the world through my eyes

as we get along in life...

2012-02-02T22:40:00.003+08:00

...the more jaded i feel about a good many things. after all, i am more or less convinced that people have more bad than good in them. in all of us. we are all selfish creatures who only want the best for ourselves but in so doing, do we really know what is best for ourselves? and before all of you throw stones at me for being so jaded (because i know for myself that i sound terribly so) and wanting to speak up for the good in mankind, i would just like to make my stand that all of us have to take effort to be a morally right person, to do the supposed thing that we deem is right and best not only for ourselves and for others as well. if not, then why would there be a need for moral education, ethics, and even religion?

so having stated my point on the above, my point of this entry really is that, well, it really is a long story. you see, i happened to be reading my past entries, circa 2010, and i really enjoyed a few entries that i wrote about, in particular this one. and it reminds me of the me in the past, the more carefree one, the one who took everything by the horns and just dealt with almost everything thrown her way, and can i just say that i am actually feeling quite proud of myself. and then i felt less jaded about everything in life. because i am reminded of what i want out of my life - to enjoy each and every moment that comes.

in taxing times like these, the evolvement of adulthood has sort of eroded that carefree spirit that i used to be. and i don't mean just getting used to working life, but rather having bills to pay, finally understanding the true meaning of responsibilities and putting in the efforts to make your life and another person's life as comfortable and meaningful as possible. and i remind myself once again not to be jaded, and to enjoy the moment of my youth, my energy, my strengths, and the love that i have in the people around me.

and it just changes my perspective of life altogether. and all these just by reminding myself through this blog.

i do admit that there are some posts that make me cringe at how egoistic or even downright clueless i was, and probably still am (as we all are), but i admire my fearlessness in getting whatever i want and saying whatever i want and yet having the guts to say it out and stand by what i say.

but overall, i do hope that there will be posts in the future that i read back of the past, that i will be amazed by my own insights, remind myself of the important things, and maybe hopefully inspire people along the way.

and at this point i would like to remind myself that i love to write. and i refused to do it for my job because i did not want to end up hating to write. because it is such a lovely thing to express your thoughts and emotions and feelings in words, even the experience is ten or hundred times more significant than what you can possibly describe. but when i read it, i am reminded of the awe that i felt just gazing at the pyramids in real life, enjoying the cool in the desert open, the tiredness in every fibre of my body from all the sleepless red eye flights on the plane.

on this night, where there are so many thoughts just running through my mind and so many errands piling up that i feel slightly overwhelmed, i am glad that i find my outlet to rant (or perhaps just a bout of inspiration) and reminding myself through my own words what my life should be about.

paris paris

2012-01-30T22:10:00.002+08:00

watching a movie on saturday night whilst nursing a stomach flu. it's a remake of an audrey hepburn movie - sabrina (1995). and in the story, the lead actress goes for a fashion internship in paris.

they showed shots of paris, the eiffel tower, just sitting around in random cafe and drinking coffee and enjoying the day. in the show, the lead actor - harrison ford - asked, what is it about paris that everyone loves? and the lead actress (too unknown to name) says, 'in paris, they know when to slow down.'

and i sighed.

and i just miss everything about paris.

and i recall all my favorite cities - tokyo new york paris.

tokyo, because i go there for work too often, has lost its charm. yet, everytime i pass the tokyo tower, i just feel breathless, but perhaps only because it reminds me of the eiffel, especially at night.

new york, the thought of flying 24 hours to get there is enough to put me away from my fave city for a good 8 years now.

and paris, which i can take the flying distance without feeling sick just thinking of breathing another breath of cabin air, remains the only city left with its magic.

there it is. and added the very (relatively) cheap branded goods. and my oh-so-fave chanel along rue st honore and the rest of the shops along. and my fave madeleine town to back it up. and of course the eiffel tower that remains elusive because each time i refuse to go up.

what more can i say?

love at first sight at 13, and still loving it as much.

politics is not my cup of tea, but i just have to say this.

2012-01-24T22:12:00.007+08:00

more and more so, i feel like i am getting very tired of life. more specifically, i am utterly sick of hearing unappreciative people rant about oh-so-mundane things in life, and never stop to think, if your life is not already almost perfect, would you be bitching about the frivolous things in life... like, i don't know, ministers' salaries?

omg just gimme a break already. i am not pro- anything. frankly, i am happy and appreciative of where i am, what i have in life and the benefits that the system has given me. a good education, decent living conditions, affordable necessities (luxuries are a separate case and frankly if i see you carrying anything remotely branded, please forgive me if i smack you when i hear you complaining about rising food prices and [insignificant] inflation.) frankly, what more could i ask for?

then i ask myself, why am i so different from everyone else from my age group? are people just opposing for the sake of opposing? are they just influenced from regional and global movements of overthrowing the incumbent government just to make a point, although i have no idea what point exactly it is they are trying to make.

take a closer look at a country that every country wants to model itself after, that everyone is raving about - japan.

they overthrew the incumbent government a few years ago and look where they are right now.

lower costs of living? for sure no.

more affordable housing? seriously............

less packed trains...... okay let's not go there. taking the subway during peak hour in tokyo is my greatest nightmare, even greater than peak hour in singapore trains. it is almost twice as packed as compared, i assure you. and cabs are just too blatantly expensive to afford... plus the jams... (just to give you an idea, non-peak cab fares from a distance equivalent from pasir panjang to changi airport is easily 80 sgd at least. so just shut up already. like now.)

and how many prime ministers have they changed since they overthrew the incumbent? quite frankly, i lost count already. five, maybe?

and don't say that we are not close to what tokyo is like. truth of the matter is, we are one of the very few cities with almost the same living standards. and don't tell me to look to the lesser areas. do you not think that they have their own slum areas too? just that you don't see them. and yes, another difference: our people are... 'less friendly'. (if i could be more honest, rude would be the appropriate term at times.)

okay just a disclaimer - i still enjoy tokyo and being in japan and all that jazz. but truth of the matter is, whatever 'problems' (or so we think they are problems...) that we are facing, it is the same fricking problem in every established city. so for the sake of all things good, just shut the fuck up already.

and stop harping on how the president of USA earns less than our prime minister. he has air force one at his disposal.. which easily costs 300 times of the pm's yearly salary. (by the way, air force one can probably only service 5 presidents, assuming they serve 8 year terms each. that's 15 million per year, assuming straight line depreciation. and i am being very conservative here in terms of cost of the fleet. the modifications on the planes probably cost in the range of hundreds of millions, probably billions, but no one will ever really know the amount.)

anyway, so i come back to my point of why i think differently. maybe it's because i am too understanding? maybe it is because of my extensive traveling that makes me more appreciative of what i have back at home. whatever it is, i think enough is enough.

whatever that parents do is rarely appreciated by the children until they are of certain maturity to understand the parents' point of view. then again, parents are never always right, but they do things with good intentions. i guess in life, no one is infallible. the question here would be, can we afford the forgiveability? i would think for now, yes.

perhaps, one day, when one's salary is cut by 50% for no rhyme or reason, just that certain individuals deem that you are too highly paid for the work that you are producing, then you will understand.

perhaps one day, when you get nitpicked on the work that you are not doing, and people forget or simply choose to not consider that the work that you have already done, then you will understand.

i am just so sick and tired of the whole debate. not just about the salaries or such, but the whole nitpicking and waiting to jump on any small matter that is out of place.

and look at the opposition. what have they done so far? more time wasted in parliament debating non-consequential issues? seeing who can come up with better analogies? please, let's just get past all that bullshit. 6 months on and nothing productive. are we just opposing for the sake of opposing?

i just have to say this. grow up already. when the good majority of the people start to worry about having a place to live, or putting food on the table for their families, then i will sing the same song as you. but until then, shut up. please.

snowing in tokyo

2012-01-20T11:04:00.003+08:00

it's snowing in tokyo and really awesome at that.

i have not blogged for so long now, yet the thoughts and experiences of my life remain richer than ever. i want to put everything down in words, yet they do no justice to the magnificence of the experience.

can anyone describe perfectly the experience of looking out your hotel balcony and watching snow fall, dressed only in a yukata and bedroom slippers and freezing while enjoying the awesome sight that some may think normal to the point of boring?

on the same note, getting very jaded with social media and networks and all that crap. never enjoyed it and even more so now. what is the point? to gain more friends / contacts / wasting your time kay-pohing into other people's lifes just for the sake of it? oh grow up.

one thing is for sure. i am still as bitchy and angsty as ever. but i do enjoy richly the experiences that life has bestowed upon me.

perhaps more thoughts over the new year when i have the time to slow down and think.

amused...

2011-05-08T13:33:00.003+08:00

i have refused to comment anything on the GE so far. but now that it is over, i have to say this. i don't advocate reading xiaxue's blog. i do read it when i am bored, which is hardly ever these days. but i think her posts on the GE are fucking orgasmic, and a very nice breath of fresh air after all the over-the-top hype on advocating opposition through social media. (i especially loved her comparison of tpl vs abdul haran. totally hilarious!)

frankly, i do think that people have underestimated the power of their vote. don't fucking lament the loss of our foreign minister or our first woman minister. that is the consequence of your vote. fuck all of you who are saying that you are sad for our loss, or that it is singapore's loss. especially if you are the ones who have advocating for more 'voices' (or noise) in parliament. especially if you are the ones who say that the ruling party need to be taught a lesson. how did you suppose that would happen without sacrifices?

yes, they are not irreplaceable. but i suppose that is the way that you thank them. for the countless years of effort, the hard work put in for building up singapore's reputation in the international field and telling the world who we are and what we are worth. fucking ingrates.

next time, when your boss does not recognize your efforts, or simply dismisses your hard work for the company, and replaces you with someone whom you think is not even half as worthy as you are, who can't even do half the job that you are doing, you will remember what you have advocated for, and the consequence of your vote. this is life. it is unfair. so suck it in and deal with it.

whatever. it is over. life goes on. i am just happy that not everyone has lost their ability to resonate and see the big picture.

europe trip (part quatre)

2011-04-24T17:11:00.002+08:00

so having finished up my raving on poyet chocolate and the wonderful goodness, (still have 1/3 of a box of truffles sitting prettily in my fridge and very precious at that!) we still have not left the goodness of switzerland yet.

our two days at montreux-vevey were spent such that we shuttled between:

day 1: montreux-vevey-montreux
day 2: montreux-vevey-montreux-lausanne-montreux.

so today, i shall talk about lausanne.

it was a city that i did not think much about the last time i went there. then again, i did not do justice to it at all. this time, i would have loved to sleep the afternoon in, in our cozy little hotel room in montreux (facing the alps, remember???) i shall now deviate to talk about what we did in our room.

on the first night that we were in vevey-montreux, we actually chanced upon a supermarket in vevey, and bought cheese, wine, cold water prawns, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and tomatoes, and all gathered in the mother's room to have a feast! and a feast we had! the fruit were so fresh and sweet and super juicy, each bursting with its own flavor. the cheese was light and fragrant, not too overpowering, and the perfect type for me. the wine was... well... mediocre. but really, switzerland is not famous for its wine. i mean, we are all familiar with french wines, italian and spanish (new world wine and one of my surprising faves!). but who'd ever thought of swiss wine? oh wells. anyway, so we all gathered around the sofa and coffee table, enjoying the view of the alps, having a light evening tea... or so we thought. the whole experience was just absolutely delightful and heart-warming, and of course, the view of the alps just put the cherry on top.

