah?
Shopkeeper: RMB 350
Me: Wat? So expensive ah? Dowan lah
Shopkeeper: I give you RMB 320. Best price.
Me: No dowan. (gets ready to leave)
Shopkeeper: Urm... wait. How much are you willing to pay?
Me: I give you a price. You don't get angry ok?
Shopkeeper: Sure! No problem!
Me: RMB 50.
Shopkeeper: Cannot lah, hard for me leh. I hardly earn! RMB 300 can?
Me: How about RMB 80?
Shopkeeper: No no cannot. -shake head-
Me: Cannot arh? Cannot then dowan lor... (steps out of shop, walking REAL slow)
Shopkeeper: Wait wait WAAAAAIT!!!! Come back! (waves wildly)
Me: (stop walking, turns around)
Shopkeeper: Ok lah come back! I sell you... Only for you ok? Next time must come back k?
Me: Sure! -Big GRIN- heh

For more reflections on China, Su Ee pretty much sums it up. (see right)

Till next time! Need to get started on assignment. -bah-

Meimei's home!

2004-06-28T00:41:00.000+10:00

Homecoming

It's that time of the year again, when my (almost alawys) absent sister makes her return. I know it's not much a choice of hers to be almost always absent but she's the lucky one eh?

It's hard to have someone back in the house again, esp when you're so used to having the house to yourself. No one to share the bathroom with, no one to mess up stuff and no one to pack up after!... ok ok maybe meimei's not SO bad but still, it takes some getting used to. I dunno how I'm going to take to living with and "serving" my husband. hehe

We're off to China soon and we're nowhere near packed. Crappy thing is that I still have to work on the day I'm flying off! sigh

I'm glad she's home.

Hot hot day...

2004-06-24T22:20:00.000+10:00

Shitty weather...

It is officially freaking hot in Singapore. Overcast always but yet no rain in sight. Haze sucks, and I'm hot all the time. Going to work in the morning is a pain, coz of the weather and of coz becoz it's WORK. blah....

2 more days!
Meimei's coming home, meimei's coming home, meimei's coming home!!! -does a lil jig-

False Alarm

2004-06-23T22:28:00.000+10:00

False Alarm

Never knew of the existance of blog, until meimeiwong signed me up. I feel like I'm a turtle under a shell. heh

Life's blah... that's all I can say, life's blah. Where's the fun in life anymore? Oh yeah... I'm headin to China! And meimei's coming home, yay, yay and double yay! Wonder if she misses home.... she mish me? :P

I'm late..... 3 wks late to be exact. There's speculation that it might be a li' bundle of joy but hah! It's not! ... sigh... I'm not ready to be a mummy, but yet the thot of it kinda excites me. Anyway, I took a home preggy kit test just now, it's negative. :P

Never knew...

Never got to talk to meimei much about her life in Melb. After all, she calls once in a while, esp when Mummy bugs her to. hehe Never knew she refers to mummy as MY part-time maid (altho she ain't all wrong). Never knew she could feel so homesick...

Sometimes, I wonder if I should have gone overseas too... Sometimes I wonder if I missed out on things... meimei's having fun way out there... but then again, it ain't all fun being away from family 9mths out of a year. At least, meimei's got friends who take good care of her... :)

Another day of work tomorrow............ blah.