Happy New Year...

Been a long time since my last post. I guess cos it's so easy to just post one-liners in FB that I hardly blog these days. Wonder how many people actually come by to check if there are any updates. =P

It's that time of the year again. Spinky's annual NYE sleepover. First time I'm missing it. First time I'm spending NYE with the Hubby since we started dating.

I always look forward to our gatherings at Spinky's, especially the NYE ones - we talk about nonsense, play silly games, watch tv and sometimes have a marathon drama serial session, eat a lot, doze off on her couches... Or pack ourselves in her bedroom and talk about personal stuff till the last person dozes off. Really appreciate her parents for hosting us time and again.

Was that how the sleepover started? Because we just wanted to hang out with each other all night long? Don't remember exactly when it started but probably around 2002/2003...

I do remember that I started the scavenger hunt in the NYE of 2004. I gave everyone an EZ link card to commemorate 10 years of friendship among the DHS members of our group and friendship in general. I called Spinky's mum to arrange to go to their place a few days before NYE to hide the cards and place the clues. I remember Spinky came home from dance class before I was done, so I hung around and greeted her when she got home. Think that was 9+ pm. I even joined them for dinner. I think we had pork ribs with lotus root soup. MMMMM... soup. Anyway, after the hunt, Spinky that she had stumbled on one of the clues after I hid them.

Over the years, we hung around at Spinky's longer and longer - we used to go home after brunch, but these days we go home after dinner on NYD. Two years ago, when Spinky moved house, we moved with her. But the sleepovers continued. Some of us might not make it there before 12 midnight, but we make it a point to go over to her place at some point in the night or the next day.

Next year marks 10 years since we met each other in VJC. Since we graduated, many things have changed. Some of us have changed jobs a couple of times, some have gotten married (well, one i.e. me) or are planning their weddings...

Despite what we've been through in our own lives over the last 10 years, we're still pretty much the same people we were 10 years ago when we get together. There are subtle changes, e.g. more serious issues have creeped into our NYD pre-brunch discussion topics, but it feels like we've never grown up... and I think that's why I always look forward to the sleepovers.

As much as I hope that the NYE sleepovers will go on year after year, reality will eventually catch up - would it still be possible to have the same kind of sleepovers now that we're married, or when we have our own kids?

All good things must come to an end. Just not right now, I hope.

Updates on Miumew

Miumew is now 3x the size she was when she first came. You can feel the pressure of her weight when she walks across your rib cage. My arm became numb after she slept on it. This didn't use to happen.

Her coat is more grey now - her undercoat used to be white but it's taken on a light grey tint. Her eyes are also showing a very light blue tint.

The hubby hasn't been able to trim her claws because she's always so excited to see him home at the end of the work day. I think she's squirreled the claw clipper away too. Hopefully we can find it soon. She sank a claw in my foot yesterday, and scratched my lower eyelid in bed this morning.

She still likes to bite and scratch - anywhere except the scratching post. She left a scratch mark on my right forearm this morning, parallel to the one she left on the same arm 3+ weeks ago.

She hasn't quite taken to her new toy though. It's a cat massage centre. Got something for her to bite to stimulate her gums, and textured surfaces to massage her when she rubs her body against them. Too bad she doesn't know that. =P

SKII Facial

My sister sent me a link to a promotion for $50 off an SKII facial so I went yesterday.

It started with a skin analysis - you know, one of those machines that magnify your skin wherever the scope rolls over. The therapist showed me what good skin and bad skin looked like. First time I did such a thing. Was mildly grossed out.

As my skin was rather "dull", the therapist recommended that I take the illuminating radiance (or something like that) facial, which was the third least expensive (normal price $160). Since I haven't been for a facial in a long time and I had been running around Little India and Chinatown the past two days while recovering from a flu, I decided to pamper myself and go with it.

(On a side note, I also pampered myself with a good lunch at The Handburger. Food tastes good, but I wouldn't recommend you order the onion rings and I guess similarly, the calamari. It tasted good - onion rings were sweet, batter was crispy, but it was WAY too oily.)

The facial itself was supposed to be an hour. I think it took 1h 15 min in all. It was pretty good. My face still feels "firmer" than usual (although it could be a psychological effect having spent so much on a facial). Would have been nice to take a longer nap though. =P

The staff weren't too pushy with the products and packages at the end of the facial. Could be because I told them that I'm not based in Singapore.

A good experience overall.

Weird dream

Was very tired this morning so I went back to sleep after DD got up to go to work, which resulted in the following dream...