and we all thought we'd have a light dinner. and what do you know? we found a decent looking chinese restaurant along the way, and the food was simply fabulous, to die for! the fried rice with shrimps (decent sized prawns) was absolutely just delicious, and having been 'tortured' with bread and western cuisine for the past week, finding decent chinese food was already a plus. finding fabulous chinese food... well, the whole family was over the moon. yes, it was expensive, but we willingly paid the premium just to savor a taste of home when we were ten thousand miles away. actually, thinking back, the prices were quite decent. the huge plate of fried rice, enough for six restaurant sized bowls was 27 sgd, and came with fresh prawns. like fat, juicy prawns.

we knew that we'd be eating at the restaurant the next night again. more on that later.

so, i really just wanted to enjoy the room, read a book, have a cup of tea. but instead, i was pulled out to lausanne. and i must say that it is a trip that i did not regret, tired as i was already from all the walking.

as it was a sunday, most of the shops and attractions were closed, so we decided to take a walk down, following the path of the tram station, and we knew that we would hit lac leman by the alps. i was pretty tired through the walk (thank goodness it was going downhill!), and i thought to myself, it had better be damn worth it!

and bloody worth it it was. i must say that despite our soft spots for montreux and vevey and the fabulous views of the alps it provides, the view at lausanne just tops it all. it was just absolutely serene and peaceful, and you could feel the sense of calm as you take in the view of the lake and the alps.

we bought ice cream despite the cold, and one thing i must say it is true is that eating ice cream in the cold makes you feel less cold. after downing one whole cup of (very sour but very shiok) lemon gelato, i could walk around without feeling shivery - a rare feeling for me in switzerland.

there was much activity going on around the lake, and you could see families and children just enjoying themselves, roller-blading, carouselling, and just hanging out together. such is family life for the swiss.

i took on a different perspective of lausanne right there and then. too quick to judge previously, i would love to just take a slow walk around the lake right now, and then perhaps visit some attractions in the near future.

and on day 2 we were there, we ate a little of lunch and kept our stomachs relatively empty, for we knew that we would be gorging on fabulous chinese food for dinner. before we even reached the restaurant, we already planned to order fried rice, fried bee hoon, fried kway teow, fried noodles, roast duck, vegetables etc.

in the end i think we ordered two plates of fried rice, fried bee hoon, fried kway teow, fried noodles, fried udon, roast duck and vegetables. we could barely walk out of the restaurant after that. but the feeling was just awesome altogether.

the next morning, we prepared to take our TGV train to PARIS PARIS!!! but not before the bf and family bought their swiss-made watches! well, i did not budget for buying a watch in switzerland, and i'm really not a big fan of watches. so despite the fact that i was in switzerland, i knew that i would have more orgasms buying my ferragamo shoes and chanel earrings in PARIS.

so after a morning of buying watches for the family (and a cool 5k poorer...), we bade farewell to our ever fave and lovely city of montreux, and headed off to geneva to transit for the TGV.

next up, the city that we all love to label as snobbish and stuck-up but yet have a soft spot of it - PARIS!

europe trip (part trois) - the one on poyet

2011-04-20T22:16:00.003+08:00

the bf and i were both super excited to be heading to vevey - because it was home to not just the alps, but to POYET, our all-time fave choc truffle shop. now, being poor students the last time, we could only afford one bag of truffles, which lasted us through our whole europe trip, plus some in singapore. we did not try the hot chocolate, as we were really on shoestring budget. now this time, armed with the village, plenty of credit cards and, i would like to think, a far cry from being poor students, we hit poyet with a vengeance.

the train ride into montreux was by far the most interesting. it was then that we caught a real good sight of the alps. having seen it many times, it is still an awesome feeling when the majestic sight sits right in front of you. recently, i was in a meeting with a londoner, who shared with me his experience of swimming in lac leman (lake geneva) during the summer. the water temperature was surprisingly warm, according to him, and it was a really good experience. i was completely bewildered when i heard it, but seeing how he was raving about it, i filed it as one of my to-do things, adding on to the very long list already.

and so yes, we chose a hotel this time staying right beside the lake, with views of the swiss alps from our hotel room. i know i know. you expect to see pictures right? well, the thing is, i did not take much pictures this trip. first reason being, there was a dslr and official photographer for the trip. and i know i will just get depressed when my camera shots don't match up to that of dslr. so i decided to just enjoy the sights for what it was worth, and let the official photographer do the job instead. i did want to get a new camera before the trip, but just did not have the time to get down to it. and then, there was also the fact that i've been traveling so often till it has, sadly but truly, lost its sense of novelty. don't get me wrong. i still feel excited to have the opportunity to travel and see the world, but the sense of novelty is just not there anymore. it's more of fallen into a routine regime, nothing that you don't expect will happen, and even if it does, you know you have the ability to handle the unknowns.

anyhow, we have deviated too much! now, going back to our vevey-montreux experience, i think we were simply too excited that we literally sped to vevey after checking in at the best western (top floor rooms, 16 stories high with views of lac leman and the alps from all of our balconies!). poyet was definitely definitely our first stop, and the hot chocolate there was simply simply simply AMAZING. poyet did justice to itself once again. of course, we went back there on day 2, after our morning tour of chateau de chillon (which i will not be writing about because i believe i have a full blog entry on this castle in my blog archives. which frankly, the whole place looked very much the same.) on day 2 @ poyet, we went totally crazy buying chocolates as gifts for family, friends and colleagues, and all of us combined spent almost or over 1000 sgd at that shop! amazing isn't it? when we did our tally, we were bowled over with how crazy we actually went. but the chocolates there are just to die for, in my own opinion... as well as the boyfriend's.

the bf can give you proper directions on how to get there from the vevey train station, if you are interested.

next up, our experience in lausanne - a city we managed to squeeze in and well worth it, for the view of the alps........ i will really have to get my hands on those pictures!

till then, be good!

europe trip (part deux)

2011-04-13T23:38:00.002+08:00

and after three weeks of travel, i'm back to home ever so sweet home. i miss everything here. the food, the humidity (i believe i am one of the rare few who actually enjoy humidity!), the comfort of knowing where everything you need is, having everything at your fingertips... and of course, the long working hours. okay who am i kidding?

so after we left off from amsterdam, we took a REALLY long six hour train ride down to Bern. the train ride was simply awesome! having paid the premium for first class train tickets, this train ride simply took the cake. we were given an almost private train cabin, right at the front of the train with transparent glass doors that you could see the train's cockpit. it was like sitting on the plane in first class, and you can see right into the cockpit. only that we know that this would not be possible, for a really long while.

so anyway, the train journey was made much better with such a nice and quiet private zone, and with napping, reading, and listening to my ipod, time passed by relatively fast!

we got into Bern, our first familiar city. being in a familiar city felt a lot better and less stressful. we knew exactly where to take the trains and how to get around the city with much more ease, and reliving the memories of walking down the same streets four years on.

now, of all the cities / towns in Switzerland that i have been to - Bern, Montreux / Vevey, Geneva, Lausanne, Luzern - i must say that Bern really is my least favorite. nonetheless, since it was our first stop in Bern, we were just thankful that we were in safe and very reliable Switzerland.

we roamed the streets of Bern, recounting our memories, and i came back with a vengeance this time. firstly, to see the Bern bears, and secondly to visit the Einstein museum.

we were this close to missing the Bern bears, for when we arrived at the bear pits, we only saw the bears for 10 minutes, before they were brought indoors for their shower (i think....). okay maybe they were brought indoors so that the cleaners could clean the bear pit. but yes, the Bern bears we did get to see this time!

and how about the Einstein museum? well, it was under renovations! can you believe it? but that only means one thing. i will return to Bern. and on top of that, to Montreux and Vevey as well!

we then decided to head out to Luzern, where i was simply enchanted with the flavor of this city. was it the chapel bridge that gave its distinct charm to enhance this city? or was it the nice, relaxing walk to see the dying lion and then feeling that it was worth the search, and being intrigued with this sculpture. perhaps it is the saddest sculpture i have ever seen.

Luzern was also the place where we caught first sight of the alps in Switzerland. seeing them once again brought back many fabulous memories, standing there so majestically and in such grand poise.

all in all, i simply enjoyed Luzern. it is the type of city where you would just sit in the park and read a book, or enjoy a cup of coffee al fresco and relax. but of course, Montreux and Vevey still rank tops for us.

more on that in the next entry!

waves from hamburg

2011-04-05T07:00:00.004+08:00

as i was transitting through munich this evening, it was of utmost discipline i had to instill upon myself to not go into ferragamo, boss, bvlgari, etc. it felt as if the brands were taunting me. but i told myself, no. no. no. no. no.

after a massive splurge out in europe over the last two weeks, enough is enough. the damage is just mindblowing. what do you expect after impulse buying three pairs of ferragamo shoes? according to the bf and family, i totally went crazy at the ferragamo shop. total damage? let's see...

3 x ferragamo shoes

1 x ferragamo bag

1 x ferragamo wallet

1 x prada bag

1 x furla clutch

2 x longchamp travel bags

1 x chanel earrings

1 x samsonite luggage to bring back all my buys

and the bf of course had this share of shopping, including 2 x dunhill ties, 1 x dunhill belt, and 1 x zegna wallet. pales in comparison to my spree outcome, but still substantial no less.

on top of that, i realized that i spent over 100 bucks on buying leggings and stockings. but the range of leggings and stockings over there is simply awesome! and then, we went completely crazy at disneyland paris, yet again. okay, i have further reinforced the fact that i should not do anymore shopping during this trip.

anyone wants to offer to pay my credit card bills this month?

i'm back bitches! (europe part 1)

2011-04-03T22:52:00.005+08:00

back from my two-week europe holiday with the bf and village yesterday morning, and guess what! due to fly off tomorrow, back to europe, this time for duty travel.

so before i'm gone for another week.... or more.. i'll try to write as much as possible about my post-trip thoughts.

after a whirlwind two weeks of planning, booking the hotels, train tickets, arranging and rearranging the trip so that we could maximise our trip, yet have the luxury of time in each and every city. and so, we decided on the following - fly into Paris, take the train out to Brussels upon arrival, spend two nights there, before heading out to Amsterdam. Followed by Bern, Montreux, Vevey, Luzern, then taking a train to Geneva, before heading back up to Paris. We spent a total of two nights each in Brussels, Amsterdam, Bern and Montreux, and Paris once again, having a soft spot in my heart, saw us spending four nights there.

