Stung?

by something so my right eyelid is swelling? Not sure... Hope it quells soon.

Went to the Nike warehouse sale yesterday! Madness! All these women stacking themselves against the table and grabbing everything in sight, then staying there to wait for the staff to replenish stock. For the first time, I felt dizzy and faint from going to a warehouse sale. Managed to walk away with two dry-fit tees, a pair of shorts, a pair of capris and two pairs of socks. Everything was just $20 each except the socks which were $5 each.

Got my pre-trip vaccinations yesterday. Didn't manage to get what I thought would be the most important one - the Rabies jab, because there wasn't enough time before I fly to finish the course. You camels better stay away from me!

The Energetic Doer that is me

Results from one of those E/I, S/N, T/F, P/J tests:



According to the test, "I am an excellent diplomat and negotiator, and especially when I need to convince others of an idea and - literally or figuratively - sell something on somebody." Guess I'm in the right line of work.

I think the description of me from the relationship aspect is pretty accurate too. =P

They came, they saw, they packed...

In less than an hour, the movers packed about $15k worth of stuff into 16 boxes, or approx 80 cubic feet in volume. My allowance is 90 so I was quite surprised that I came so close. Didn't realise I had that much stuff.

Felt a bit sad as they stuffed my kitties into the boxes. I'm not going to see them for a month or more. Wished I hugged them a bit more before they left.

Apart from the kitties, some of the stuff that are being shipped are:

1. my San Guo Yan Yi - compulsory reading in Sec 3. we would get tested on the content to see if we really read it. I think I might re-read it when I get there, although I think I'll need the dictionary (which I didn't ship because I think Mum needs to refer to it every now and then).
   
2. DD's snooker cue - it's got a name, which evades me. DD named it after his favourite snooker player.
3. Indonesian dinnerware - worth $400, DD won it at the first D&D we went to.
4. Wedding picture - It's been in a box since the wedding and I can't remember what colour the frame is. I think it's brown.
   
5. PC & speakers - sponged them off my brother. hehe... SIMS 3 is going to be out later this month!!!!!!!!!
   
6. Badminton racket - ditto. He used to be on the school team but he doesn't play now anyway, so I asked him for it. hehe...
7. Clothes hangers - just a few. Don't think I took enough, but Qi's wardrobe is ever expanding so she probably needs them here anyway.
8. 3/4 of my scrapbooking supplies - Initially, I thought of checking in the whole lot when I fly, but it really is quite heavy.

Cya in a month, my 16 boxes of stuff... Hope all of you make it there in one piece. *wave*

Pack, Pack, Pack...

Today was vouchers consumption day. Since the movers are coming tomorrow, I went out to buy whatever else I needed to ship over to AD.

Dragged my sister and her bf w me to IKEA and bought bowls, a picture frame and a laundry basket amounting to $84. Then used up my Best Denki vouchers with a hair dryer and food processor. Spent 2 hrs at Best Denki (in addition to an hour/week for the last two weeks) wondering what to buy.

Packed for the last two hours. Packed half my scrapbook stuff in. Must remember to pack my photos in too. Those that I developed before the PC crashed. Haven't had time to put them into albums, or buy albums for that matter. I think I developed them more than a year ago... =P

So hard to fill up the packing list. Had drawn up an excel spreadsheet to help me calculate the worth of my stuff. By my estimate, my books (comprising mostly DD's Neil Gaiman/Stephen King books and art books we bought on our honeymoon) cost $1200. Quite surprised that they cost so much. Means my clothes will probably cost more (forgot to count them by type before I packed them into my suitcase).

I hope I don't forget anything... at least nothing bulky. 3 more weeks to go...

Of kitties and gritties

Princess Di was back for CNY and said she'll post me a Hello Kitty coin bank when I get to Abu Dhabi. Another one to join the collection of Hello Kitty paraphernalia - which really isn't much. There's:

1. fake Hello Kitty plush w squeaky ear - I think this was my first Hello Kitty soft toy, although I think it's an imitation cos it doesn't have a Sanrio sticker on it.
2. pink dress Kitty - first kitty from the hubby, then-bf.
3. macdonalds Kitty on a strap - from my sis.
   
4. Kimono Kitty porcelain doll - bought from my first trip to Japan in 2005.
5. Kitty head - another kitty from the hubby that he brought back from KL.
6. UN Kitty - yes, Kitty had invaded the UN. had, because I was told that it's out of stock now. Must be all the Japanese tourists. LOL
7. Wedding Kitty and DD - wedding gift from my sis.
   
8. Hide and Seek Kitty - limited edition! It's Kitty in a detective costume (comprising a trenchcoat, top, skirt, unmentionables, and shoes, which can all be taken off). Birthday present from the hubby with help from my sis. I used to go see this Kitty every time I go to Wheelock and one day it was gone (someone else had bought it)! My sis had to scour a few shops to find another one. =P
9. Kitty car mat - Christmas gift from the boss. Why would anyone bear to step on Kitty's face?
10. Hello Kitty hp straps & pouch - buys from Japan.
    

I would upload photos, except that for now, all of these items have been chucked into boxes waiting to be packed. I almost forgot Kimono Kitty, cos she was sitting in the corner of my wardrobe. Good thing I decided to run through my wardrobe again to see what clothes to ship, and what to hand-carry.

The movers are coming on Monday morning to pack my stuff. Really should buy my mixer/food processor/blender soon.

Shipping

Decided that I'm not confident enough that I can finish packing by Friday so it'ld be better to incur mummy's wrath and leave the things in boxes during CNY. =P

Was told today that I have too many stuff and they will have to be shipped, and not flown. SIGH. longer wait to get my stuff I guess...

Planning to fly off on 18 Feb now cos gg Laos in early Feb. Hopefully by then, it would mean that it would be a short wait for my shipment to arrive. In the meantime, need to do the following:

1. buy a hair dryer and a mixer/food processor
   
2. pack
   
3. send out wedding photos to family and friends (not a year yet!)
4. apply for international driving permit
5. get a certificate for my dental health
6. go for vaccinations (haven't done by Hep A - or was it B? - booster shot)

Longest I've been away from home is 5 weeks (Geneva/AD in Mar last yr). Hope I don't forget to bring anything.

Just barely...

Passed my driving test!!! I really thought I was gg to fail after I struck the kerb twice. Thankfully, striking the kerb when attempting to vertical park is only 4 pts. I didn't get tested for emergency braking or u-turn. I wonder if I wld have failed then. =P

SO GLAD I PASSED!!! As I got out of the car and followed the tester, I really thought I was going to fail. When he looked at me sternly and said I just made it, I really couldn't believe it.

Took my passport sized photos just before the test. After the test, in a moment of panic (stemming from the jitteriness that hadn't dispelled since the test was over), I thought I misplaced the photos... Quickly went to reprint. Subsequently found the original lot in my wallet's coin compartment. Lucky for me, DD says that my move to the UAE would require 12 passport sized photos at least. PHEW.

After that, went to Robinsons. I bought an Aquasource set two Fridays ago, but because they didn't have stock, the promoter got me to buy something of equivalent value first, then come back and exchange when the stock came in. Used a $5 discount voucher on that purchase. Was quite upset with Robinsons. First, the salesgirl was late for work (I wanted to rush off to my dental appointment). Second, when we went to the cashier counter to exchange, the cashier said that the discount was now INVALID and I had to top up $5. I was furious. If there was going to be such complications, the promoter/cashier should have explained to me when I first bought the product. The cashier subsequently went to look for her supervisor, and grudgingly exchanged my product. I never expected such lousy service from Robinsons. They really are getting worse. Two years ago, one of the salesgirls misled me into thinking that there was a discount on a dress I wanted to buy...

Anyway, overall still a good day cos I got my driving licence! No need to delay my move to AD to retry, no need to spend more money on lessons!

2.5 or 5?

I spent an hour at Carrefour opening thermal cookers and playing around with the pots inside. Couldn't decide on the 2.5l one or 5l one. I think the 2.5l one is JUST NICE for two ppl... but don't think can put much in it. So decided to take DD's advice and go with the 5l one. Think will be using the smaller pot in that mostly. hee...

Driving test tomorrow. Don't know where my old passport sized photos are. Forgot to take new ones. SIGH.

Getting Ready

The move consultant came today. I was half expecting an uncle but a young man with a tablet pc showed up instead. =P

I brought him around the house to see the things I'ld be sending over and got briefed on what I needed to do. Undecided if I should get them to pack before CNY (which would please Mummy, who has been rather upset by the amount of stuff gathering) or after (means I need to set aside lesser clothes).

Hope I won't forget anything (bulky at least).

ASEAN 6 and counting...

Past the halfway mark of visiting the other ASEAN countries when I visited the capital with the coolest initials this week. Came back earlier than expected (a mad rush to pack, luckily I travel light). Glad to be home. Was getting sick from the cold hotel room (light went off by itself once... wonder why) and eating too much (i just had to try a little of everything and can't resist desserts especially).