I dreamt tt DD and I were back in SGP and that we were going to spend the National Day weekend in Phuket with Princess Di and her bf. I think it might have been Wednesday or Thursday; we packed and went to work the next day.

We couldn't remember whether we were supposed to leave for Phuket that day, or the day after. Then Princess said she was going to have lunch with her bf before they boarded the boat (it suddenly became a trip to Tioman), but DD and I were still in the office working and we didn't have our bags with us.

So I went ahead to the jetty to meet Princess and her bf, while DD was still at the office finishing up some work. We went to report to the tour agent and bumped into a colleague SH and his gf, who for some reason was called Eunice in the dream.

The tour agent said we were just waiting for two more people i.e. DD and one other, so we waited around a bit. Then he decided to give out the room keys first, but somehow my name wasn't called. I asked what happened and was told that the hotel had screwed up our reservation so DD and I would need to try to get a room on the spot when we arrived.

People then started boarding the boat (which resembled one of those tugboats on the Singapore River). I sat down first, and Princess + bf sat behind me. Then some caucasian suddenly sat next to me. So I moved to the back of the boat to find a seat for both DD and myself, and ended up sitting near SH + gf.

Then I decided to get off the boat and walk around to look out for DD. That's when I bumped into my Filipino friends. I later got an SMS from him saying that my sister said that this year's NDP would have sakuras.

I decided to board the boat again but it wasn't there anymore. Another boat that looked like the boat that I had boarded earlier came to the jetty. I thought I saw Princess Di on it and I got onto it. Then I realised that it wasn't Princess and it wasn't the same boat.

*DUM DUM DUM*

I think that gave me a scare so I woke up.

Inspiration from reality

1. Why National Day weekend - because it is this weekend.
   
2. Why a holiday - DD and I were planning to go Dubai for a short holiday next weekend.
3. Why Phuket - I had went to Phuket last month.
4. Why Tioman - I think it might have actually supposed to be Batam or Bintan (where my Choir friends had been planning to go and would explain why we were taking a boat ride) but not sure exactly why it's Tioman. Maybe subconsciously I want to go Tioman again. Could be because DD and I recently recalled when we went Tioman.
   
5. Why Princess + bf - I had chatted with Princess recently.
6. Why SH + gf - DD and I had been looking at photos of SH and his gf on FB the evening before
7. Why an SMS about what my sister said about NDP - My sister just went to watch the NDP preview + she likes to go see NDP fireworks.
   
8. Why sakuras - When we realised yesterday that the Dubai hotel offer was no longer available, and a colleague in Tokyo replied to one of DD's random email, the thought came across my mind to go Japan for a holiday instead when we return to Singapore in Nov.
   
9. Why my Filipino friends were there - The next work meeting was supposed to be in Manila.

So the only inexplicable part is why SH's gf is called Eunice.

Weird dream, wasn't it?

How she's grown...

When I got back to AD, I found that Miumew's double the size of what she was when we first got her. She's a lot stronger now, able to leap from the bed to an armchair almost a metre away, and her teeth and nails are a lot sharper too. We've taken to spraying "anti-cat" spray on our arms so that she won't bite us while we sleep.

She still sleeps with us by the way, rests her head against my arm or her body against my tummy. Unfortunately, she's learned to slip under the blanket i.e. she can bite/scratch our legs if she wanted to.

Hope she'll eventually grow out of all this biting...

Lightheaded

after getting a haircut. Got it at Icon@Isetan cos I had Isetan vouchers anyway.

When you go to a hairdresser, do you know exactly how you want your hair cut? I never really do, although I thought I was quite specific this time. But I'm not impressed with the cut.

Even when I don't know what kind of haircut I want, I usually feel good about what my hairdressers produce. But not this time. Could be that the fringe always takes some getting used to, but even the length seems a bit awkward.

I wish I had a better idea of the kind of hairstyle I want, or that would suit my face shape. Didn't think that the hairdresser helped much either.

Will probably go back to my sister's hairdresser in AMK next time, even though it's far away. The guy's quite friendly and did a pretty good job the last time I went there (albeit it was a fairly routine trim+colour). But given my track record (a haircut every six months max), would probably be a while before I go for another haircut.

Now, to wait for my hair to grow long enough to tie up so it doesn't look so terrible.

Missing my kitten...

Leaving Miumew home alone for extended period of time (now that I'm overseas and DD's at work most of the day) worries me. She's had a near fatal accident once. While we can try to kitty-proof the house, there are still many things that could endanger her without us realising. And she's a smart kitten. Someday she might find her way to the Hello Kitties and lions.