Brussels Brussels, the mussels and the beers were fab for sure. the city center was nothing short of un-memorable. then again, the city center was not the reason why i wanted to go to Brussels. the one and only reason that drew me to Brussels, call me shallow if you wish, was for mini europe! you see, when the kor went on his europe expedition some years back, and i was looking at this pictures, i was totally fascinated with mini europe and having exhibits of key europe landmarks centralized in one park.

and was i fascinated with mini europe? i could not be happier when i got there. it was cuteness max seeing all the little structures, some that we know by heart, and others, a good insight to know all of europe better. the atomium, on the other hand, was a total bimbo. pretty and almost fascinating on the outside. absolutely nothing on the inside. we could only kick ourselves for not researching on what exactly was in atomium before we purchased the combination tickets. that essentially were the highlights of brussels.

amsterdam.... was quaint and nice. a different breath from the rest of europe, literally and figuratively it beautiful in its own right. it wasn't typical european, although i cannot really put a finger to it.

we took pictures with the infamous and very vandalized 'i amsterdam' words.

we went to van gogh museum, and it seemed that i was the only one remotely interested in being there.

we took the tram system up and down the city, which i quite enjoyed. i have not been on a tram since i was in san francisco, and that was a really long time ago.

we went on a city cruise along the dam river. it was nice, relaxing, and i wondered if this was how tourists felt on the duck tours in singapore.

we had locally brewed beer and cider, which was simply delightful. the bf and i simply chose a bar and walked into the pub, undaunted by the noisy and smoky crowd. and we were pleasantly surprised, with both the service and the drinks.

we had nice authentic indoneisan cuisine. maybe we were craving badly for asian cuisine, but really, it did not disappoint at all. the satay and peanut sauce was simply fantastic!

the red light district was overly hyped. then again, we did not patronise any of it, but just took a stroll along the streets lighted by the alluring faint glow of red lights. i was expecting to see more action, more flesh, more over-the-top, but it seemed that everyone was just there to look-see. perhaps, the familiar patrons had already discreetly headed into their favorites and all the action really takes place behind closed doors.

in essence, i really did like amsterdam, but for the smell of weed. the stench of weed was evident, and although i thought i would be rather oblivious to it, i was in fact, rather turned off by the smell. it made me nauseous and i had to hold my breath each time i detected a whiff of it.

so that aside, i would say yes to amsterdam again, if i had the opportunity to.

and that brings a wrap to part one of my europe chronicles. i will be heading up to hamburg and then brussels again this week. i really do look forward to continuing my europe experience! till then, be good now.

xoxoxoxo

and what do you know...

2011-03-06T11:08:00.003+08:00

it's march already.

the months just seem to be zooming by so fast that i can't seem to grasp on to time anymore. work has been nothing less than stressful, hectic, adrenaline rushes over and over again. but what's new.

the thing that i look forward to in march, is our holiday getaway!

after close to two years of not going on a proper holiday (defined as taking 5 days of leave or more) i have FINALLY put in my leave for a two-week holiday! initially, i have to admit that i was not quite looking forward, as we were supposed to go on tour package to europe, due to our large traveling group size. but it has since reduced to a manageable number of people and the bf and i are just thrilled to be planning for europe trip once again!!! and we are no longer poor students, so it means that we are entitled to slightly more luxury this time!

oh, i do look forward to roaming the streets of paris once again, walking down the streets of champs elysees, seeing the oh-so-familiar arc, and of course, the eiffel tower. i would be so happy to be in montreux and vevey once again, walking down the cobbled path and finding poyet for its fabulous truffles. i am psyched to be going to amsterdam and brussels, and i look forward to having my senses thrilled over and over again.

this month of march, i look forward to coloring my life once again.

amongst all...

2011-02-26T13:02:00.002+08:00

at the end of the day, the most important thing is having a safe haven to return to.

at the end of the day, a good meal with loved ones is all that matters.

i have learnt not to care much about triumphs and jubilation, despite the fact that i have plenty of my own to share. this week has seen me humbled, troubled, weary, taking a hit of reality as i come to terms with some new meanings in my life.

but at the end of the day, you just have to know what you stand for, what you need to do and have to do. and at the end of the day, the people who love you will stand by you and stand for what you do, regardless.

but not all was bleak, as the week came to an end with a fresh vote of confidence, despite all that has happened, putting things into perspective and seeing the big picture of it all.

oh february february

2011-02-19T23:07:00.002+08:00

what a month it has been.

february is always a month full of celebration, love, happiness. but this february brought a tinge of sadness as we said goodbye to my grandfather. part and parcel of life, perhaps warped to say that is only natural, but it is still something that we all have to come to terms with. i will be spoilt and say that i refuse to accept it, or come to terms with it. but i will be reminded to live my life to the fullest. even so, perhaps that does not matter at all.

the end of january

2011-01-31T21:24:00.002+08:00

and what a whirlwind of a month it has been! the month of january 2011 ended with me writhing in pain, dying from 3 full hours of cramps. panadol failed me this time round. but still survived no less to drag my dead body home after work.

the end of january also signifies the start of all the festivities once again. with the sudden influx of kueh lapis, bak kwa, and abalone, it can only mean one thing! yesterday saw the first of reunion dinners, with le bf and family! and this work week is going to be fabulously short! although packed heavily with work, but with a full four and a half days of rest, plus a potential extra day off, i am SO looking forward to the much needed rest.

for now, i will let the panadol take effect and call it a night.

be good now.

hello february!

awesome awesome tokyo!

2011-01-23T21:59:00.003+08:00

fabulously back from tokyo. everything was simply fabulous once again. i did not realize how much i missed tokyo until i actually set foot onto the aerobridge, hearing 'hai dozo...' and feeling at peace with myself once again.

tokyo was just everything it was and still is. cold as it was, it was just so good walking down the streets, having that cold cold breeze sweep through you, shuddering but feeling ever so awesome to be back in one of my most favorite places in the world. and yes, even though i came back with a fever and potential flu, it was well worth it. and i tell you, the only thing worth getting sick over is a trip to fabulous tokyo.

le sigh.

highlights of this trip include tasting cod sperm. in tempura form. i tell you, that thing is GROSS. it tastes like.... never mind... very GROSS. DO NOT ever try it. well, you can, but don't say i did not warn you.

having my japanese customers introduce themselves to me in japanese and thinking that i am japanese. it was quite hilarious. and then apologizing profusely for mistaking me for japanese. not that i did not enjoy it. i felt bad that they felt bad because i actually felt good about it... if that makese sense to you. i think i just tend to blend in well wherever i go to. i think that is a good thing.

and of course, having the usual fabulous sake, shouchu, sashimi and more sake!!! i tried four different types of sake, including iced sake. very nice!!! and then, i had the BEST udon ever at this restaurant at shimbashi. it's called udonsuki, and it's a steamboat concept. only the udon is just FABULOUS. right texture, nicely chewy, and just simply sweet and perfect.

i have pictures. but now my medication is taking effect.

g'nite pple!

two weeks

2011-01-16T12:09:00.002+08:00

of the new year and i feel like i'm already 3 months into it.

the highlights of the year:

going to dinner at osvaldo's and finding orgasmic warm chocolate souffle, and introducing macallan to someone who appreciates such. i have not had such orgasmic warm chocolate souffle since tamade closed down. it is VERY good. the food, on the other hand, was a tad too normal for the kind of prices that we were paying. it was good, no doubt. but it just wasn't good enough.

going to stay over at sentosa with the girls, and having dinner at the cliff, where the starters are seriously orgasmic, but the mains were disappointing. the stay over was perfect, and i even managed to find a perfect pair of black peep toe heels that were just simply perfect and outrageous enough for my liking. and then, seeing a perfect wristlet - something that i've been looking for for the longest time ever - from coach no less, and then snapping it up in a whim and fancy of things. in siff's words, 'she did not even blink when she bought the bag.' i'm sure she meant that i did not even batter an eyelid to think about my purchase twice before making it.

photos will be up soon enough.... i hope.

and then it was work work work and more work. the week was so hectic that i do not even remember what really happened.

the week did end off with good food and good company once again.

twg@ion with ac babes, followed by a mass pig-out session with the bf and family at tung lok.

twg was just absolutely lovely again. the tea, the music and the quiche, with lovely people no less.

tung lok was just absolutely crowded, noisy and the service was... what service? but all that was made up by just looking at the cousins attacking plates after plates, devouring the goodness of the food and the kind of contentment that comes with it is just... unexplainable-ly wholesome.

and tonight, i am going to my fave teppanyaki @ jurong hill for some seriously salty and sinful japanese food!

by the way, did i also mention that i am losing weight?

oh, i know that 2011 will be filled with ridiculous amounts of work, as well as good food and good company! i love it already!

2011

2011-01-07T23:41:00.002+08:00

started with a blast!

good food, good wine, good sake, good company... surprises filled the atmosphere for the week, being both the surpriser and the suprisee.

this week reminded of what it is like to have work-life balance. although i don't foresee many such opportunities, i am glad that i did take the time to enjoy the finer things in life.

first up, photographs:

twin's wedding pictures here. not the full set yet. still awaiting the official pictures and will post the good ones up... obviously.

siff's surprise birthday here.

and the reason why i am so short of words is because my brain is absolutely tired.

g'nite people!

2011: the first post

2011-01-01T19:52:00.002+08:00

2010 ended with a bang. the adrenaline rush came head on, number crunching and editing and all that jazz - oh-so-familiar that i got a high from doing it. remind me again why i love my job?

managing to leave office at 6.20 pm to make it just in time for my dinner reservation at 7.30 pm... only to find out that they got my reservation time wrong. they heard 7 pm instead, and gave my table away! oh the travesty. but the service recovery was just fabulous and we got a private room at no charge! for some reason, the bf and i were both craving for korean food, and we went to this place opposite haw par villa, called ju shin jung. it is, by far, the best korean food i've ever had, and it beats any of those in town hands-down. in fact, there really is no competition at all. the chargrilled meats are just fabulous, and the side dishes plentiful and absolutely delectable! frolicking around the room, enjoying the privacy and peace that came with it.

and with that, fabulous 2010 came to a close.

i wish for world peace in 2011. -puts on fake beauty pageant smile-

okay, no, really.

i wish for health and happiness for all.

i hope that everyone will be able to find contentment in whatever they are doing, and gratitude in whatever that life has presented them with.

i pray for more love and compassion for those whom deserve it.

and i REALLY WISH that people will STOP spreading rubbish that the world is ending in 2012, no thanks to the movie 2012. well, even if it does, what good will it do for you? oh yay you are right??? okay my point is, just live life to the fullest.

on a more personal level, i hope that this year will see me going to new places, both literally and figuratively.

i hope that i will feel the adrenaline high that i felt on new year's eve, coming in many different forms.

i hope that i will have more love and compassion, to let go and forget about past grievances, and at the same time, not be stupid about it.

i hope that there will be plenty of good food, good drinks, and good company!

as always, looking forward to the challenges ahead.

HAPPY NEW YEAR P'PLE!! -hugs and kisses-

xoxoxoxoxox

eve of the eve

2010-12-30T21:52:00.003+08:00

as i was walking home this evening, i caught a whiff of bbq. and it struck me that it's been TOO LONG since i've had a bbq. i've been meaning to organize one for the mushrooms.

so next year, i resolute to hold one bbq event. i think i will have a higher possibility of attaining this than my pc.

and so here begins my list of resolutions:

1) get pc.

oh gosh. it is painful enough to write it down. enough said.

2) get a grip on my temper.

the past two days saw me gripping myself in pain after exerting too much emotions over uncontrollable issues. afterwhich, i looked back and wondered whether it was worth the pain. and the answer is no. and i always remind myself that work is but work. so yes, that will be my mantra for the year to come.

but of course, i know that i'm good at what i do because of my dedication and passion for it. so, it's going to be a real challenge to balance the passion and dedication, without compromising the quality of my work.

3) stop and smell the roses.

and how do i do that if the bf doesn't get me flowers? -looks at the bf- oh, you know what i mean. enjoy the finer things in life. life's a journey and i want to enjoy it.

i shall limit my resolutions to three per year. so yes, these shall be the three that i will work upon for the coming year. and in case you're wondering, the bbq resolution falls under number 3.