Unfortunately, found out from this trip tt my move to AD will be postponed by two weeks from my original target date. Mum's probably not going to be too happy that my stuff will crowd the place for 2 weeks more than expected. =P The good thing is, I'll still make it in time for our 9 mth anniversary...

Which reminds me. Happy 8 months anniversary dear. One day in advance but what the heck. Big kiss and hug for you. Hope you do well for your run tomorrow.

Being thankful

for the friends I've made, the memories I've accumulated...

A stop-gap post while I try to put to words what I really want to say...

The shopping continued in earnest...

Sales commenced in Zara and Robinsons on Christmas day. Needless to say, I was there. =P Dragged my sister and her boyfriend down too (I'm sure they, or she, wanted to go anyway) and here's what i bought:

• A pair of Zara kids ballet pumps, $39.90- they were $20 cheaper and cute - dull gold coloured with little stars at the side in the front.

• A Zara shirt for the hubby, $59.90 - It looked nice and felt comfy.
  

• A Van Heusen shirt for the hubby, $40 - It was cheap! Regular price is $129! I blame my sis, who sis dug it out of the bin first. =P

• 2 pcs of unmentionables, $80 - Ok... on hindsight, I don't think I should have bought two pcs, but they were really cheap! less than 50%! =P

And the shopping continued on Boxing Day, when I asked Spinky to bring me along if she went to the Isetan private sale with parents. I really just wanted to but that light green cocktail dress ($79.90 after discount) that I've been eyeing for a few months now, but ended up also buying a white cardigan ($19.90).

What can I say? I'm a sucker for sales. I think it's a pre-move thing - gotta make sure I have variety in my wardrobe and be equipped for all occasions.

Now the one thing left that I REALLY want - the Canon SX 1 IS. Don't think I really NEED a camera cos my old camera - the Canon IXUS 40 - is still usable, just cranky - switches between photo and video mode by itself all the time. But the SX 1 IS looks really cool... 10MP, 20x optical zoom, shoots HD video... and not that ex (RP $999) if compared to buying a digicam and camcorder separately, which would easily cost $1.5k.

Oh. And need to buy golf accessories. The hubby thinks I should learn to play golf. EK's giving me her old golf set, but will have to get gloves and shoes and who knows what else.

So happy to have my yr-end bonus. =P

It's alive again!

Decided to revive my blog so as to document my move to the Middle East.

First step: Call the HR department and Business Support Centre to make arrangements to go. Easy enough.

Second step: To decide what to bring over. This is more tricky given that amount of stuff that I've accumulated over the years (even though mummy threw out some of my most precious stuff one year)... And X'mas sales are SOOO good!!! Here's what I bought in the last two days:

1. Pearly pink ballet pumps w stars, $59 (Trois+heel, Wisma Atria) - saw this on Thurs night and couldn't stop thinking about them! I think they are my all-time favourite shoes! bought them on Fri during lunch hr, and redeemed my UOB points for a $20 voucher so I don't feel how ex they cost. =P
   
   
2. Black poncho, $26.40 ( Giordano, Ngee Ann City) - on my way to lunch after buying my beloved shoes, I stumbled Giordano's lunch time sale! 40% storewide! But it didn't apply to accessories i.e. my black poncho. I tried on the white one, but decided that black was probably more practical. I'm such a messy person... will surely dirty it very quickly.
   
   
3. Pedra Branca: The Road to the World Court, $22 (MFA) - New book by DPM and Amb Koh. Thought that should get a copy and that DD would appreciate it. While on a high from buying my beloved shoes, decided to queue at the book launch to get the book autographed. Got the book autographed for my bosses too. Such a groupie I am...
   
   
4. Espirit Mini sweater, $29.90 (Espirit, Liat Towers) - I've been looking around for a new sweater in preparation of the strong cold winds of winter/spring in Abu Dhabi. Zara kids winter stuff were very pretty but ex, then I stumbled on this sweater! It's ivory in colour, and has a silver "E" printed on it.
   
   
5. Brown 3 inch shoes, $16.20 (Schu, Wisma Atria) - My first pair of Schu shoes! SO CHEAP!!! Schu's having up to 70% off and Qi spotted this pair. She bought two other pairs herself and we were very pleased with our buys. I think they are about 3 inches (haven't measured yet) but still feel quite comfy! I think it helps that they are round in the front and not pointy.
   
   
6. Orange knitted long top, $48 (G2000, Wisma) - It should have cost $4 less. My brother maxed out my DBS credit card for his interest churning scheme so we couldn't benefit from the 10% DBS card discount. Quite a downer after our good buy at Schu. Tried on suits at G2000 too but decided not to get yet since not sure what I'll be doing in Abu Dhabi.

I also spent $120 to remove pen marks on my first luxury bag - a Hogan leather bag that I bought on the honeymoon. Pretty sure the kid whom my mum looks after during the weekends was the culprit. Who else would draw on a leather bag like it was a pc of paper??? So sad... I think the repair costs might actually have pushed the cost of my bag to $1k. =(

If not for the repairs that I had to do for my bag, I wld say it was a good week in terms of shopping. =)

It's alive!

Yes, because i can't stand the fact that there's a thief in the house.

To my lost keys...

I lost my keys. Some time between Thursday night and Friday night. Don't even know how I lost it. I'm pretty sure I didn't forget to remove them from the letter box. But I don't know whether I'll ever see them again.

It's just a bunch of keys. On a key ring, which used to have a little doggy hanging on it. My sister had given me the key ring. I think she bought it on a school trip to Malaysia when she was in primary or secondary school? Or maybe older. I was quite touched. I hardly did anything for my sister when I was her age and she got me something on a trip. Maybe that's why I spoil her some times these days. By paying for her new clothes now and then or waiving her small credit card bill.

The keys. I think the oldest one in the bunch must be the Door. Or the Lock. The Door. I remember when I was in primary school, mummy gave me an old Door key so I could let myself into the house when I got home (since I got home the earliest). I would sit/lie in front of the tv and eat the dinner which mummy had prepared in the morning before she went to work. I remember that they used to show cartoons on tv at that time. 6 pm, 6.30 pm... I watched Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, Eureka's Castle (it's green btw DD... did you say it was green?) etc. My brother studied was in secondary school then, and my sister studied at a different primary school. So I had the Door key.

I think at some time, either I lost that key, or mummy just decided to make me a new one. A shiny one that wasn't grimy, and didn't become grimy even after so many years. Unlike the Lock key. I remember that daddy kept changing the locks. And eventually, we settled on the current one. And I had an old-looking key.

The newer keys on the bunch are the Letterbox keys. I can't remember when the first of the two came? It was a replacement for an old one. The kind that opens letterboxes with big flaps. Before they designed the anti-spam mail ones, which one of the Letterbox keys opened. I think I threw the first old Letterbox key away to put this one in. And a few months ago, my letterbox was changed again. I still haven't figured out why they changed it. I got a new key, a flat key unlike the other. Even with the new key, I didn't remove the old one. Maybe I should have. Maybe it was the one that was jutting out of my bag and causing the whole bunch to fall out. Maybe. But I wouldn't know.

I wish I had my keys back. I miss them. I miss opening the Letterbox too. I like opening the Letterbox and finding mail address to me. Cos nowadays, hardly anyone sends letters (not that I used to get many letters). Anyway, yes... I would like to have my keys back. I really miss them.

Yes, I'm on Facebook

Kind of lost interest in WoW now. I think it's a combination of the following:
(a) tired of my guild's rules
(b) the Singaporeans on the server I was on fell out. The ones that I was closer to left to join another server, so I started a new character. SO TOUGH TO LEVEL UP A PRIEST!
(c) got hooked onto DD's DS Lite - Rune Factory rocks! Literally... lol... But seriously, I've always been more Harvest Moon (the game which Rune Factory is built upon) than online games.

So the nights when I refuse to let DD tempt me with the DS, I have decided to come back online. My brother finally put together the new PC, complete with a 22" LCD screen. SO COOL... there's a huge expanse of empty space next to the little box that Blogger provides for people to type their entries in... Hmmm... which reminds me - wonder how my blog will look since the display is so much bigger now?

Maybe I'll find time to redesign my blog.

In the meantime, the new keyboard feels really comfortable under my fingers. Except that the insert button is right next to the backspace button, with no space in between. Keep hitting insert instead of backspace. -_-

UN Kitty 拳！

YT brought this super cool gift back from NY:

Isn't it just adorable? Kitty in a UN tee!!! My boss was aghast to note that Kitty has invaded the UN... haha...

Kitty looks quite normal in the photo... but if you see her in person, you'll note that Kitty's face is a bit flatter and longer than normal. So DD has invented the "UN Kitty 拳" - a "smack" which causes your face to "flatten". -______________-

Anyway, given that I've been kind of depressed abt my lousy quality of work recently, UN Kitty really brightened up my day. =)

Rainy, but not washed out

DD's blogged about our Phuket trip, so I'll just add some points...

