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...