2010 has been a fabulous year.

indeed, it was the year that saw me getting rewarded at work not once, not twice but three times over. and yes, i can finally reveal that i have been promoted. (which explains the congratulatory bouquet from the bf a few posts down) it's not an easy feat and i can damn well say that i've worked hard, worked smart and made a hell lot of sacrifices. yes, it was all worth it. but i'm not going to be resting on my laurels, and the road ahead is going to be even tougher and more stressful. but what is life without challenges? bring it on i say!

there was plenty of travelling. the usual stops of bahrain, dubai, tokyo, manila, brisbane, lisbon, and two of the trips i loved the most...

cairo, for i saw one of the seven wonders of the world - the great pyramids of giza, and took a short cruise down the river nile.

paris, where for once, i enjoyed the city and the sights and the shopping, making a new friend and finding my fabulous ferragamo bag! this city will always have a soft spot in me, be it 13 or 23 or 27.

i distinctively remember writing something early on this year, and i especially love what i wrote at that point in time, and i just want to remind myself of the passion i have, to continue living life to the fullest, and to be constantly thankful of everything that i have in my life...

re-post from 9 January 2010:

"having said that, i do enjoy each and every moment of it as it comes. even in the stress and hectic of it all, i do take the time, take a deep breath, look around me and marvel at the magnitude of things around me.

i feel frustrated, yet amused at the things that can happen in my daily life. it is not one that every other tom dick or harry can experience.

i get the satisfaction, from sealing yet another contract, and i know that the credit is not mine to take, but for all to share.

i get the high from seeing a job well-done, as the fat lady gets towed out and takes to the skies. the pride and joy that everyone shares bring a new high to the spirits around all of us.

i look out of my airplane window and see the sand dunes and the snowy-capped alps. i stand atop and look down on the various city skylines, i stand grounded on the level desert sand and look up at the constellation of stars in the sky. can i not be awed?

can i not marvel at the fact that i wake up in bahrain one day, tokyo the next, and the next thing i know i am in lisbon?

and i was just thinking on the whole, how fortunate i really am to have such opportunities in life.

sometimes though, the magnitude of which does get into one's head, that you transcend the standards which you deem fit for your work life, into your personal life. but it is good to have loved ones around you to keep you grounded, to remind you not to let the larger-than-life world that you are living in get to you. in a sense, it is all borrowed, and for me, i will just enjoy each and every moment of everything, so that at the end of the day, i can say to myself, it was all good while it lasted."

at this point in time, i would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone in my life. you can't imagine how grateful i am, and you know who you are.

g'nite world.

MERRY CHRISTMAS BITCHES!!!

2010-12-25T12:03:00.003+08:00

-yawn stretch-

mmm... it is indeed a luxury to be able to sleep in... FINALLY. and of course, waking up to a bowl of bird's nest. these days, festive seasons mean nothing more than minimal work phone calls coming in and everyone goes at half speed.

this is the first christmas that i ate turkey, for all breakfast, lunch and dinner. well, to be fair, breakfast and lunch were rolled into one meal. but still. i feel so jelat from all the turkey. and i realize that drinking wine from 10 am in the morning does have... erm... effects?

anyhow, it was a good christmas all in all. good food, good wine, fabulous presents... what more could i ask for?

and perhaps i've come to terms with growing old, in the sense that i did not feel the need to go out somewhere to party or do something special to commemorate christmas... much less for the new year.

last nite was spent watching 200 pounds beauty on tv. i did watch the movie in the theaters before, and i do remember blogging about it as well. so i wanted to see what my thoughts on this show before, to see whether my perspective has changed over the years. and it's quite surprising, because just earlier in the day, i was speaking to a friend about plastic surgery, and how it is in the process of being normalized and accepted in today's society. case in point, hair dye, when first introduced in the 1970s was not a socially-accepted norm. women were scrutinized whether she's a natural blonde or redhead, and people didn't usually come clean with their natural hair color. i know of people who still don't. or are deluded. but that's not the point. the point is, 30 years on, hair dye has become so rampant that nobody gives two hoots about whether or not you dye your hair.

now, i know in my previous entry, i did say that plastic surgery is not like dyeing hair. but the association i'm trying to make in my above point is regarding the societal norms and acceptance of people with regards to said subject. what i am trying to say is that i think plastic surgery will become the norm, accepted by society as a way of life in approximately 20 to 30 years' time.

reading about the past 'me', i am so proud of myself that i have the confidence to say that i am contented with the way i look. and i still stand by what i blogged about 3.5 years ago. and no, i still won't go for it. heck, i can't even bring myself to do lasik, let alone plastic!

but having been 'tainted' by the working world, and perhaps my job nature or the industry that i am in, i question whether i've turned slightly more superficial than what i was in the past. sure, it's easy to point fingers and say, oh, but everyone is superficial. but that's hardly justification for such behavior. and when i say superficial, i do mean superficial in the sense that we all judge people for how they look, what they wear, fat or thin, too much make-up or horrific choice of colors, etc. how many times have we viewed pictures on facebook, and thought to ourselves, 'oh my god what was she THINKING?'

honestly. and isn't that already judging based on superficiality?

i guess in a way, we have to give people the due credit for taking pride in their appearances (emphasis added). i try to watch what i eat, whilst balancing my love for good food. i try to upkeep my appearances despite my stressful and hectic lifestyle, doing my facials diligently even whilst traveling, SK-ii always by my side. i spend money to upkeep my hair, dress well, take the time to review my wardrobe and give thought to presenting myself well.

in that, does that allow me to judge others?

well, very clearly, the answer is no. i do all those things because i take pride in my appearance, in my own beliefs of giving the best for myself and nothing short of that, and for what i represent, potentially or otherwise. but i don't think it gives anyone the right to judge anyone.

the sad thing is, how many people share the same sentiments?

fact of the matter is that, superficiality will always be here to stay, and we all just have to deal with it.

it looks...

2010-12-22T23:53:00.002+08:00

... like 2010 is going to fabulously end. again, the year passed by in a whirlwind. if not for this blog, i would not have realized that this is the year i saw the blossoming of sakuras. (really??? it felt like last year...) and i would not have realized that bahrain opened the series of duty travels that i went on for year 2010, and closed the series of duty travels that i went on for year 2010. and, i am also reminded of my resolutions for year 2010. it took me much courage to remind myself of them again. so let's begin by reviewing those... -brace self-

1) get PC.

now, seriously. i have been on the golf course twice in this lifetime... driving buggies that is. don't get me wrong, i absolutely love driving those cute little things. but at some point in time, a sense of overwhelming sleepiness just overcomes me. like total, utter, boredom. like, asking me to read some further advanced mathematics textbook. but, it is still something that nags at me. so i shall just re-resolute. i can see the look of disbelief on all your faces now. and frankly, i am utterly not motivated at all to prove you wrong.

2) to not neglect my social life and friends.

i remember the middle of this year, where i spent a good three months flying in and out of the country, spending a good 20 out of 30 days in june abroad. i remembered that that was a low point, in terms of the fact that i wasn't there for friends who were going through a rough patch. that kinda really sucked for me, knowing that i wasn't able to do anything about it without compromising something. but i'm glad that i have such understanding friends who are more than accustomed to my erratic lifestyle. not to say that it is a good justification for not being there when needed.

having said that, i think that i deserve some sort of recognition, for helping bestie run her wedding, helping out with the planning as and when i can, and of course, her accommodating to my schedule as well. i think i also deserve some sort of recognition for going out of the way to meet up with friends, whilst juggling my family, the boyfriend, and my own health. i guess the key is to balance.

3) exercise more.

HAHA. no need to say anything. i failed completely in this resolution. utterly and miserably.

i will give more thought to my resolutions of 2011, and at the same time, marvel at how fabulous 2010 has been.

for now, g'nite pple!

quote of the day

2010-12-19T23:32:00.001+08:00

"you must know. but you mustn't retaliate immediately."

words of advise given by a wise one.

it's been an extremely taxing weekend. taking leave on friday only meant having to deal with incessant phone calls, sms-es and bad news, whilst being ill. saturday night was committed to work affairs and sunday afternoon was spent in the office, airport, and the departure bay. but one thing i must say. there is nothing more gratifying than to see the fruits of everyone's labor take-off, literally.

and that only served to further deteriorate my illness. but i suppose my job does not pay me to get appreciated.

i can only hope that the next weekend will be better.

on a separate note, there's no joy in success if it isn't shared. life is not about competing with each other. your biggest competition is yourself, really. at the end of the day, life is not a race. there's no prize at the end for getting there faster. quite the contrary actually. life is a journey. and it's really what you make out of the journey. true, life isn't fair. but still, you have the power to change it for the better, to rise above whatever adversity that you have been put through or are going through, and of course, in the process, become a better person.

at the end of the day, people can say whatever they want. but know your self-worth. and really, you determine your own self-worth. i know it's hard to believe that. and it's made easier with the support of family and true friends - something which i hold dear and treasure very much, because i know without which, i will not be where i am today.

i just want to say that i am appreciative of what i have. and i am thankful for everything and everyone in my life.

of perspectives and dreams

2010-12-18T09:56:00.003+08:00

being awoken at 6.30 am, then at 9.30 am. what's a girl gotta do to get her beauty sleep these days? really...

i had the most bizarre dream two nights ago. i dreamt that i completely and totally forgot that i was due to go to taiwan with jw. and one day before the trip, she reminded me, we're leaving for taiwan tomorrow! and i went into this total frenzy because i hadn't booked my air tickets, and i wasn't ready to drop all my work and just go. so i started sourcing for air tickets, and behold horrors of all horrors, i had to fly budget!

that was the first part of my dream. i didn't actually dream how i got to taiwan, but the next part of the dream, i was in taiwan already, and i was actually at ximending, queuing up to buy my 'feng mi nai cha'. the most horrifying part was that, i did not get to drink it! i was so looking forward to taste it once again, but NOOOO.... i did not get to drink it.

i think, i must be missing 'feng mi nai cha' too much. for all the bubble teas that people are raving about in singapore, i have not found one that lives up to the 'feng mi nai cha' in taiwan ximending.

speaking of taiwan, when i was younger, i.e. when i was from 12 to 18/19, when i traveled overseas, people would always guess that i am from taiwan. in more recent times, the first guess has been skewed to hong kong, with people even speaking to me in cantonese! recently in bahrain, there was a chinese couple in bahrain who was putting up at the same hotel. we saw them over breakfast, but didn't acknowledge or speak with each other. then, later in the day while we were at the bahrain border tower, we saw them again. this time, we acknowledged each other, and the guy started speaking to me in cantonese! i had to quickly switch to mandarin mode to tell them where i'm really from.

so it sort of got me thinking, do i look bitchier these days? i guess, hong kong people tend to have this edginess around them, whilst taiwan people look more wholesome, happy, and contented. hmmmm....

anyway, i recalled this conversation i had with someone, who was just musing about life 20 years ago. well, i can't remember what life was like 20 years ago, in the sense that i do not know the living standards around the world at that point in time. and he was saying, 'what happened to life? what happened to the good, wholesome movies that you watch, where the father comes home, the mother cooks a meal, and the whole family sits around to have dinner together with the kids, and the father asks the kids about their day in school, and the whole family is happy, and the mother doesn't need to work and the family can still afford a home and a car?'

all i could think about was, is that a scene from stepford wives? seriously?

and he continued on, 'movies these days, they're just so complicated! why can't they make them simple anymore?'

and it sort of got me thinking, would you prefer to watch the reality of life on tv, or would you prefer to delude yourself into thinking that the ideal is actually achievable, and then working towards it, at the expense of something, of course. although, yes, i think the movies these days lack depth and/or originality, but i think i do enjoy watching the reality of life on tv better. as it is, people are already quite deluded into thinking that they can achieve the ideal, without thinking of the consequence to or the expense of others. and mainly because life does suck. so deal with it!

okay off to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

xoxoxox

thank you, merry christmas, happy new year, and congratulations!