We waltzed at the slippery pavillion next to the pool when we first arrived at Twinpalms, in out tees, jeans and sneakers... Attracting the smile of a caucasian lady who walked past. =)

I dozed off for much of King Kong (2005) (yes, I missed the part where he fell from the Empire State Building), but the snow scene was lovely.

I fed many a mozzie at Rockfish, while we stared at the waves crashing on the beach. (Well, actually I think I stared at the wave more? Cos DD spent more time at the DS than I did at that time. =P) [Note: The restaurant is at the far end of Kamala Beach from Surin Beach.]

I think my favourite moment of the trip was the dancing. Cos it was totally spontaneous and it happened before my obsessive nature kicked in and I started wondering and planning what our next steps would be. =P

Yes, it was a holiday to remember. =)

nertia makes me cowardly. Cowardice makes me inert.

Disrupting my Phuket trip report posts with a quote from a friend's blog.

I feel the same way too. Especially when it comes to work. I feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes, yet I don't want to do more, for fear of losing the little "free" time that I have.

I guess it doesn't just apply to work. I find that I worry a lot about all sorts of things or want to do certain things, and yet I'm not doing anything to improve the situation.

Sometimes, I think I'm just tired.

Phuket - Pre-trip woes

Pre-trip woes:

• We only applied for our leave and got it approved about two weeks before the trip.
• We had initially planned to go Redang, but couldn't cos of the Malaysia school hols. =P
• We couldn't decide at first where to stay, and the one that our friend recommended, Burasari Resort, was fully booked. Finally decided on Twinpalms, on a HSBC promo on wotif.com.
• Had indigestion the night before (heavy dinner at Ember in celebration of OSC's move to greener pastures) and I couldn't sleep. Got up at 3 am, waking half the family in the process, and started doing some reading online on Phuket. DD bought me some po chai pills when he came over to pick me up and I felt a lot better after that.

Most fascinating lesson learnt this week...

... is the Adobe Photoshop smudge tool. It's so much easier to mask imperfections (---> pimples) now! ^^

I wake up every weekday morning looking forward to a 40 min nap on the train.

Something must be wrong.

Karaoke

Directorate karaoke session today, with some others joining us midway. As usual, we ended off with Dancing Queen. Even though I had announced that this was the Directorate theme song, a non-directorate person joined in. It was our song... not for her to join in. Anyway, the others weren't drunk and it was 2+ to 4+ am so I guess the mood wasn't really the same also.

There is something wrong w the organisation. People keep quitting - because they are unhappy with the management (or the lack of it), because there are little prospects, or because they simply realise that there is something out there they that would really like to do. Some days I wonder if how long more I will stay. I wonder what happens when DD goes away. I guess I want to tell myself that I'm doing well in the job but more often than not, I get reminded that I've still got a LOOOOOOOOONG way to go. Will I be able to make up for my lack of skills?

HARRY POTTER!!!

Down to the last 6 or 7 chapters of HP 7... So exciting! I was reading it on the mrt yesterday and before I knew it, I had passed the station where I was supposed to get off. =P So glad I was early...

Been a busy week - I've only eaten at home on Monday. =P

Tuesday - had dinner w Spinky, Urnice, Aki and DD. Waited in vain for our fried salmon skin and gushed over pretty paper at MWL.

Wednesday - met with some of my sec 2 classmates. Haven't seen some of them (actually it's just one of them) since we graduated from secondary school. We tried to remember how many people there were in our class, talked about how other schoolmates have changed, and about things we didn't know had happened back when we were in school.

Thursday - Sherry Hour at work. Went on for some impromptu karaoke at the newly renovated k-box-like karaoke room at the office. =) Some of the bosses can really sing!

Dreamt of work last night and woke really early this morning. -__- Hope to have a relaxing weekend...

Bringing my parents out for dinner for the first time

Yes... and it's not like it's anyone's birthday or anything. Although I told mum that she can take it as a early birthday celebration (her birthday in 1.5 mths time).

I think it's a combination of reasons:

1. I've been perpetuating a lot of negative energy in/around me so I figured I shall do something nice for my parents.
2. I guess also I've been feeling guilty that I go out and eat yummy stuff all the time while mum racks her brain over what to cook.
3. Mid year bonus has been credited so spend also won't feel that big a pinch. =P
4. BROTHER AND SIS ARE NOT HOME!!! Two less people to treat... hehe... (yes, cheapskate of me) Well, tried to contact my sis but she didn't respond. So too bad for her! hehe...

My mood felt infinitely better after mum agreed to go out. =)

First time in 16 yrs...

Up close with The Son later this afternoon.

15 days, 17 hrs, 53 min, 6s

The amount of playing time that I took over 6 months to get my mage up from level 1 to 70 in WoW.

'klEk, 'klik

I registered my unhappiness about colleague A with colleague B the other day... well, maybe more than just colleague B. I think colleague C and D were around re-registered my unhappiness with colleague B in the corridor.

What upset me was that we had just been talking about watching a movie together the week before and next thing I knew, they were all gonna watch it, without having at least just asking if I was still interested.

Maybe this is simply a case of me not being a part of the clique.

It's not the first time I've felt lousy about being "played out" in some way or another. Sometimes I think I have too much faith in people and therefore such things happen.

But you know, when colleague B first told me that he was going to watch that movie, I had a feeling that he would be watching with that clique. But I told myself, "nah... A would have asked if I was interested" or "nah... maybe A wasn't watching with B". Maybe I should trust my gut instincts more.

ICE CREAM!!!

Was hungry enough to wanna try ice cream from Orange Julius outside Wheelock Place. Princess had recommended that I try the Oreo one (I think) about two years ago (I think).

However...

THE STALL WAS OUT OF ICE CREAM!

In disappointment, we decided to just have our regular Venezia ice cream at Taka. As we walked to the nearby lift, WE PASSED ANOTHER ORANGE JULIUS OUTLET.

NOOOOOOOO...

Guess just not fated with their ice cream. =P

I'm lazy, there I redirect...

Please find Part I(i) of the Japan post-trip report (written by Spinky) at Spinky's blog.

It's only 1/4 of the complete text!

And yes, I will eventually put up the trip photos. (keyword here is "eventually") Or maybe I should just redirect you guys to Urnice's photos... Hmmm...

Do you have to ask for service?

One of my favourite Japanese restaurants here is Izakaya, which is located in Centrestage at Marina Square. The food is really good, they boast to have no msg, no artificial flavouring etc...

Today was my second time there, with DD for a late lunch. We probably reached the place at abt 3.15 pm. When we got to the restaurant, we waited to be seated (as instructed by the sign outside the restaurant). One of the staff was standing behind the cashier in front of us, but it took her a while to beckon her colleagues to come bring us in.

Now usually, the waiteress would pick up the menu as she brings u in. But this one brought us to our seats before bringing over the menus. We beckoned another waiter to come and ordered set meals. The waiter took our orders but didn't remove the menus.

We finished our salad and main courses, stacked everything nicely on the trays and pushed the trays to the edge of the table. At the same moment, we noticed two waitresses went down the aisle right next to us to restock the chopsticks and tissue. Wondering if they would take the initiative to clear the table, we didn't beckon to them. They walk straight pass us. Twice. At the same time, 3 other staff members were sitting at the table behind us chatting. One of them later got up, and asked her colleague if he/she needed anything since she was going out for a walk. [Note: Our table still had not been cleared.]

The third time the waiteress (the one restocking the chopsticks/tissue) walked past us, we stopped her and asked her to clear the table and serve the dessert. After we finished dessert, we realised that we still hadn't been serve coffee/tea.

In the meantime, we built a castle with the menus and observe how the staff brought the customers to their seats. One couple just walked right in and sat themselves down. For another couple, the waiter looked lost/not keen to lead them to their seats.

During the approximately 1.5 hrs we were there, they probably only refilled out tea three times.

Seriously. Does one have to call for service to get some? I really thought the staff were absymal. At the very least, they should have asked if they could serve the dessert when they came toclear the table. If they were too lazy to ask, they could at least just bring the dessert over? If we hadn't asked them about our dessert and coffee/tea, they probably would have forgotten about it.

We left the feedback form with the credit card when we decided to leave. From where we were sitting, I could see the two staff at the cashier counter looking displeased when they saw the contents. As we walked out of the restaurant, we walked past the dessert chef. He thanked us for coming. I thanked him in return. Don't know if he noticed my slight smile. I was expecting the two cashier counter staff to at least mutter thank you. According to DD, they had this look on their faces that said "these are the people who graded our service as very poor."

I feel so put off from going back to the restaurant again... Even if the food is good... Would you pay for such (non-) service? Or were we asking too much as customers for the service staff to have some initiative?

Told DD that after this experience, Old Beijing's ratings have gone higher than Izakaya's. At least Old Beijing's staff were apologetic for lapses in their service.

15 days, 17 hrs, 53 min, 6s is equivalent to...

about 378 hrs, or
about 22673 mins, or
1360386s.

which means abt 2.1 hr/day on WoW to rise from lvl 1 to lvl 70.

wow.

two year mark...