Miss playing with her, miss her confused look, miss the staring matches with her tilting her head to one side, miss having her pounce around on the bed, I even miss her biting me.

Sigh. In other news, two of my sec sch friends are taking part in Ms Singapore World. Such things kind of makes you wonder what you're doing with your life, doesn't it?

Watching Boys Before Flowers...

with my kitten. She knows a comfy chair when she sees one. She's taken over the pc chair. It's got a pseudo-leather cover and she's already scratched it a little.

I wish I had a collar like the dog in "Up". Of course the collar wouldn't be for me... For Miumew to tell me what she's thinking.

In the meantime, wish I knew where her ball (DD's golf practice ball) is. She had so much fun playing with it... Don't know where it is now.

Meet Miumew!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2831767&l=bfffbf527f&id=746684362

We got a kitten on Saturday. Possible names thrown up during the drive to the pet shop included Meowth and Mewtwo, which evolved to Mewmew/Miumiu, so we decided on Miumew. Although Princess Di thinks we should just call her Miumiu. =P

She's about 1.5 mths old, listed on the shop receipt as a Persian. Grey stripes on grey fur, greyish green eyes.

Scratches me a lot and tries to bite me whenever we play. Hopefully she doesn't make it a habit to keep biting me... otherwise it could be quite painful when she grows up. Oh! But she licked my hand a little today. That's an improvement. I just washed my hands and they were slightly wet. Maybe she was just thirsty. Haha.

I think she burped today. She had just eaten and was about to scratch the subwoofer so I quickly lifted her up and heard a loud sound coming from her tummy.

Oh... and she doesn't seem to like catnip. Catnip is supposed to make cats go crazy right? We bought some that look like pills. She sniffs it a little, gives it a lick or two and walks away. Not interested in the catnip-smothered scratching board too. But really, who needs a scratching board when she's got a body to scratch? =P

Ah choo!

Down with the flu since I got back to AD. Hope I won't be the first case of, you know.

I think it's just exhaustion. Need a good rest without having to worry about anything. Think I can manage that after I finish this report that I have to do.

Ten

I'm going to complete my ASEAN 10 tour today. For the uninitiated, the 10 member states of ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (arranged in alphabetical order - habit from work). Hoping not to get mozzie bites and not to develop an allergic reaction to my malaria prophylaxis pills.

But really, what I wanted to blog about is my new bag! Well, bags actually, cos the big bag came with a small one. I bought a Nike Golf Boston bag yesterday. It's not like most golf bags where they have a separate compartment for shoes. This one is just a big bag, in a shade of pink darker than baby pink or dusty pink (apologies for the lack of knowledge of colours. Princess Di would probably be able to give a more precise description of the colour). What first attracted me to the bag was the size (not too big), the shape (stays in shape) and its waterproof material (can use it when I finally take up diving later this month when I return to AD). Then I discovered the clincher - it's got many pockets and compartments. I knew this was it. The bag. Yet I resisted for 15 min because I really wanted a bag more suitable for the office, and this one wasn't THAT cheap ($69). But I succumbed to it anyway. =P

I also succumbed shortly after to Azabu Sabo's sea salt and caramel ice cream. I blame Princess Di for this - she was the one who introduced it to me.

Looking forward to returning to AD next week after being away for a month... yet apprehensive about the 50 deg C weather.

Greenie bought her first pair of Crocs!

Nope, it wasn't at the Crocs expo sale, although I did go and get dizzy from the huge crowds jostling around and trying on tons of Crocs of different patterns. Went home wishing that my feet were 1 size smaller cos all the nice colours/designs were size 4 shoes.

It was at Robinsons Centrepoint. It was meant to be. I happened to go check out the sports section and remembered that the Crocs were there too and I took a look. Lo and behold! A single pair of black/lavender cleo sandals stood out among the hole-y ones. And it was my size! I don't know how long it waited for me to come by... so I hesitated for a while, and decided to buy it. Wore it home thereafter. =)

Going to wear it the next time I go to the hot springs of the Green Mubazzarah so I can wash the sand off easily after that. =)

Greenie the squatter

Yes. I am squatting in my old dept. Paying penance for what I should have done two yrs ago - file. =P

The telelift is making a lot of creaky noises and driving me crazy. Argh.

Photos!

For the benefit of those who don't have facebook account (and this means Vin), here are the links to my Switzerland photos:
Day I - Geneva
Day II - Lausanne
Day III - Glacier Express
Day IV - Gruyere

Sims 3!!!