2010-12-16T22:21:00.005+08:00

all rolled in one...

no prizes guessing from who. yes, they are real. as i rubbed my eyes awake after being knocked out from medication, overhearing the bf and the mother talking to each other about flowers smelling ever so sweet and bears, i knew i was in for a treat, and difficult as it was, i yanked myself out of my deep slumber...

... with a tatty bear to boot! i rolled over and questioned the bf, how do you know i've been looking for a tatty bear??? it's wrapped up like i am right now, to help me get past the fever stage.

back at summer palace now, nursing a strong flu/fever virus... and the best part? i'm on leave tomorrow. what a way to spend my leave. yes yes, i know i can take an mc, but really, i have too much leave to clear anyway... all plans have been temporarily shelved, pending my well-being tomorrow.

not that i have any complaints really. being back home after two weeks simply just rocks!! even being sick can't dampen my moods as i rolled out of the cab and into my safe haven, to find mumu the mao sprawled on the floor of my room. knocked out almost immediately by medication, i woke up, to find the boyfriend and the mother back at home, with flowers, bears, dinner, and herbal medication in the form of 'ling yang' (antelope's horn) and to top it all off, a freshly-brewed bowl of bird's nest.

what more can i say?

-loved-

and then, mumu the mao takes to kenneth cole!

first she sniffs....

then she burrows!!!!

and then as she was getting out of the bag, she got entangled in the strings of the bag carrier, totally panicked - much to the amusement of all of us - and then struggled to free herself. being afraid that she might end up strangling herself, i quickly dropped the camera to hold her still and free her from her own panic... and hence the lack of pictures. it was quite a sight now, thinking about it... bringing new meaning to the phrase, 'letting the cat out of the bag.'!

she really is a HUGE kay-poh. according to the mother, when the flowers arrived, she kept going towards the flowers to check them out. wherever the mother put the flowers, on the coffee table, the piano, the mao will just follow, sniffing them, looking at them curiously... no wonder they say curiosity killed the cat!

i have several things on my mind that i want to blog about, but i guess these will have to take a back seat as i really do want to get well.

if you noticed my title, congratulations about what? i shall keep it under wraps for now, but i'm sure a few of you know by now... no i am not getting married. no i am not pregnant. those were the first few guesses i've had when i told a selective few people.

the answer shall be revealed in due course.

out for the night. be good!

fabulously back!

2010-12-14T22:40:00.003+08:00

with pictures to boot!

i think this is one duty travel that i took the most pictures. mainly because we had the time to go around a bit, having spent the weekend there, and also because the person that brought us around kept insisting that i appear in the picture. but don't worry, i will try to minimize your pain.

"how're ya holding up???"

so, bringing you my weekend spent in bahrain, where we were brought to one of the very many forts around, but this being the main one, because it is called the bahrain fort. okay before i go on, i must quantify, that when you've seen the pyramids, you have really seen it all. seeing the pyramids was just majestic, awesome, breathtaking all rolled into one. and i guess, the fort, in comparison is like comparing sentosa to disneyland. point being, there is no comparison!

so we went through tunnels, went underground, felt slightly claustraphobic and freaked out...

now you know why i say i've minimized your pain? instead of seeing ten pictures of me, i bring it to you one shot, straight up. if you want to maximize your pain, just click on it! the last picture on the corner right was actually taken at the border of bahrain and saudi arabia, and basically the nearest i would go to saudi arabia! the waters were crystal clear! i kid you not. i thought it would have made a good diving spot. then again, i don't quite fancy the idea of resurfacing into saudi waters...

and what were we doing at the saudi border? well, i was told that to go there to watch the sunset...

and so there you have it.

okay well, basically, that's bahrain for you. i kid you not. other interesting facts include polishing 8 bottle of wine in 3 nights, and taking a new interest to red wine - merlot to be specific. and also, taking to indian cuisine better than i thought i would have. but really, nothing beats having singaporean cuisine. again, on the aircraft, i chose the one chinese dish - szechuan chicken with brown rice (although it looked more like white rice than brown...) and the first warm, mouthful of rice was absolutely just heavenly. it brought meaning to the phrase, '幸幅的感觉'. that, on top of the fabulous lobster and caviar... le sigh. all of that washed down with a glass of white wine, before tossing and turning around on the red eye home.

i absolutely love breathing singapore air. (pun intended)

and i absolutely love being home. the bf whisked me away to kazu for our dose of cha soba, sumiyaki foie gras, tsukune, prawn and scallop wrapped in bacon..... it was SO orgasmic. i was just having orgasm after orgasm as i put the delicious little bite sizes into my mouth. the foie gras was just OMG...

i think i am getting too spoilt. but right now, all i am really craving for is the mother's cooking. okay too tired to blog coherently.

g'nite people!

before it's over...

2010-12-12T13:47:00.005+08:00

for the first time, i do hope the weekend will pass fast enough. been out for almost the entire week and totally missing everything at home. being on the go is fun, don't get me wrong, and i do marvel at the opportunities that i have still. but sometimes, i would like to wear my other pairs of shoes. -bimbo look-

no seriously. maybe it was waking up to see a potentially very scary starting of an sms at an unearthly hour, creating such unsettling feelings in me today. okay claire. get a grip. suck it in and deal with it. -deep breath- taking it the positive way, it makes me appreciate the little things in life and not take them for granted.

on a totally different note..

2010-12-10T20:31:00.001+08:00

sitting here in the oh-so-familiar executive lounge, remodelled and refurnished, but still the same old nonetheless.

remembering all the stress, drowning in the midst of numbers, calculations, logical thinking and trying not to breakdown and cry but keeping it going until the problem is solved. remembering all the frustrations, going through presentation after presentation, slide after slide, trying to keep awake despite being completely unprepared and blindsided. remembering all the laughter that we had, nearly falling off our seats doubling over with laughter so hard that we all teared.

everything's been good thus far, for which i am thankful for. amidst the flurry of emotions that i am currently going through, i find myself going back to the basics to be thankful for everything that i have, and even though that does not change any of the circumstance that i am in, it damn well makes me feel better. in fact, a lot better. sometimes, we all need someone to put things into perspective for us.

on a different note altogether, i was having a conversation with someone living in dubai, and she was telling me that a lady taking the public bus in dubai is almost always guaranteed a seat. men are required to give up their seat to ladies, and if there is a lady sitting down already on the seat, the men are not allowed to sit beside them. of course, such chivalry (forced or otherwise) comes with a price. i was rather amused with this, and can already imagine the looks of horror / shock / protest written all over the faces of the men back at home if this were ever to be implemented. i can already hear the 'i thought you women wanted equal rights???' campaign coming on like a huge tsunami. never mind, let's just leave it as that. i don't think men back at home will ever be this chivalrous, just like how women will continue to assert their rights in the working world.

and on a totally different note again, i was asked this question by some random stranger last night - 'which part of singapore are you from?' i gave him one hell of an incredulous look. well, i guess it is way better than the question of singapore being part of china. but i guess i was just incredulous with this question because random stranger was acting and talking all singaporean accent and lingo. but that question was just a total giveaway. really. i knew he meant which part of singapore i am living in, but frankly, i do not want to give him that information. okay, my point is, i thought that random stranger was being such a poser and had something up his sleeve, trying to act singaporean when he is obviously not. oh well.

on a totally different note yet again, i was so tempted by this ferragamo clutch i saw at the airport earlier. a further 10% for airline staff sweetened the deal for me, but i think i should fight to resist all temptations. because i have hit my bag quota for the year 2010. (but... but... it is going to be 2011 soon!) going through the airport again on monday night will be a tough decision call.

will update soon. be good now!

my love for krispy kreme

2010-12-09T17:52:00.003+08:00

as i was happily sipping on my fave sunrise from coffee bean in the taxi on the way back to the hotel, i was hit with a sudden realization that i will be in close proximity to krispy kreme tomorrow! suddenly the world looked much more colorful, joyous, and optimistic.

over my time in this company, with a good many colleagues sharing the same joy for krispy kreme, i have come up with several reasons why i am like krispy kreme:

1) i am REALLY sweet.
2) i am absolutely delicious.
3) i have strong self-preservation skills. (have you seen the ream of sugar coating on a krispy kreme? it can go without refrigeration for 3 days and not spoil!)

and the last reason, i shall withhold. but if you know me well enough, i am sure you are smart enough to deduce the reason! -winks-

a totally bimbotic post.

2010-12-08T00:41:00.003+08:00

playing cabin crew was much harder than i thought! each time i stepped into the galley, we would hit a spot of turbulence. in the end, i gave up. anyway, heating up the food is such a chore! plus, i felt a little claustrophic in the galley.

on the other hand, this flight was one that i will remember for life. for one, i got to sit in the cockpit for take-off and landing. which, by the way, was just UBER cool. being on the headset and listening to all the clearances for take-offs, landings, air spaces... it just looks so easy. but i'm sure, like being a cabin crew, there is a lot of hardwork behind the scene. they just make it look so easy peasy!

and then, having the entire aeroplane to ourselves. i have never slept so well on a flight before, and i was totally knocked out, to the point where i thought i was back at home sleeping. when i woke up, there was no one around, and i was feeling very disoriented, thinking whether i had been abandoned.

okay my point is, i could totally get used to having a private jet.

now you know why this is a totally bimbotic and out-of-this-world post.

touched and thankful

2010-12-06T22:31:00.006+08:00

was sick the whole of sunday, down with grastic flu and suffering very badly the whole of sunday afternoon. i absolutely hate feeling so weak, even though it did help me clock hours of sleep that i really needed.

the mother was sick with worry, with me scheduled to fly off tomorrow morning and still not being well as of last night, texted me this evening when she had gotten home from work, and asked me whether i wanted her to cook porridge for me and send it down to my work home (otherwise known as winter palace), all the way from my weekend home (otherwise known as summer palace), keeping in mind that summer and winter palace is 40 minutes away, by car no less, and that the mother can't even drive to save her life.

of course, i told her not to, telling her i was feeling much better already. which i was, after taking one more round of medication.

and the phone conversation continued on, with her nagging at me to not be so stressed at work, and not to fuss over the unnecessary. typical. but something that i actually enjoy listening to.

and for that, i am really thankful for everything that i have. really.

having said that, my appetite finally came back in time for dinner, to have a very good dinner before i fly out tomorrow morning. not that i won't be enjoying local fare on-board, since for the very first time, i get to decide what to uplift for the flight tomorrow - which includes 80 (!!!) sticks of satay, hokkien mee and chicken rice, amidst the usual amenities of drinks, fruits, snacks, etc. and of course, i get to 'play' cabin crew tomorrow. i finally get to fulfill my fantasy of being cabin crew! -bimbotic grin-

okay all of you can go and play riddle. will update more as and when i can.

good now. g'nite people!

to be or not to be

2010-12-05T01:30:00.002+08:00

i've always prided myself for living life passionately. but being passionate involves certain amounts of emotions. being passionate involves having no holds barred when it comes to things that you want to do, the way you think that you should be living your life, and the sacrifices that you have to make in order to attain or achieve what you have set your heart out to do.

it also means that there is more heartache involved when things don't go your way. it also means that failure will hit you more badly than it would have if you had been less passionate. it also means more extreme emotions involved, especially when you give your all in hopes of making things better.