Exactly a fortnight away to the two-year mark on my first job since graduation. Sometimes I think that maybe, just maybe, I can make a career out of this. Other times, I think of what I would like to do if I quit tomorrow - study occupational therapy, play therapy, follow DD to Abu Dhabi and be a housewife and get to do all the stuff I've always wanted to do.

Last option sounds really good, especially with my new hobby. I can imagine myself staying at home, actually learning to exploit the full powers of Photoshop, cross stitching, scrapbooking all my old photos according to various themes, learning to cook properly etc. Yet I can't help but think about what some people have said of me before. That I won't be a housewife. Because I am ambitious.

I remember telling my JC/uni friend during my uni days that I wanted to be a housewife. She laughed at me. The idea of staying at home and bringing up my kids personally really does sound enticing. But they are right. I won't be able to just sit still at home.

Anyway, just some random rambling. Haven't really blogged my thoughts in a while and a random thought wasn't what inspired me to blog. Two years... two years since I joined what some call "the Death Star" with 5 young men in the same position. Within the first year, three fell. Another one will officially join their ranks in a month's time but actually leave earlier. It'll just be me, and the scholar... What am I looking for in this job? A career? Really?

I digress. I blogged because as I was clearing my photos folder, I came across these. I think I may have posted this before, with the other one taken at the same time, but let's just post it again.

Putting up this photo inspired me to do this:

To cookie monster... may post-Death Star life bring new adventures in your life. =)

Wonder if he reads my blog?

2nd

Just completed this with DD...

My first digital scrapbook project

Made with free digital scrapbook kits... and lots of love of course!

Buys from Japan

I've never bought so much foodstuff in such a short period of time:

1. marinated salmon bits
2. royce chocolates - soft and hard types
3. kit kat - 3 types
4. green tea chocolates
5. a cob of corn (the corn in Hokkaido is very sweet!)
6. hichew milk candy - 2 types
7. Hello Kitty biscuits (for the tins)
8. assorted mochi from the airport
9. a mochi which was meant to have been lunch
10. red bean milk candy (only available in Hokkaido)
11. Hello Kitty soft candy (only available in Hokkaido)
12. chocolate-coated strawberries (only available in Hokkaido; wonder if they are really strawberries inside?)
13. shiroi koibito (choc biscuits from Hokkaido; supposed to be only available in Hokkaido but could be found at the airport too)
14. kelp
15. crispy mini crabs (after I bought them, someone told me that these could be found in Singapore)
16. dried scallops
17. kinokonoyama chocolates (biscuits with chocolate mushroom-shaped tops)
18. Tokachi cheesecake
19. Lychee flavoured chewing gum
20. Oreo chocolate bars
21. pudding from Hakodate

To colleagues who read my blog & ppl who have helped take care of DD while I was away: Some of these items (no, not the corn) would be in my cube on Monday for sampling. I'm too lazy to make rounds. =P So please feel free to drop by.

Also bought gifts for DD and some others - "others" i.e. people who I saw things that they would like/need. So not everyone gets lah... =P

And other buys for me... very happy that I bought a watch (finally! Swatch one too! At half price cos it's a display piece) and a new wallet (Burberry Blue Label - i.e. only available in Japan). Bought new Hello Kitty handphone accessories too. Hehe...

NH-112

At the airport, where I just received devastating news that MAN U LOST!!! *cry* But then again, at least they lost to Milan, which is my fav Italian team.

Gonna be away from DD for 9 days. Looking forward to the holiday cos it's with the gang (or half of it) so I'm sure it'll be fun. =) We're gonna rotate who we sit with on the bus so that the aunties will have to keep guessing who's Vin's girlfriend. muahaha... not my idea btw.

Hoping that work doesn't pile up while I'm gone. Feel a bit bad for ZS cos he's got lots of big things coming up which have the potential to explode at any time.

Look out for more posts!

Old vs New

Current Supervisor

First time she walked past my cube this morning, stared through my cube's little window:
you look sick.

When she walked past my cube at lunch:
you look sick.

When she walked past my cube in the afternoon:
I've got some flu medicine. You want?

When she walked past my cube in this evening:
Normally I'ld ask you to go home and rest, but we need to get this out to big big big boss.

After I sent her the impt doc, and before she went home:
You need a lift to the mrt station?

Old boss
scenario: I was sniffing and blowing my nose in his office while explaining something to him and waiting for his decision.

after 10 min
boss: are you sick?
me: having a bit of flu.
boss immediately moves himself AWAY from me.

see why I like my new bosses better? =P

I hate it when my sense of taste is lost in a cold. -_-

Fever

From hot and cold yesterday.

DD's on a two week trip. No DD to buy breakfast for till the 26th.

Falling behind on work... =P

Not buying breakfast till 26 Apr. =/

日本へ行ます！

After talking about it for a year, and almost a couple of months back because of the move weighing in my mind, we're gg to go japan again!

We had gone to Natas fair last weekend to look at what was available and hopefully find a package that we liked. After 2 trips to Natas and comparing between packages, we finally booked one (only to cancel and rebook another)! Was so scared that I wouldn't be able to take leave... Smsed JT who was on her way back from Japan to check if she though I could take leave. So happy when she said "should be no problem"! =)

Yet at the same time, one of my colleagues at apparently booked a package too. She's going on a family trip, which probably means that her family would have been thinking about it for a while right? Yet this person made a booking, probably knowing that that same week that she's gonna travel in, only her and another colleague were supposed to be in. Apparently her supervisor had said "no" to her leave application initially, but gave in after all. Sheesh.

Anyway, very excited about the trip! 2nd time I'm going to Japan! And around the same period as two years ago! Will be my 4th time travelling with Spinky, 3rd time travelling with Vin, and 2nd time travelling with Urnice! Too bad Veelo can't join us on this trip... Everyone's really enthusiastic about the trip and doing all sorts of research on what to do during the 2 free days in Tokyo. =)

YAY!!!

My last post was 2 days ago!

Inspired by Princess to blog.

My right eye got worse this morning. Thinking back on how it never used to hurt like this before they started "treating" my eye, I can't help but suspect malpractice somewhere... even like how they couldn't tell what was wrong with me till a whole month or more later? Or maybe it really hadn't been there then, and THEY caused the problem. hmmm....

Saw Gad, my part-time colleague from my previous dept, today. He commented that I looked different. I replied that "cos I'm no longer working under an oppressive boss!" Wonder if he took it as a joke or for real. =P

They offered DD something again. I don't really think as much on these issues as I probably should. I mean I did think a bit more about it after what DD said the other day, but I guess ultimately I believe that things will work out someway, somehow. =)

It's that time of the month again...

I dread seeing the doctor. I get frustrated before I go and get depressed after I'm done.

Had to change my appointment today. So I called the call centre yesterday and they weren't very helpful. Told me to call the clinic directly. The nurse at the clinic was more helpful, but as evident from today's visit, she never passed my message. -_-

Because of the change in time slot, I didn't get to see the regular doctor (MT). I saw that doctor (DS) who discharged me the last time. DS was in a better mood today and was more patient in explaining my condition. Even he was surprised that I was going back to see them so regularly. I felt quite exasperated to hear that I have to return again next month and asked about whether I could get a referral letter to see a doc elsewhere e.g. SNEC. The conversation went something like this:

DS: even if you go to another doctor, they'll tell u the same thing.

me: even if I go SNEC? I've seen the most senior doctor in this clinic and she couldn't tell what was wrong with me.

DS: our doctors are from SNEC. Like Dr MT and Dr RL whom you had seen previously. They shuttle between the clinic there and here.

me: are you from SNEC?

DS: no.

Ah ha. Knew it. sheesh. Trying to bluff me. I went on to tell him that the nurses in this hospital DON'T EVEN KNOW that the clinic is affiliated to SNEC. And about how I have no confidence in this clinic or the hospital.

DS was nice enough to be patient and try to address my concerns... by telling me to come back again next month and ask the SNEC doctors whether I should get a referral or not.

Sigh.

Almost a month since the last post!

Apologies. Haven't been blogging or reading blogs. Till yesterday, when DD mentioned that some ppl were avid readers of our blogs. Wonder if ppl have stopped reading after I haven't updated for so long?

A month into the new portfolio and I still let my old portfolio get to me. Found myself giving instructions to my former colleagues the other day. =P Don't really trust my sucessor also, especially after he took one month to handle something that I told him was of high priority. Don't like the way he kept putting in subject lines "FOR XX'S VIEWS PLEASE".

Struggling to keep up with my filing from my old portfolio too. Guess I should work out a schedule to file those old papers on a regular basis, before they haunt me.

In the meantime, for those who haven't heard, I've been disturbed by another co-worker. This guy spent office hours trying to get me to reply to him when he could be doing the work that he was supposed to do. Heard that he was loitering outside my office the day we all went for a retreat. Think he got reprimanded (or at least I hope he only got a warning) after I reported him. Hope it doesn't leave a deep mark in his career...

Ramblings on new things and old

Will be starting work in a different dept on a different floor tomorrow. Still remember the first few days in my first office - had to watch the video and answer questions fielded by my supervisor. The past 20 months have been interesting, filled with ups and downs. Although my portfolio was irritating at times, I guess I still enjoyed the work. =P Will miss my colleagues on the first floor...

