Classic detective novels with a twist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. :)

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

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

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

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

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...

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

   

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.