at the end of the day, you question yourself whether it is worth it. sometimes, i wish that i can curb my emotions such that i will not feel the pain, the anger, the sadness, all the negativity that comes together with the passion that you put into the job and/or the person. i really do wish that i would be less reactive and more calm in a lot of matters. which i have proven that i can be completely calm, unreactive and extremely cold when i have sufficiently disconnected myself from certain events or persons. but is that the way that i want to live my life? cold, rational, passionless, not knowing pain but not knowing joy either.

i do crave for the day where i am allowed to live my life passionately, and not have to go through the negativity of life. but that would be asking for too much. is this what you call, living life to the fullest?

saturday morning musings

2010-12-04T11:46:00.002+08:00

nothing beats having a good night's rest. not even sk-ii. all those creases that formed over all the unnecessary stress over the past week, the stress spot reappearing from being caused excessive anger by imbeciles, culminating into having stay up till 11 pm on a friday night just to ensure that something is done and followed through. all of these dissipated as i clocked (finally!) 11 hours of sleep. -yawn stretch-

it's definitely a lazy saturday morning, as i awoke to find mumu the mao staring at me, and then giving me a yawn as lazy-looking as mine. i think she's suffering from abandonment issues, with the father currently in new york (the last i heard, freezing!) and no one to feed her and play with her during the day. she's been following me around the house all morning, something she rarely does. even as i play my favorite tune on the piano, she just prances around the piano top and then proceeds to jump off when she gets bored. maybe cos she knows i'm making plenty of mistakes. and then just lying on my bed as i type away on my laptop. i give up with that cat. she really does get away with a lot of things.

so many thoughts over the week, with just so many things on my mind all at the same time. i think i really do need to stop and think. the most important question being, what defines me? i will not allow myself to be simply defined by what others expect of me. no, that is too superficial. yes, i pride myself for being adaptable, but adaptability is not equals to conformity. it's like how i can understand, but i cannot accept. it's mutually exclusive, in that sense.

having said that, i am prepared to accept that my non-conformity will lead to consequences, which i am willing to pay for. because at the end of the day, i will stand by what i believe. and it's funny, because frankly, i don't think i have a lot of principles or values that i am guided by in life.

no, everything is really peachy. just some thoughts that i've been having, and a reminder to myself to not forget the person that i am, and what i live for.

so anyway, i will be out of office next week, 7 to 14 december, on duty travel no less. feeling slightly apprehensive and scared, for reasons i shall not reveal here. but i know i am just being paranoid. sometimes, too much information can really kill. but never mind. i'll deal.

for some reason, even though christmas is rarely a winding down period for me, i cannot wait for christmas to come this year. perhaps, i still have some optimism in me that this year will be different. -cross fingers-

happiness in different forms

2010-12-02T00:39:00.004+08:00

feeling inexplicably proud, after putting the father on the plane, en route frankfurt to new york, on my free ticket no less!

feeling extremely joyous, knowing that miss kate spade bag is ordered, with a further 15% off! and then realizing that i should really order some of my benefit make-up as well, since it is almost half the price in U.S.

feeling extremely happy that november is over. it was a sucky month on the whole indeed. but december will be better!

feeling extremely tired and going to fall into deep slumber with vivid dreams, knowing that my subconscience is dealing with all those underlying emotions.

hello december!

g'nite pple.

i tried.

2010-11-30T23:43:00.001+08:00

but i'm sorry my best is not enough.

lesson learnt

2010-11-29T21:21:00.000+08:00

some things are just not worth it.

2010-11-28T11:30:00.002+08:00

something is severely wrong with me. usually, i sleep at 2 - 3 am on the weekends, expecting to wake up only at 11 am or 12 noon. but this weekend, i was eyes-wide-open awake at unearthly 8 am in the morning.

-gasp- i am getting old!

having said that, it's nice getting out of bed to have the mao giving her usual leg rub, and then pawing me to greet me good morning.

and then, i'm supposed to be thinking of putting together something so ravingly fabulous... about myself of course. (if you guessed that i'm doing up my resume, you guessed wrong.) but i'm left stumped. completely. utterly. i've been moping around, looking for sources of inspiration. it really shouldn't be all that difficult, given that i pride myself for my marketing skills. really. but right now, i'm feeling as stumped as opening up your exam booklet to find that you don't know the answer to any question in the whole damned book.

or maybe, i'm just afraid to put it in black and white and realize how pathetic it all is. knowing your strengths is just about as good as knowing your weaknesses and flaws and trying to cover them up as much as possible.

okay time to pile on the ego. excuse me while i inflate myself with some.

lazy saturday morning?

2010-11-27T12:11:00.002+08:00

i think not...

i woke up at 7.47 am, and thought about the work i brought home to do, then decided to wake up to finish it off. fed mumu the mao twice in between, and finally finished it off, clearing one thing that was nagging my mind. thinking about all the unanswered emails, but i think i shall let it be for now. there's only so much i can do. -breathe-

the one good thing that happened to me was waking up to find that i did not actually put on weight. i thought that i would have this week, with all the good food that i had. was at cherry garden@marina oriental (just one level above morton's and the lovely chocolate martinis!!!) earlier this week, and the food was not bad! the steamed cod fillet with the special soya sauce was, in fact, the best i ever ever had! it was so nicely steamed and the cut was so good that the whole thing just melts in your mouth. the beef tenderloin was not bad either, but definitely not as good as the one i had on my last tokyo trip. the only gripe i had was that they cut the steak into 4 portions, and it was just too huge for my liking. i had to spend a lot of time chewing through it... and it didn't help that i was nursing a toothache... (see below entry) the kurobuta though, was a disappointment. perhaps because we did not order on a per serving basis. but in any case, if no one told me it was kurobuta, i would not have guessed it. but since i did all the ordering, of course i would have known. all in all, a place i won't mind going back to.

then, to end off the week, i was invited to dinner at eng seng, the one with the famous black pepper crabs along still road. it's been at least three years since i last ate there, and for all the jumbos, long beach, ah yats that i've had in between, the black pepper crab at eng seng still held the number one spot in my heart. so, even as precarious as we were with our schedules, we left work ON-TIME to head down to still road for our long-awaited fix. and it definitely did not disappoint. on top of the black pepper crabs, we had the famous mee goreng (nothing special i felt..), lemon chicken (different from the usual kind and much nicer!), venison (very tender. not bad!), salad youtiao (normal..), steamed fish (nowhere near the cod above, but still good...), steamed prawns (normal but nicer if you dip them in the black pepper sauce).

and by the time the black pepper crabs came, i was all ready to whack them! the first taste of the subtle buttery taste melting in my mouth was just absolutely heavenly, mixing it in with the spice of the black pepper just giving me the ultimate orgasmic moment... -sighs- it has been too long a wait. my table of 6 of us had 5 pepper crabs, so i was really not shy in attacking claw after body after claw. it was just super yums, and people were just amazed with the amount i ate. this after starving through lunch made it all the more gratifying. at least i didn't waste my calories on mediocre food.

and then, packing back two black pepper crabs, intending to bring one home for the bf's family and the other for the family. but for some reason, it did not make it past the bf's place.

having eaten so much, i was amazed to find myself weighing the same. i think it's the stress levels that keep my weight down, which, for once, i am not complaining that it is a bad thing. off to disturb mumu the mao.

laters people!

owwwww....

2010-11-25T21:15:00.002+08:00

i can't believe it. my nerve died. just like that. weeks ago, it was fine. i had a re-filling done. and then it started hurting. i thought it was the filling setting in. but it decided to die. and now i have to go through root canal. AGAIN. sigh. i was hoping never to go through it ever again. ever.

then again, the anesthetic worked wonders. but three hours later, which is about NOW, my lower jaw is hurting like mad.

i am going to sulk. hmph.

roller coaster

2010-11-24T01:33:00.003+08:00

sometimes, the anticipation leading to the ride just totally kills you. but when the downward swing occurs, a sense of exhiliaration overcomes you.

sometimes, you just wish the whole thing will stop altogether. like you're so sick of it and you just wish for some stability.

sometimes, it's way milder than what you had expected. and that's not a bad thing. not for me anyway.

sometimes, you're just left hanging in mid-air. what exactly will happen next, no one knows. you either fall out of your seat and plummet to your death, or you hang tight and hope for the very best.

christmas christmas

2010-11-21T22:55:00.003+08:00

before i go into how much i absolutely adore christmas, i was just having a conversation with jw, shopping together online, and i am trying very hard to convince her to get this absolutely cute and sexy dress, which i completely intend to borrow from her. but that aside, she was lamenting that she had too many items in her 'shopping basket'. and so i went through item by item with her. at the end of half an hour....

jw: okay i think i won't get the shoes.
me: haha what changed your mind?
jw: i dunno... you always make me change my mind.
jw (cont'd): serious. everytime i think i am being outrageous in my spending, i just need to talk to you. and then i don't spend anymore.
me: wow
jw: good right. sorry i use you.

hahaha. now, if only i had that effect on myself.

so anyway, continuing from online shopping, i am currently sourcing for the family's christmas eve dinner. i think this year we shall have turkey. i so want to cook for the family, but given the track record of christmas eves since i joined the company - getting off at 6 pm on christmas eve 2008 and 5 pm on christmas eve 2009 (maybe this year i will aim for 4 pm) - i seriously don't want to risk starving the entire family. i wish kayla was here to make her signature shepherd's pie. it's so sinful but so good! and i wish i had the time to make foie gras with port sauce. but that's just hoping for too much now. so, i shall just settle to order roast turkey, ham and peking duck!

i absolutely adore christmas. i love the whole season of festivities and christmas decorations and christmas carols. and i don't just mean the commercialisation of it all. i love the joy of giving... and receiving obviously! and i have started shopping for christmas presents. it gives me more reason to shop! (as if i needed any to begin with...)

okay back to online shopping! victoria's secrets anyone??? omigosh... this piece is totally mind-blowing! -super loves-

so....

2010-11-21T16:43:00.002+08:00

weekend (or the lack thereof) updates:

met up with zooey and bali (like finally!!!!) for saturday lunch, and spent a substantial amount of time talking, giving relationship advice, marvelling over the fact that zooey is getting married, (and the first one amongst us for that!!! so happy i, again, proved the theory wrong that i will be the first!!!) and basically catching up on the old times, remembering both the good and bad. oh it was good. and then heading to town in hopes of finding zooey a pair of comfy pants for her travels to US. in between heading to muji to get some seriously good instant noodles - in the mini form - for those late nights in office.

and then packing back home the dad's fave apple strudel, alongside my fave salted egg yolk crab and white pepper crab from our fave crab specialist, and enjoying the night attacking the poor crabbies. totally yummicilious! totally feeling fat from all the sinful food i had on friday and saturday!

and so on sunday, i thought to be smart to have a light breakfast before heading back to the office, then having to spend a considerable amount of time under non-air conditioned environment, under shade but still very close to the hot sun, where i actually had fun watching slide deployments, breathing in dusty air, and then proceeding to sit on the slides to help deflate them. totally fun! but before i knew it, i was suffering from dizziness from dehydration and low sugar levels. i seriously need to be more attuned to being out in the open again. and then heading back up to finish off the real work. le sigh.

i am going to take a nap now. g'nite people.