The stress of this move seems to have taken its toll on my health. The rash on my neck is back - together with the swollen lymph nodes. Well, actually the lymph node on the right side swell b4 the rash, and I'm not exactly sure what caused this swelling. My eyesight's still a bit blur (or maybe it's the night-blindness). Wonder if the eye specialist can advise on my rash tomorrow?

I hear...

... the mrt zooming by a block away,

... the construction work on the 3G fitness area downstairs,

... the typing on my keyboard,

... the radio in my mum's room, and

... the snoring of a three-yr old sheep sleeping in my mum's room.

It's amazing how loudy a little one can snore.

ABMD

stands for "Anterior basement membrane dystrophy", which Doc #10+, surprisingly, was certain to be causing me grief. [Note: None of the docs before him had been this confident in diagnosing my condition.] Apparently, it is a corneal disorder that is characterized by recurrent erosions of the epithelium (skin like covering) of the cornea. This causes symptoms that may vary from mild irritation in the mornings to deeply painful episodes that are disabling.

Rewind to 2 saturdays ago
Was serving nursery at church. Had a pillowfight with two kids. Subsequently, eyes itched terribly.

Last tuesday
Cleaned up my cube.

Last wednesday/thursday
Eyes were super itchy. then i realised that my right eye's vision blurred.

Last friday
Called CGH to set an appt. After telling the nurse on the phone that my eye was hurting me, I was told that the next appt time was 22 FEBRUARY. -___- Nurse advised me to walk in at 3.30pm and that I would be the last patient. Which wasn't too bad, cos it was quite empty and I got to see the doc quite quickly.

Was quite pleased that the Doc who discharged me (let's call him Doc #6) wasn't around. 3-4 other docs took turns to see my eyes. Photos were taken. Discussions were held. Doc #7 (who had previously thought that eyeshadow = mascara) said I looked ridiculous (in reference to the amount of flakes/tissue fibres on my eye lids, resulting from the application of "excessive eye drops").

Conclusion: possibly viral. Unlikely bacteria or fungus. Was prescribed some lubricants to sooth my eyes and told to come back on Mon.

Monday (Today)
Saw Doc #6. -_- Had to correct him when he wrote "No CLW (contact lens wear) since Oct 06". [Note: I haven't worn contact lens since Oct 05.] Thankfully, he called for a senior doc's (Doc #10+) advice. Doc #10+ was quite confident when he diagnosed me as suffering from ABMD and a viral infection. Was quite frank too, when he said that it might take months to heal. Oh well. At least they've identified (or so they think) what the causes are.

On hearing my response to his queries on my pastimes, Doc #10+ remarked that he thought cross-stitching was dead. He was in disbelief when I described my sedentary life i.e. office, online games, stitching, occasional badminton, cos of the lack of exposure to irritants. Made me wonder if springcleaning my cube caused this recent spate of discomfort. =P

Itchy

Eyes have been extremely dry and itchy the last few days, especially at the inner corners of my eyes. And I think they've been rubbed/scratched so much that things look out of focus. Someone suggested that maybe I'm going blind.

Maybe.

Had a bad day

Was hoping to take next Friday off to go shopping with Spinky and the rest. But two hrs after I told her that should be ok, I found out that I would be involved in a meeting.

Was quite frustrated with a colleague for constantly emailing me instead of walking over to discuss the matter.

And my supervisor told me that I had no chance to take leave. He pointed out that they had requested to extend my current stint so that I could handover my work. Turns out he didn't know that the other dept had probably wanted me to go over even earlier.

Then I come home and find out that our dear little sheep has misplaced something of importance to me.

The title sums it all.

Saturdays

Last Saturday, I joined the alumni choir for their practice. Haven't sang in a choir since we graduated in 2000. Haven't read a score since 2002. Forgot how to keep count of the tau gays. =P

It felt nice to be singing in a choir again. =) Guess I really missed singing... But I don't know if I will be able to commit the time. Don't know if my workload will increase with the change of portfolio coming up. Don't want to practice with them, only to be unable to perform when the time comes. It'll be letting down the rest of the choir... And to join the choir would mean that I won't be able to serve nursery duty anymore. =/

Maybe I need to pray harder.

Rainy day...

Princess commented that my dressing today was pretty good. =) Wore a dark brown top with brown pants and cream shoes. When she asked what colour my bag was, I could see it coming. When I said "Black", I knew that disapproving look would come. At the end of our talk, I got a cream coloured bag to match my outfit and was told to expect an umbrella too. LOL.

Waited really long at the Doc's today. Really doesn't help that I really don't like CGH much. At one point, the doc walked out of his room to call the name of the next patient - an auntie. Maybe he wanted to indicate that the door should be closed after the patient went in cos the doc didn't even wait for the auntie to go in, and semi-closed the door on the auntie. tsk tsk.

It's Tuesday

Means no WoW. Down for maintenance. -_-

Sleepy.

First post of the new year!

The year started long - first day at work and I had to work till 10+. The rotation has been more or less confirmed, meaning that I've got a little more than a month to do my filing and prepare to handover to whoever's taking over.

Sad to say, I am now a WoW addict. If time allows, I spend around 3 hrs a day on it. Which is practically all of my home online time playing rather than chatting or blogging. DD has been feeling a bit moody cos of that...

Been thinking about joining Chorale. Guess I miss singing in a choir. Probably why I hadn't mind singing with the office choir for National Day observance ceremonies the last two years. =P Chorale's short of altos this year and it's concert year... Wonder if I can commit the time though. Anyone else interested?

Thank God...

for the excellent weather in the Maldives.

It had been unusually rainy the few days before I left for the Maldives (on Tuesday night) and I had feared that the rain would put a damper on the visit. However, God's intervention ensured not the weather was not only clear, but also not too humid or too sunny. Excellent weather for outdoor activities. =)

Evaluation Forms

Been in the mood to complete evaluation forms recently. Sparked off by poor service and lousy food at Swensons, followed by poor service at Sketches and TCC and today, poor service and lousy food at Old Beijing in Plaza Singapura.

Had a craving for soup and a light dinner so we opted for Chinese food. We ordered xiao long bao, noodles, an appetiser and a plate of stir-fried seasonal greens. If I recall correctly, the menu said "Quick Seasonal Greens", which was spinach tonight. But it was anything but quick.

The noodles and the appetiser came in good time, mebbe around 10 minutes after we ordered, but the xiao long bao and veggies didn't. After finished the food in front of us, we decided that we had waited patiently enough so we asked the waitress to check what happened. She didn't get back to us. About 10 min later (half hr after we ordered), we asked the waitress again to check. She came back to say that the chef was making the xiao long bao on the spot as they had sold out. When we asked again about the veggies, she said that the spinach had also sold out. We decided to cancel the veggies and just have xiao long bao.

DD decided that it was time to fill an evaluation form. At the same time, the xiao long bao came. It was terrible. While xiao long baos are known to be soupy (you're suppose to bite the top and suck up all the soup inside before eating the bao), these were dry, with mebbe less than 3 ml of soup inside. And the meat was very salty.

We pondered if the dryness was cos the food was Beijing-styled, but that didn't make sense cos it was called "xiao long tang (soup) bao" in the menu. Ended up filling it in Chinese. =P Complained about the poor quality of the xiao long bao. The restaurant threw in two bowls of free dessert (longans with aloe vera) for making us wait so long. But even the dessert was mediocre.

We gave them the evaluation form and drank lots of tea to wash the saltiness away. When we called for the bill, they told us that they wouldn't charge for the xiao long bao since we had commented on its poor quality. They informed us that it was the chef's first day at work today so the quality was below par.

Even so, was very disappointed with the restaurant, especially since it belongs to the Tung Lok group.

If we had known that they wouldn't charge us for the xiao long bao, DD and I wouldn't have bothered to finish that salty thing which resembled unfried guotie more than xiao long bao. =P

Bad day at work...

... was saved by an angel.

Was very tempted to complain about work. Was really upset and angry. Suddenly, I remember something my colleague told me today.

My colleague Alicia is the best DSO in Singapore (and according to her, Batam too). Even though I pile last minute work on her, she always manages to do it with a smile. DD's gonna be sitting at my directorate's table for D&D in Jan. Today, Alicia came by to collect money for the D&D. As she stood at the entrance to my tsunami-stricken cubicle, I pointed out that DD didn't have any dietary restrictions. She asked why and I explained.

She was happy for me. That DD was prepared to face his family's objections to be with me. She laughed when I told her that I haven't really told Mum about DD's background but was happy that at least I won't have to convert. She encouraged me to try to guide him along God's ways. While I tried to tell her that DD was unlikely to want to convert, she advised that no harm trying and pointed out that one of her fellow church-goer was married to a non-Christian. And shared her own experiences with people in mixed marriages.

Didn't expect Alicia to share this perspective but I'm really glad she did. Cos if there's one thing that really made my day, it was her words of encouragement.