Back from the Land of Pho!

Am 1 country away from visiting all 10 ASEAN member states. =)

IT WAS HOT. More humid than Singapore, which is currently more humid that Abu Dhabi. Da Nang itself was boring - no tourist area, just the beach, which I didn't have time to enjoy since I was there for work. The resort (Furama) was nice though, and food was great! Fresh seafood, pho... Got to go Hoi An, which is beautiful old town. Too bad didn't get a chance to go to Hue, the ancient imperial capital.

I did one of those things I've always wanted to do - get my own ao dai (pronounced zai)! At the airport, I was convinced by the boss and my colleague to buy a conical hat too - for the complete look. =P

The other girls also tailored ao dais and we're probably wearing them to the next meeting. Will upload photos then. If our Filipino colleague brings his karaoke machine, we might have a reprise of the Spicy Girls of Geneva. hee...

I was also tempted to buy those famous silk lanterns but since my AD home doesn't really have a place to hang such lanterns and it'll be some time before I own my own home in Singapore, I didn't.

Was told that Nha Trang is much more beautiful than Da Nang, and that Da Lat is a town up in the clouds where you can experience the four seasons in one day. Wouldn't mind going back to Vietnam for a holiday in future. =)

Back in Singapore for a mth...

and had a bad exp at the airport. Flt was delayed (no reason given and not told till 20 min to boarding time and after queuing for 40 min), then the aerobridge was spoilt so had to go to another boarding gate. Sigh.

Looking for a flat. We put in an application, but wonder if we shld just get resale. Not THAT much more ex... and can have wider choice of location. Sigh.

LeNotre

After living in AD for the last three months (of which at least one third of the time was spent overseas), I still don't know the name of the building with the Marks and Spencers (that is right in front of my apt building - Vision Downtown) . I only know it as the Marks and Spencers building, which is good enough I suppose, cos the Hanoi (Vietnamese food) service staff don't know where my apt building is (there are 4 apartment buildings called "Vision" here), but they know where M&S is.

That building has two floors of shopping, which although small, is one of my favourite shopping malls in AD. (Although I guess it's also cos the mall is less than 5 min walk away and doesn't require me to drive/cab/bus to. ) It's got:

• a TWO-STOREY M&S which even has its own cosmetics and perfume section
• an organic supermarket & cafe (DD says the presence of an organic supermarket makes the mall one of the most upmarket malls in AD)
• ALDO (bags, accessories and shoes are slightly cheaper here - bought a pair of sunglasses the other day but have no idea when I'll ever get to wear them since I have dry eyes and can't really wear contacts)
• Body Shop
• LeNotre

LeNotre is a French boulangerie and patissierie. After 3 months, I finally went to try it the other day. I don't know why I didn't try it earlier - the food is really good and more importantly, not too salty.

I had risotto the first time I went there. The risotto came covered w rocket leaves, which help lessen the gelad feeling of eating a whole plate of risotto. It was less salty than the one I had at Hediard. Only thing is that the risotto got cold faster than the Hediard one, although I think its cos at Hediard, they use heated plates.

Went back to LeNotre yesterday and ordered a steak salad and a strawberry & banana smoothie. YUM. Although the steak salad didn't have any dressing, the salad that came with the steak complemented the taste of the steak well. The steak pieces were grilled till crisp on the outside, encrusted with black peppercorns but not too much, and pink on the inside. The salad also went well with the herby tomato paste which served with the bread.

Will post photos the next time I go there with DD. Feel a bit weird taking photos of my food by myself in a crowded restaurant. =P

The PC is up!

We've set up the pc that I kapoked from my brother. Finally. Apparently one of the cooling fans (the pc has 3) was loose which affected the electricity flow, causing the pc to shut down after a min or so, until we got it fixed.

Now... to figure out how to get the external dvd drive to work...

*Burp*

Tummy was feeling unsettled all of yesterday and most of today. But ok now... just feel bloated. Think there's a lot of gas inside.

Watched tv all day cos didn't feel well enough to do anything housework. Just saw a clip on the local kids channel introducing Italy, and stating that Italy's currency is Lira. Wonder when the clip was filmed, or whether those people at the tv station know what's going on in the world outside cartoons.

Weekend's here but DD's still busy with a visit. Hope we'll have a restful weekend. We're going to Switzerland for a holiday next week. YAY! looking forward to cool weather, greenery and Lac Leman. =)