2010-11-20T21:24:00.004+08:00

november was feeling a tad weird. i thought it was maybe because it was the one month that i did not have to do any traveling - duty or otherwise, for the first time this year. perhaps because it was a month full of events and public holidays in between that it did not feel like we were at full-steam ahead. not that i am complaining about anything.

but suddenly, a few sms-es back and forth and now i am due to be back to office on a sunday. and that all-too-familiar feeling comes crashing back.

welcome back.

of buggies, bitchings and bags

2010-11-20T01:28:00.004+08:00

for the first time in a long long time today, i actually drove. and for the first time, i drove a golf buggy. it was really really fun! but i have to admit that my driving was hell reckless. checking sms-es and taking phone calls at the same time, whilst looking out for people. then again, i knew that as long as i didn't drive the buggy into the water or turn it upside down, it would be fine.

anyway, remember what i said about having no holds barred when push comes to shove? i would just like to add that i don't give a fuck who you are and whose backing you have. if you don't do your part, don't fucking expect me to cover for you. call me a bitch, whatever. i don't care. i stand by what i said. hate me all you want or turn people against me. it is okay. i am more than used to it.

SO... back to happy thoughts happy thoughts... the reason why i got to drive a buggy today!

this was, of course, taken after we had finished our rounds and freshened up for the next round..

sadly only have two pictures, as after a very short intermission, we had to continue on with what we had to do. because we are very professional people.

so anyway, mumu the mao attacks the paper bag again!!!

when i got home, she was just EYEING the paper bag i carried. no leg rub and no affection. just blatant staring at the paper bag. and i put it atop the sofa, and she was just trying to paw it down to the floor. that cat!!! being the soft-hearted me, i put the bag on the floor, emptied out all the contents and she promptly wriggled her way into the paper bag.

and being ever ever so blatant about it.

all in all, bitchings aside, it was a fabulous day. my arms and legs look slightly darker but thank goodness no sunburn. the weather was hot all afternoon, but the breeze that came as we were driving around was a life-saver. okay i think my brain is shutting down.

nites people!

blind sided

2010-11-17T12:32:00.002+08:00

in one of the most rare occasions, sitting here back in the comforts of my own room, trying to tempt mumu the mao to curl at my feet as i work... to no avail... and i see and hear the pattering of raindrops on my window and the sun still brightly shining... but for a flitting moment.

i particularly enjoyed the blind side. i remember watching it on some flight back from somewhere i cannot remember now, and tearing at some point in time, at the prejudices that people have, at the sacrifice that some people go to lengths to make, at the lack of comprehension and understanding from society. okay my point is, i really enjoyed the show - one of the rare shows that i enjoyed whilst on duty travel.

and well, really, my point is that i got blind sided. twice. in three days. seriously, don't know what to think anymore. it's a complete mindfuck. i know i have a higher tolerance levels than most people, but please know that i have my limits. i feel the need to increase my peripheral vision, but as it is, i am trying very hard to keep my stress levels down and this would seriously not help.

at the end of the day, it really is a double-edged sword. what makes you can also break you. your strength becomes a sore point in others, and somehow along the way works against you. it's like how having information can work for you, but having too much information will work against you. something like that. anyway, at the end of the day, i know what i will or will not stand for. i know the person that i am and trust me, i do because i have been pushed to my limits and i know how to walk (even if you don't believe i will). just please don't push the wrong buttons. i am not one to hide my emotions and feelings, and i will have no holds barred when push comes to shove.

well, the sun is out but thunder is still rumbling in the background.

on a much ligher note, where the hell did the year go to? everywhere i go is filled with christmas decorations! so soon??? seriously??? i cannot remember with whom i was speaking with, but the person told me to go to paris during christmas, as they do have nice christmas decorations. at that point in time, it didnt' strike me that i did spend christmas in europe before - montreux christmas market, bern, geneva, then paris and finally london. apart from the montreux christmas market, what christmas decorations? seriously??? have you seen our orchard road?

as i was traveling through orchard road, fabulously jammed on a weekend evening, i could see the outline of the christmas decorations even though the official light-up has not commenced. i hope i will not be disappointed this year.

of dreams and black cats..

2010-11-14T22:03:00.001+08:00

last night, i was dreaming very vividly. i dreamt about a million and one things last night. lots of friends, work stress, meeting up with friends, duty travel... but the one thing that stuck out the most was that i had a black cat. it was a completely black cat with mumu's eyes.

so this afternoon, after having a late lunch, i happened to walk past this shop and i saw this black cat (which i know through kayla's love for it...) and whaddaya know...

black cat peering at black cat peering into the mug. that is the mug i bought in taiwan - the one i spent almost half an hour (or was it one?) deciding whether i will pay 30 bucks for it. and expensive for a mug as it is, i super love it now! and because i bought this mug, i refrained from getting a tinkerbell mug at champs elysee's disney store, which i have much much much regrets now. le sigh.

and yes, on top of that...

the bf insisted on getting this intriguing musical box for me... and yes it is indeed very cute, but it is also BLOODY expensive! i do love it but i still think it is very expensive. in fact, i only wanted the soft toy, which is expensive for a 8-inch soft toy as it is.

oh well, christmas came early again for me this year.

post-script: jw read this post and said, 'could your dream be partly due to the black cat i told you about?' and i remembered that she showed me this video of her friend's black cat using its paw to stir the water in a glass, before licking its paw to drink the water. and she said, 'maybe your black cat will dip its paw to drink the water in your mug.' HAHA!

superficially nice memories

2010-11-14T02:34:00.000+08:00

when the make-up artist said (in mandarin), your complexion very good leh... heehee. i think i should believe her, since she did not have any incentive to say that. 1) she wasn't trying to sell me any product. 2) i was never going to see her again (i think...) and even if i did i don't think i will remember her.

i think i am really neurotic. all throughout the session, i kept saying (in mandarin), please keep it simple. i was so scared that they will give me blue eyeshadow with glitter. -gasp horror shock- remember days of dance... no no i have so grown out of it. and when they asked me, do you want glitter in your hair? i said, 'NONONONO!! NO glitter please.' remember days of dance and cheerleading. seriously. i felt like i was 17 once this week already. no need to feel like 17 twice in one week. okay well, i was trying to go for the classy, simple, chic look. what do you think?

okay this was an after-events shot. with my grand piano (or half of it at least) no less. we put mumu the mao on the piano, in hopes that she will want to pose with me, but she ended up running off and doing her own thing.

and this... is an upclose shot of my current fave pair of chanel earrings. again, being the control freak that i was, i told the make-up artist, "use my lip gloss please!!!" and proceeded to take out my chanel lip gloss - to which she commented, 'wah you really like chanel hor...' and i just had to say, 'haha my initials mah..' yes yes, roll your eyes. actually i just know that if i use cheap lip gloss, i will have chapped lips after.

and then one of my most favorite moments of today. i transported my day/night dresses, make-up, accessories etc. in the huge ferragamo paper bag. and when i got back home, i emptied the bag, and guess what....

yes, mumu the mao just had to tunnel into the bag to be a kay-poh....

and then decided that she wanted to completely hide herself in the bag. so now, i've lost my ferragamo (paper) bag to mumu the mao. she is currently sitting on the bag and sleeping. i simply don't have the heart to yank her off. the next thing i know, she will probably want to sleep in my ferragamo bag! yes, i am pretty sure she can squeeze into it.

anyway, more photos here.

out for the night!

of marriage and traditions

2010-11-13T11:25:00.002+08:00

something that i'm still pondering on.. gg thru the whole process once again this morning, and it sort of struck me.. did people come up with so-called traditions, just to ensure that everyone, friends and family will have something to do, to participate and feel like they are a part of the wedding entourage?

what is the value of marriage? and then on the other hand, what is the devaluation of divorce? do people really know what they are signing up for?

maybe i will find the answer today..

perceptions

2010-11-10T22:39:00.001+08:00

there's a lot of things i want to say. but i will not say it. but i just have this to say.

please don't pass judgement on me when you don't really know me. and in front of 40 people. case in point, 'claire is an extrovert.' no, she is not. she is actually an introvert. i know i did myers briggs before. i was an entj. that was five years ago. i did myers briggs again recently. i was an intp. so i concluded that i am a forced extrovert, amongst many things. because really, my energy does not thrive from being surrounded by people. sure, i love my friends. i enjoy talking to people. but my source of energy, i believe, comes from within. and seriously, if you want to know me better, please talk to me on a personal level before making sweeping statements. in front of 40 people.

at the end of the day, just because i don't seem to pay attention doesn't mean i am oblivious to my surroundings. i believe my ability to multi-task ranks quite highly. and again, i have proven it.

there's a lot of angst in me these two days. and seriously, i don't wonder why. i just absofuckinglutely hate doing things for the sake of doing things. at the end of the day, i only do things for people whom i have respect for. i'm sorry to say this, but if i don't have respect for a person, i find it extremely very difficult to even lift a finger to help. call me selfish. call me a bitch. whatever. similarly, if you make me do things which i don't wish to do but do it out of mere obligation, then i'm sorry you would have lost my respect as well. and please remember, respect is earned. not given. and this applies to everyone.

on the more positive side of things, was talking to someone today and this person thinks that i am 'cute'. initially appalled, then got bothered, because 'cute' by popularized definition means 'ugly but adorable'. and 'cute' is not a compliment to me. 'cute', alongside 'nice', is used to describe someone with no personality. and i'd like to think that i am otherwise. so, not wanting to let it go, i asked said person for the definition, which ended up with somewhere along the lines of 'attractive and adorable'. i suppose, that is better than 'ugly and adorable'. then again, i'd prefer to be described as 'quirky'. maybe quirky fun. not quirky in the weird and out-of-sorts way. but quirky definitely has more personality than 'cute'.

still, it was a nice insight to know how other people perceive me. and i can't say it's not a compliment, so yes, i shall bask in the positive perception (finally) someone has of me. now, excuse me while i un-cute myself.

maps, men, and a magnificent weekend

2010-11-07T23:08:00.003+08:00

scene: in the car

the bf: can you check the gps how to get to place (xxx)
me: okay. (enters postal code into gps and proceeds to route) okay you get on this road, then turn right, then get on cte, turn right at xx ave and then turn left at yy junction.
the bf: oh okay i think i know how to get there...

a while later...

the bf: eh turn which way ah??
me: (fumbles to get my iphone out) i thought you say you knew???
the bf: i think it's turn right.
me: i will support whatever decision that you make.
the bf: ... ...

continuing on the journey..

me: i think you're supposed to turn off here
the bf: (ignores me...)
me: erm... (looks at iphone for confirmation)

the bf proceeds to turn out at the next exit.

me: see, you were supposed to turn out at the previous exit... but it's okay. i will route for you.
the bf: you sure your iphone correct or not?
me: excuse me, even if you don't trust me, you have to trust iphone GPS okay. and what? just because my iphone is a girl iphone, that means the directions is wrong is it??? (at this point feeling very indignant)

still giving directions to the bf...

me: okay turn right at the next turning into the carpark...
the bf: you sure??? it's block 530 you know... this turning is into block 900 plus...
me: -flustered- huh??? (zooms in and zooms out of GPS... how come route to wrong block???)
the bf: (reads his sms again) oh... it's block 9xx...
me: -_-"""""

the new age of technology and map reading.

_____________________________________________________

it's been a fabulous weekend. i slept, shopped, read, pampered myself with mani/pedi/spa, spent time with my family and met up with some friends, attended a wedding and got slightly intoxicated... one of the best weekends i've had in a seriously long time.

and here's some of the better photos taken during the wedding...

self-shots are still the best!!!

i absolutely adore her outfit!! it's so uber pretty!!!! and our colors almost complement!

cam-whoring in the washroom. they had seriously nice mirrors!

bracing self for the week ahead. it's going to be a rough ride ahead... then again, what is life without challenges?