Thank God for placing people like Alicia in my life. =)

DTO

On leave today. After much persuasion by Princess and co, decided to try and relax at home and avoid thinking about work. Suppose to recover from that persistent flu that has been preventing me from breathing properly too. Oh. And to stop me from spreading more germs. =P

I'm breathing relatively normally now. At least my nose isn't runny anymore. There's still a bit of phlegm in my throat but it doesn't irritate me that much. However, trying to relax and not think about work is really difficult. Even though I've only gone online twice to check some emails this morning, as opposed to staying glued to my email all morning.

Try as I might to not think about work, there's still much to do from home. I guess it's cos I haven't really had a covering officer on certain issues, so it's difficult to hand-over to someone else to handle. And just realised that I need to make that Jan trip. =/ Darn.

Sick

I don't recall having been this sick this year. Nose is blocked 80% of the day and cough sounds super phlegm-y. Woozy most of the day too. I think it's the pills. I need to find a doctor nearby who would give me more than a 2-minute inspection and just prescribe antibiotics and drowsiness-inducing pills WITHOUT a MC. I mean, how do they expect you to be drowsy, and still work or study?

It's a not-so-sunny-Sunday, perfect for walking around. But feel kind of tired (despite the 10-hours of sleep). Gotta do laundry once Mum's done...

The door of the toilet in the master bedroom...

... is broken. We can't close it completely and I think if we close it too tightly, it might just jam. So we close it just lightly jam in the door frame. Pretty obvious that there's someone in there when the door is close so nobody would try to open the door.

Except him:

Meet Yang Yang. This three-year old kid is my mum's student. She's been babysitting him after school every day for a few hours in the evening cos his parents have to work late.

The above-mentioned toilet is used as a changing room. I came home yesterday and was greeted by his "Cheh Cheh". I went straight to the toilet to change clothes. As I was changing, I could hear him call "Cheh Cheh, Cheh Cheh", getting louder and louder... and the next thing I knew, this cute little thing had barged into my changing space. =P Thankfully, I had just managed to finish changing. =P

We think this little monster might eat us out of house and home. As I was eating dinner at the PC yesterday and had just took up my first spoonful, he ran to me and opened his mouth widely, expecting to be fed. Sis says that earlier, he had eaten as much rice as her for dinner! Mum gave him about 1/4 to 1/2 a bowl of rice, which upon completion, he still requested for more. Growing child indeed. =P

Watch this space for more updates on Yang Yang's escapades!

One of those days...

... that I get really depressed at work. And like the last one that I remembered being this depressed, possibly also cos I was missing someone. Just that the someone is a different one now.

... that I think about whether I really am cut out for the job.

... that I wonder why I'm always clearing backlog.

... that I would feel happy to be a housewife.

... that I wish he was here.

On Leave

Took the afternoon off cos I was going to spend the whole morning at the doctor's.

My regular doctor wasn't in today The doctor that I saw today happened to be my JC senior. =) What a coincidence. At least she found me familar. Anyway, she took a look at my eyes and referred me to the registrar, who thought I was recovering well (just tiny specks now) but shouldn't get discharged yet. So I'll be going back again in two weeks.

Yesterday, took time during lunch to accompany DD to the cemetery. I think that was my first visit to a cemetery here. Didn't think he should be going alone, and wanted to be there for him. So I went. We were hoping to get fast food and ice cream for lunch on our way back but the rain was a major deterrence. Oh well. It's better to skip the ice cream anyway. Getting fat. =P

24 roses for 24 candles...

DD had been planning to surprise me for a while... And surprised I was. He had contemplated blindfolding me and leading me onto the taxi so that he could tell the driver where to bring us w/o me hearing it. But he didn't have to - all he needed to do was to tell the driver where to go b4 I boarded the taxi. =)

Had to keep my eyes closed near the end of the taxi ride. When we arrived at our destination, he helped me out of the taxi, and led me to a waiting point. It was so scary to walk with my eyes closed, even though he was leading me along. I guess it was the uncertainty of walking blind. I held onto something while he went off for a short while.

I couldn't help taking a glance and saw DD queueing to buy tickets. Thought we were at Singapore River and that he was going to bring me on a bum boat ride. I confessed to have opened my eyes for a sec and guessed where we were. DD didn't realised that I had guessed wrongly and let me open my eyes. And I saw a huge balloon in front of me. =P

DD had brought me to the DHL hot air balloon... Decided to be sporting and kept my eyes closed as he led me from the pavement into the balloon. The view was pretty good; too bad the day was a bit hazy...

After that, dinner. DD had thought to flag down a taxi but we were on the wrong side of the road. =P So we took a leisurely walk... and ended up at Curry Favor at Capitol Building. We didn't really know where the main entrance was so stumbled into Moon River next door, which was apparently a sister outlet.

We had curry for dinner. Don't usually eat Jap curry cos I prefer sushi but it was pretty good. =) DD called for the bill and went to the front of the restaurant to check out their credit card promos. Next thing I knew, the waitress came with a Robinsons plastic bag and the biggest bouquet I'd ever gotten. Pretty much guessed that the present was a Barbie doll when I felt the box. =P

After dinner, we walked around the area:
Capitol -> Raffles City -> Citylink -> Esplanade -> Merlion Park -> Old Merlion Park -> Along Singapore River (Boat Quay?) -> past Parliament House -> past Funan the IT Mall -> stopover at Peninsula to buy green tea -> back to Capitol!

By the time we got back to Capitol, it was only 1015 or so. Felt like it was too early to go home. Asked DD if I could go to his place to play playstation games but he wasn't too keen and suggested that we could just take a bus ride to his place and from his place back to mine. Felt a bit let down... and DD caved in and brought me home. =P

While DD set up his playstation, I logged into my msn account on his PC. Chatted with CTC who is currently on course in India. We played a few games of Solitaire Showdown too. After that, we played a few Neopets games (Yes, I'm still playing Neopets games). Then we moved onto playstation and played a few rounds of Dynasty Warriors 3.

By the time we were tired, it was around 3+. The same thought crossed our minds - hit the swings. =) [Note: My favourite part of a playground is the swing.] As I sat on the swing, briefly reflected on the year that had passed... all the ups and downs and pondered if I had actually grown up over the last year. At 0354 hrs, DD brought me to the bench and sang me the birthday song... and popped out the final surprise of the day. =)

For my birthday, treated DD to lunch at T-mall. We had thought to go blading after that but the sky looked threatening and I didn't think I should be carrying blades on his bike. =P So at my suggestion, we went to Escape Theme Park. Only to find that it's only open on weekends! Sheesh... Since Wild Wild Wet was open and home was nearby, we rode home again to pick up my swimsuit. Spent an afternoon at Wild Wild Wet before dinner at Lemongrass to satisfy my craving for pineapple rice. =P

Thank you, DD for spending time with me to remember my 24th birthday...

24 roses for 24 candles

As Princess Di puts it, here's the list of people who love me:

• DD
• Bee
• CTC
• Eunice
• Vic
• Tan Kin Lian (apparently NTUC Income is now heading paperless with their birthday greetings - no egreeting card either; just a standard sms and a standard email telling you to go check their birthday treats links. Talk about being personal. sheesh.)
• Vin
• Di
• Xinyi
• Alicia
• Kon
• Edwin
• Poh Ling
• Denise
• Vim
• YT
• Kim
• Peo
• WJ
• Ivy
• XY
• Qin
• KJ
• and many more I'm sure, who might take a while to remember whether they love me or not. [Note: At the time stamped on this post, you still have 4 h 43 min before you need to add the word "belated". =P]

Well anyway, thanks to everyone for their well wishes! Praying for a better year ahead, less blur, more efficient. =) Will blog about my two-day celebrations soon...

One day more...

Sis just showed me the new tee and shorts that she bought for exercise. Looks too small for me. She says that that just means that I'ld have to lose weight before I can fit.

-_______-

Inefficiency

Very slow with work. And very disorganised - not just my desk, but also the way I work. Wonder if it's cos the period after YCE "quit" my dept, I regained my original portfolio at the peak amount of work to be done so I never really recovered from that even though I held on to the work for just 3 months... Just hoping to catch up with my work at some point in time... soon.

Met up w Peo and HD for dinner today. The ultimate LSR fan couldn't join us cos she had last minute job commitments. =P Haven't met them since X'mas last year, I think. Been so long! HD had her hair permed and is taking piano lessons now. Peo has become a fitness enthusiast and just keeps slimming down. Too bad I don't have the motivation to run twice a week like she does. =P Had dinner at Swensens at Parkway, which had terrible service. Food was terrible too. Won't ever go there again.

It was fun catching up with them. Peo's teaching in an all-girls sch while HD's back at our alma mater. We got HD to update us on how our former teachers are doing... and were amazed to know that some teachers have remained at status quo since we left school 8 years ago.

The perennial question of whether we would all make careers out of our jobs popped up in our conversation. The Today article a couple of weeks back also reminded us that it would be difficult for us to return to our "roots".

Peo, HD and I are a lot alike in certain ways, e.g. we haven't learned to drive. I suspect that the three of us (and quite possibly the ultimate LSR fan too) are also the kind who are too comfortable in our jobs to explore other options. =P Peo and HD commented that I'd been the most on-the-ball member of our group back in university. Wonder what had happened to me over the last year and half.

Must be the dehydration. *wink*

Dehydrated, I am

Here's what I drank today:

6.30 am: 1 glass of water
1 - 2 pm: half a bottle of Snapple Pink Lemonade
2 - 7 pm: quarter bottle of Snapple Pink Lemonade
8.45 pm: half bowl of soup
9.30 pm: a gulp of water

I find that every morning, if I start clearing emails before I get my mug of water, 80% chance that I won't drink water that whole morning. =P Recall reading somewhere that being dehydrated affects your thinking (I suppose cos water is such an important part of your body). Maybe that's why I'm getting more inefficient. haha.

Eye ok...

Went for check up today. Doc says my eyes are recovering well... =) It wasn't a microsporidia infection after all. Doc said that these were possible remnants of a viral infection previously. Just need to use antibiotic eye drops for another few days to make sure it's ok, and return for another check up in 3 weeks time to make sure that it's fully healed.

Got a 1 day MC to rest at home. =)

Words of Wisdom

"With girls like you, it's no wonder guys like your brother don't dare to date."

- Mummy Cat

A clear sign that angel-seekers should find look elsewhere.

if u get one male rabbit and one female rabbit...

u will end up with many little bunnies.

cos rabbits can shag all day.

... so he said.

Wanted to go shopping w my sis today. But she's got class and tuition. Oh well. Next time then.

Send-offs...

Went to the airport earlier to send off Spinky, Aki and Aki's mum, who have embarked on a one-week trip to South Korea. Wish I could have gone with them... not cos I've very keen to visit South Korea, more cos it's fun to travel with your close buddies. =) While waiting around, we pondered if the large tour group size (40!) would affect the dynamics of the tour group, and recalled how we were like when we went Japan last year! And such a coincidence that our Japan-based tour guide was at the same check-in counter! Though we didn't get a chance to go up to him.

A visit to the airport would not be complete without taking photos of those present and waving endlessly till the tourists pass the wall that blocks our view of them from outside.

At least it's comforting to know that Vin has confirmed that he would complete his studies in time for a visit to Japan next year to catch sight of sakuras! Looking forward to the trip immensely. =) Vin! You must pad yourself up before we go!

Baby... 你就是我的唯一...

The very first live paid concert that I've attended! It's so cool to be in a stadium watching a live performance. =) Eyes couldn't stop tearing but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. =)

Spinky and I were given inflatable balloons that said "I Sony Ericsson my hero" on one side and the name of the concert on the other:

My balloons deflated pretty quickly. -____- While Spinky's managed to stay firm throughout. =P

As expected, he concluded with "唯一" *swoon* Was hoping that he'ld do a piano solo as he sang that but it's still wonderful with the band. =) After the concert, Spinky and I attempted to catch sight of him leaving the stadium but only saw a dishy "side dish" - his 20-yr old Aussie guitarist Chris, who's doesn't know anyone in Singapore (according to Lee Hom) and is probably like 1.8m tall. =P

Anyway, Spinky and I resolved to buy tickets on the ground level (instead of at terrace level i.e. low/mid-priced tickets) for future concerts. =) And we concluded that the concerts that we are likely to want to go are Jay's, Mayday's and of course, Lee Hom's next one.

Oh Spinky! Realised why we only counted about 7 albums when "蓋世英雄" is supposed to be album no. 10 - "公轉自轉" was actually his 4th album. =)

I'm sure Spinky's preparing a full report on yesterday's concert so keep a look out for it on her blog!

Streaming

Took leave today. Took a nap at 5 pm. Woke up at 7+ pm thinking that it was the middle of the night cos the house was dead silent. So weird to be home on a Friday night, and on the eve of a public holiday at that.

But this couldn't be helped. My right eye can't stop tearing. Went for a follow-up check up this morning. To date, FIVE eye specialists have inspected my eyes. At least they seem to have come to a conclusion of what I'm suffering from - Microsporidia infection. Microsporidia is a fungus, which I distinctively recall studying about in Microbiology class in year 4. Though I can't remember what it looks like, or what characteristics it has. Shall google it later.

So anyway, the doctors said that the infection is on the superficial layers of my cornea, so it's not that deep to require operation. In fact, the specks on my left eye are apparently healing; some are just forming scars. However, the specks on my right eye (apparently there are two of them now) were quite large and the doctors were concerned. So the doctor ordered photos of my eye to be taken for the records. Then she put some numbing eyedrops (local anasthetic) in my eye and scraped it with a needle. She promptly transferred the cells to a microscopic slide where she had earlier used red marker to draw a circle around where she would place the cells. Reminds me of the good old days... =P

The doctor gave me a prescription of painkillers (Ponstan), to be ingested after food and with anti-gastric pills. The same pills that I got after my teeth extraction during my orthodontics treatment 3 years ago. The doctor had warned me that it would be painful. Thought it couldn't be more painful than the teeth extraction BUT I WAS WRONG. I guess the painkillers worked better with teeth. =P Eye has a stinging pain and can't stop tearing, which results in a runny nose. Think I've lost lots of water today through tears. Hope my eye won't be too swollen tomorrow morning. And that it'ld be a lot better cos I still want to enjoy the Lee Hom concert with Spinky tomorrow night!

On a lighter note, my primary doctor's quite cute. She keeps asking me if I needed a MC, and kept checking what my allergies are. =P And I'm still quite amused at the number of doctors who have seen me. Should really thank the optician who spotted the specks in the first place. And thank the Cell for praying for me. =) and Prozac from being my consultant. And you-know-who for sticking with me through the process. *hugs*

4D Draw No: 2449

And my extension had struck third prize less than 2 weeks before this. =P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUOXI-GUA!

Thankful for differences in timezones. =P

Good night...

D***: going to bed....talk to ya later

me: nite

me: later when? in ur dreams ah? =P

D***: oookkk....u very lor sor leh

me: =P

Specks

I think this is what my eyes look like under magnification:



Plucked it off the website which was on the eye specialist's monitor.

See those white specks? I think I've got like three or so in my left eye, and one in my right. =P

What happens when I take penicillin?

I don't know. Ever since I've been aware of what a drug allergy is, I've known that I'm allergic to penicillin.

Spent the whole morning with three doctors - one at the polyclinic, one at CGH's A&E, one at CGH's eye clinic. All ladies.

The optician had said they could be abrasion marks.

The polyclinic doctor said I could have corneal ulcers.

The A&E doctor said I should see the eye specialist immediately.

The eye specialist said:

• There were some white specks in my right eye too, but they aren't as serious as my left.
• My eyes are extremely dry. (Always knew that they were dry, just didn't know that they were EXTREMELY dry. Wonder if the dryness of my eyes is why I doze off so well. =P)
• My eyelids are oily.

She also asked the question in the subject line, and why I took so long to see a doctor (since I first saw the optician on Sunday). Gave me various instructions (wet eyelids with warm water, don't wear contacts etc) and told me to come back for a follow-up checkup on Monday morning.

Was hit by a bout of tears while at the pharmacy. Don't think it's the I-feel-sorry-for-myself tears. Didn't feel like I could scramble home and get ready to attend a friend's wedding at 2 pm, so had to ask people to send congratulations on my behalf.

Prozac advised that if they really are corneal ulcers, I shouldn't even think of EVER wearing contacts. AND that no lasik for me cos the ulcers would have worn out my corneas a little already. =P

Oh well. Specs for life? =P

White specks...

... in my left eye are preventing me from collecting my contact lenses.

Next step: to the polyclinic.

Decisions

I meant to post this two days ago.

People have been asking me for my response to a decision that someone close had made, mainly if I was happy that the decision had gone this way, rather than that way.

I guess my first instinct when told of the decision that was to be made, was confusion. And I never really figured out why I was confused. Hence, when the decision had been made, I was just glad that it happened, rather than really think about its consequences.

Got myself a blog tracker recently, and saw some of the pages that led people to my blog... And I stumbled across some of my favourite old posts; like the ones of my dear cousins and the ones on my favourite movies/songs.

"Why do u think that everybody always think that relationships are suppose to last forever?" - I think that's a quote from "Before Sunrise". Which I had been watching by myself in 2004, when I should have been studying for my Hons yr Sem 1 exams. =P I remember wishing that I was watching it with someone, rather than by myself. Recently, yt commented that it (or Before Sunset) was the ultimate chick flick (i think).

"Are relationships meant to last forever? If they were, people won't have to break up, would they? Or were these people just thinking that they were in a relationship, and did not fully understand the definition of a "relationship"?

眼睛坏了？

Just went to the optician's. First time that I visit this particular shop. The optician put some stain in my eyes, looked at them and asked if my left eye (the astigmatic one) felt more uncomfortable than my right one.

She later explained there there could be a tear in my cornea (or possibly detached retina cells). She'ld have to take a look again in a few days times when my lenses are ready. After she made that comment, it struck me that my left eye HAD felt more uncomfortable than my right; it tends to feel drier.

Hope it's not serious.

Badminton

Haven't played since secondary school i think. Don't recall having played that in JC. Showed off my total lack of pyschomotor skills yesterday. *laugh* Didn't do any warm-ups before starting so in less than 10 minutes, pulled a muscle in the back of my left thigh. Ouch.

The haze is getting from bad to worse. Down with flu today. =( It's gonna be a lazy day today...

Kiss Goodbye...

Baby 不要再哭泣
这一幕多么熟悉
紧握着你的手彼此都舍不得分离
每一次想开口 但不保持安静
给我一分钟专心
好好欣赏你的美

幸福搭配悲伤
同时在我心交叉
挫折的眼泪不能测试爱的重量
付出的爱收不回
还欠你的我不能给
别把我心也带走 去玉碎

每一次和你分开
深深地被你打败
每一次放弃你的温柔痛苦难以释怀
每一次和你分开
每一次Kiss You Goodbye
爱情的滋味此刻我终于最明白

幸福搭配悲伤
同时在我心交叉
挫折的眼泪不能测试爱的重量
付出的爱收不回
还欠你的我不能
我才明白爱最真实的滋味

每一次和你分开
深深地被你打败
每一次放弃你的温柔痛苦难以释怀
每一次和你分开每一次Kiss You Goodbye
爱情的滋味此刻我终于最明白

上的山多，终遇虎。

heard this song on the shuttle to work just now... Must have been from my sec 3/4 days:

想著你的好　不知道何時才能擁你 在我的懷抱　
也不想預料 能否等到所謂天荒地老
但是我　只要專心地看著你一秒
就聽見我的心跳　又在胸口燃燒

我要求不高　只希望每次邀你入夢 你不會遲到　
要讓你知道 你的歡喜悲傷我都想要
因為我　最愛看到你甜蜜的微笑
小小的一種需要　不會被誰動搖

認識你真好知不知道
只有你可以讓我把煩惱忘掉
認識你真好一切都變得不重要
是你讓我覺的驕傲

一生也好　一天也好 不耽心時間太少　至少我
不必再尋找　誰的溫柔才夠好
讓我擁抱


“你”是谁呢？

Warning

Was chatting with Weiqi at Kembangan mrt when the train pulled up. A surprisingly large group of people got off the train. As i was boarding the train, an old man tottered to the door. He hadn't stepped out yet and the door closed on him. Thankfully, he was able to pull back and avoid getting stuck. At Bedok mrt, a lady said to her companion "we'd better stand closer to the door before we suffer the same fate". They got off at Tanah Merah mrt.

I can't believe the train driver did that. It was terrible! The poor old man was visibly dazed. Lodged a complaint at Tampines mrt... Hopefully it'll have some effect.

I dare you to love me...

is what a lily represents.

8487

My colleague just pointed this out. The 3rd prize number forms the last 4 digits of my office number. 4th time that numbers related to me have struck 4D/toto... First time was my hp number...

Bruise

That's the mark just above my right elbow. Got it somehow from paintball today I guess. Though I really don't remember getting hit there.

Paintball was... breath-taking. Literally. Suffering from the severe lack of exercise, I was. It was quite fun. =) Quite amazed at how no one really noticed me in the last game in which i shooting left, right, over the target. Despite the fact that I was wearing a bright red top which everyone commented to be "excellent" for camouflage. =P

All roads lead to OCC - it's just a matter of how long it takes. For a while, we thought we might end up in Johor and panicked over the lack of passports. Nonetheless, our driver WJ deserves a big thanks for showing us parts of Singapore which we might have not seen before. =)

WENT TO SEE LEE HOM@JUNCTION 8! Quite glad that I did. Nice poster. =) Too bad he was looking away when I went up to him. He was less than a metre away! I'm pretty sure the Ultimate LSR fan's sister was out there somewhere. Made a pathetic attempt at being a screaming fan. =P Should practise so as not to disappoint Spinky at the concert on the 21st. For more details, check out Spinky's latest blogpost.

"imagine me doing a chicken little dance"

should always remember that when i feel like sighing. =P

Angels shouldn't keep sighing

The drama serial was at a scene where this woman professed her love for her good friend and pleaded with him not to leave her. He told her that maybe she didn't really love him, and that maybe she only thought she loved him cos the feelings that she put in were not reciprocated.

I've felt that way before. Had a crush on someone and thought that maybe I really liked him and was crushed that he didn't reciprocate it. Some time later, when that someone suggested that we could give things a try, I realised that I didn't really like him after all.

As an aside, Princess said today that she liked me less now cos I've put on weight. *sob*

Angels should be happy... laughing and smiling and feeling joyous.

Head aches

Probably from insufficient sleep. Or possibly the on/off flu I've had the whole day. Shall sleep early tonight.

Drove my sis away from the PC to see if some friends whom I needed to talk to were online. Some weren't; the ones who were... don't seem to be interested in chatting. Oh well.

Visited my pregnant former labmate today. =) So happy for her... Apparently, a name that had been tossed up were "PPT" as in PupPyTail (not "PowerPoinT" or "PreciPiTate") cos the baby will arrive in this world at the end of the Doggy Year (hence the name "Puppytail"). However, the couple decided that their daughter would be named Phoebe (after "Phoebe" in Friends) cos they still wanted a "P" name. =)

We are who we think.

Chocolate Milk and Milk Chocolate

I meant Chocolate Milk and White Chocolate actually. =P

In commemoration of Delhi...

Just got this from Disa... =)

"Attached" Syndrome

I've been meaning to blog about this topic for some time.

A week ago, a friend of mine blogged about how almost every girl she knew had at some point in time made a piece of handicraft for their boyfriends and pondered if girls are just trying to highlight our femininity or whether it is our innate ability to "turn" feminine when we are attached.

I'm one of those girls who make stuff for friends. I guess always feel that the personal touch would have a greater effect. Also cos in those days when I didn't get much pocket money, making things was always the cheaper option. =P Of course, each object came with a message... Like the roses for the choir pals that mark every christmas... (did i make any last year? memory failing me le... =P ) or the ez-link cards to commemorate 10 years of friendship... Or the cookies and cakes...

I hate baking for myself because although I enjoy baking nice stuff, it's meaningless when there's no one to share your joy in eating them. Therefore, I only bake when it's for someone else. And since the dear sister dislikes the cakes that I bake, the only cake that i bake regularly (or at least try to) is cheesecake for Godma. I'ld usually bake cookies.

I guess for me, baking stuff for the people that you love and the people around them makes me happy. Applies to making crafts too. It's nice to know that people appreciate the effort that you put into making something for them. And if its for that extra special guy, then it just makes me feel extra happy. =P

And when you meet someone who wouldn't be able to appreciate the hard work that you put into honing your baking skills (from failing in sec 2 home economics class to today's decent cookies), you can't help but feel a bit disappointed I guess.

Tired.

Surfing@Citylink. Feet are aching. Allowed to take day off tomorrow. Ton of work waiting to be settled. Will the boss let me? Should I? *yawn*

Am I just looking for someone who is there when I need him and not there when don't?

Sweet

The taste of the 3 or 4 pcs of chocolates that I ate today.

The taste of the ice cream last Saturday.

The word that most people seem to use to describe me with. I think I've actually used it on myself... in JC 1 when Mr Goh told us to add an adjective to our names. =P Sometimes I wonder if my "sweet" demeanour is just a front...

It's been a year since Delhi. To the 12th FSBP, Happy Delhi Anniversary! 5 (including Disa) have left us for greener pastures. To the survivors, thanks for hanging around. =)

Oh... And found out today that I'm a size 35 for Raoul shirts, i.e. can't fit, since they only have even sizes... =P

两情若是久长时, 又岂在朝朝暮暮

Of ribs and *sniff sniff* vinegar

Came across a poster on "occupational stress" at work today. After taking a quick glance at the list, I concluded that I'm probably suffering from that. Been so forgetful recently...

As I was going home today, was suddenly hit by an exceptionally strong thought. Wonder why...

Visiting a fellow mouse-killer this weekend... Looking forward to tasting vinegared pig trotters next year. =)

Made a new friend today. =)

If I was strict about the friends classification system, an acquaintance who was bordering friend was promoted to friend status today. =) Funny how it happened though. Out of boredom. Haha...

He offered me some advice and reminded me that one doesn't need to go out with someone else on "single dates" to get to know one another better. That somethings can't be changed, so people need to find a comfortable acceptance level. To take time to know someone.

Ice cream wasn't the only thing that melted today.

Air Fresheners

You know those air fresheners that people spray their washrooms with? Was in the cubicle in the washroom just now when i heard the distinct "pish! pish! pish!"sound of violent spraying outside. When I stepped out of the cubicle, I was greeted with the choking smell of air freshener. The toilet wasn't even stinky before. Sheesh.

Have you ever felt heavy hearted but unable to cry?