2010-11-06T00:32:00.002+08:00

currently reading errornomics and a question posed on the back cover of the book reads, 'why should a woman hope it was a man who witnessed her bag being snatched?'

and i thought to myself, before i started reading the book, that it is because women will tend to notice the bag.. (what brand is it? prada? ferragamo? CHANEL???) who cares about the snatcher?

reading on, i find out that it is because men are generally better at remembering details about the snatcher, and women better at the appearance of the woman whose bag is being snatched. not too far off, i say. i think my bimbo logic is more accurate though.

and yes, thankful for the long weekend, managing to catch up on sleep, reading, spending time with the parents and mumu the mao, then going to manicure/pedicure with jw. then heading down to town for some shopping and ending up with frivolous buys (seriously need to STOP SHOPPING!!), and then ending the night with some sleep-inducing tea and macarons at TWG@ion.

i really forgot what it feels like to have a proper weekend.

nothing beats

2010-11-05T02:27:00.004+08:00

i could go on and bitch about the bad week that i had. everything that could go wrong went wrong. and even as i thought i was escaping it all after work, i just had to bump into the most unsightly person. like i said, i could go on. but i won't.

nothing beats having a bunch of good friends waiting for you at dinner, even though you're one and a half hours late, with gifts waiting nonetheless.

nothing beats attempting to drown your sorrows in rum & raisin ice cream, even though the alcohol content is seriously lacking. but that's not the point.

nothing beats having a good cry at the end of the day, and this is something that "the men just don't get it..." it doesn't solve any problems, but it damn well makes me feel better. and it is, after all, my entitlement.

nothing beats having a very sleepy and half-awake mumu the mao wait for you at the door while you rummage your bag for your keys, staring at you with half-open eyes. and you're thinking, why doesn't she just learn how to open the door for you? okay never mind.

nothing beats gulping down a whole mug of yummy bird's nest to save that disastrous complexion worsened by sleepless nights and stress.

nothing beats having a manicure and spa session awaiting you this weekend.

the feeling i felt this week felt all too familiar, and i remembered that i blogged about it not too long ago, just slightly more than a year ago. and ironically, it was titled 'important lesson learnt' on 3rd october 2009. it is as if life has a timely reminder button to remind myself again of what i value and what defines me. and i will remind myself again here.

"it's been a really rough week at work, with loss of sleep and appetite, and with more to come. so i shall take cover and recuperate as much as i can over the weekend and brace myself.

sometimes, life is good in the way that it gives us timely reminders of lessons that we have learnt so far, and keeps us from forgetting those precious things that you learn along the way. painful as it is, i admit that i needed the reminder. and that is all i shall say here.

it's so much so easier to be jaded and cynical with all the obstacles that life throws at you. but i will not choose the easy path to go down to.

and all that i needed to be reminded of are my friends and family who will be there for me when i shout/scream/bitch, and not judge me for it.

it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling with the parents fussing over me this morning, ensuring that i was getting healthy food into me. with le bf having to force feed me to ensure that i eat just that bit more, so i won't fall ill. with people whom you call friends that share not only your joys and laughters, but also your pain and tribulations.

work, is but work."

p.s. the next person who tells me i look like cabin crew in the pictures below will seriously get slapped.

why my feet ache so badly..

2010-11-03T22:14:00.002+08:00

i have not done any exhibition for really really long. since my internship days actually, and this is the first in four years actually doing something like that... so here's me at my booth...

and introducing the A380 aircraft...

it's a really good aircraft. i've taken it a few times now, both on ey and business class, and i must say it is really fabulous and impressive. it is so quiet that sometimes, in mid-flight you don't even know whether the aircraft is still flying... until it hits pocket of turbulence. and even so, the turbulence is so mild it is just amazing.

and partners in crime at the booth.

enjoying a drink after a hard day's work. back is so aching now...

i am so glad i am not in events management or front line staff. i forgot how tiring it is to be up on my feet all day, and my feet hurt really badly. i love my desk job. really.

just one of those days...

2010-11-02T20:36:00.002+08:00

where the roses stopped blooming for a while and i'm feeling especially tired and weary.

i tried to put my finger down to it, and realized that the morning got off on a bad note. knowing that you lost something, but not that it is any part of your fault, that you tried, but it just didn't work out, that it is in no part due to your inabilities or lack of capabilities. but it just didn't happen. and you really wanted it to.

but being me, i just swept it aside and did not think about it. but i guess subconsciously, it did get to me.

and then taking a hit of reality at some point in time, again, no part personal but it just so happens that way, to put things into perspective.

and then ending the day feeling completely off, leaving the office without my wallet - something that has not happened to me in a long long time. and the best part? i have to be somewhere outstationed tomorrow and will not be going in.

but with all things in life, there is a silver lining. there will be rainbows after the rain. i will get my wallet back early tomorrow morning, thanks to my quick thinking. i will get a grip of the reality of things and get on top of it... as with all things in life. as for the first, well, i'm worried. but not overly so.

work, is but work.

first weekend away from champs elysee..

2010-10-31T23:23:00.002+08:00

and i was reminded of that this afternoon...

did you know that orchard road was re-modelled after champs elysee? but i think we did a far better job in the end... although the LV boutique along champs elysee puts ours to great great shame, but who cares about LV!

so, in an attempt to reintegrate myself back into my social life, this morning was a bake-out at my place to add the surprise element into iz and jon's birthday celebration. the warm molten chocolate cake with bailey's irish cream tasted fabulous! and of course, personalized with letters 'C' 'S' 'I' & 'J'. well, 'C' and 'S' had to share one because the father was eyeing one cake, and after the wonderful aroma filled the kitchen and living room, who could resist?

the outcome of our morning bake-out. well, mine really because siff was, as usual, LATE...

and the surprise really worked! we had a hard time trying to hide the 'secret', which of course, jon and iz suspected something. but with my wonderful acting skills and siff's natural blurness, they were completely caught off-guard, to the extent that they thought we ordered the cake from the cafe. (GOT SO NICE MEH!!!)

and the one that i used the most bailey's (jon's cake) tasted the nicest. it's a substitute to water. instead of adding water, add bailey's. everyone agreed that it tasted the best.

and a picture of us, with iz and jon holding on to their pressies...

and before we attacked the cake...

siff was pretty upset that she wasn't in the picture, and i'm supposed to photoshop her in. she indeed thinks very highly of my photoshop skills.

so yes, that was sunday brunch. well worth all the effort in the end. next up, siff's bday will be FUN... -evil grin snigger snigger-

paris withdrawal

2010-10-30T01:07:00.002+08:00

i love that my period waited for me to return home. i hate that i suffered the entire day today in cramps at work. -cringes in pain despite 4 x panadol intake-

and yes, suffering from paris withdrawal symptoms. i finally mustered the courage to check my credit card bill and i was in for a surprise. i spent less than what i had actually calculated, thanks to the quite favorable exchange rate given. damn... should have bought more! i miss vallee village, champs elysee, galleries lafayette, madeleine already. i should have gotten the nice ferragamo clutch that was going for 300 fricking euros at the paris airport. oh why did i have so much self-control? did i not experience a sudden euphoria of joy as i just hecked all the practicality and bought the pair of chanel earrings i set my sights on, and the joy as i received my carefully wrapped-up chanel package that led me to feel that for once, i did myself justice for buying something that i really just want and not need, under the stupidest justification that 'they are my initials!!! and mommy's fave gemstone!'

i should really do that more often.

but as i was telling the bf, i feel like i saw my future house furnishings disintegrating into all these frivolous buys. then again, i'll worry about that when the time comes.

and i was musing to another colleague that i did not have any budget left to get anyone christmas presents this year, and he said, please get me a present by saving your money for your future house. -touched- i thanked him for sponsoring 1 x tile in my future house.

being back though, does have its benefits. as usual, i was craving for asian cuisine by day 2 of the trip. by day 3, i was practically bitching about it at all meal-times. and the food in paris isn't even half as bad as say... middle eastern cuisine (less the fabulous steak in dubai of course! oh i miss the lobster bisque!!!) so once on board the flight, i gave up all western cuisine, even though the crew recommended the beef steak, which i am sure would have been great, to go for chicken rice. but the breakfast selection was disappointing, in the sense that it did not have dim sum nor anything remotely soupy. so i had the fresh fruit, muesli with yogurt (so healthy right...) and stopped at that. and once off the plane, i headed off to ya kun for some serious kaya toast and the real half-boiled eggs complete with dark soy sauce and white pepper. -yums-

and then since i couldn't quite focus at work today, i left really early, well, not really but relatively compared to my usual time, and went off in search for some good soup and chinese food. and tomorrow, for the first time in two weeks, mommy's cooking! yay!

for all the shopping that is worth, i am glad to be back to enjoy the company of family, friends and colleagues, to just enjoy the familiarity and the train system that is so fabulous, to be back at my desk once again and getting irate with the usual. yes i know i am weird. but sometimes, i do miss the monotony of daily routines. just sometimes...

oh fabulous but snobbish paris...

2010-10-28T20:40:00.002+08:00

safely back in singapore, and thankful for all the conveniences that i have back here.

paris was completely and utterly wonderful. this trip was a completely different feel from the last time i was in paris. perhaps because i was alone. perhaps because i was armed with more credit cards.

i took a different approach to the city this time. because the bf was not on this trip with me, i did not wish to see any sights or go to any museums. all i did was take in the sight of the eiffel tower, and walk down champs elysee, which was freaking crowded, that was remotely touristy. other than that, of what little free time i had, i was shopping all of the time.

i ended up with a ferragamo bag and a pair of chanel earrings for myself, with other buys including a furla watch for the aunt and a dunhill wallet for the bf. not a lot, but that was more than 1k in luxury shopping. what mattered most was the shiok feeling of whipping your credit card out and paying for your purchase. because you know you can afford it. and because it does, to a certain extent, justify how hard you've been working.

on the whole, it was a fabulous fabulous experience, despite the snotty treatment of the french (what's new.. and what better way to give it to them than to be snotty yourself.)

so many familiar sights, just walking along the streets, reminiscing and having a million and one feelings over this city that i have a soft spot for, since i set eyes on it in the very impressionable 13th year of my life. the hustle and bustle of the old, stinky, but oh-so-familiar and still very very confusing metro system, where i learnt not to try to make sense of the system but just go with the flow. just the whole ambience of the place triggered a huge sense of familiarity, yet i was still a stranger to the place.

paris paris, there must be a reason why everyone hates to love this city. i am one of them too.

lisbon, then paris paris paris!!!

2010-10-24T03:24:00.003+08:00

i think i've sufficiently adjusted to the timezone here, despite waking up at 3 am lisbon time, and then forcing myself back to sleep until 6.40 am, and then deciding that it was the best i could do. thankful for the connectivity back home, making it a lot less lonely, it gave me the sufficient time to catch up with friends - zooey and shu - back home. and then having a quick breakfast before heading out to the streets once again, to comb the shopping area one more time, even though i was really trying to save money and luggage space for paris. the weather was sunny, with the sun shining a tad too brightly, and i quickly hit the shops once again.

spent a total of sgd 140, not a small amount for a person trying not to shop. but what has to be spent has to be spent. and given the opportunity to fly a full 18 hours to get to lisbon, 2 hours more due to delays, spending a good majority of the leg on first class no less with full flat beds and fluffy pillows, staying in more than decent hotels, traveling in style (less flight delays...), with per diem to boot, i think i should not be too harsh with myself. of course, having said all that, work has to be done in the mean time!

had a quick lunch before throwing all my buys into my luggage, i headed off to lisbon airport, only to find out that my flight has been delayed, yet again! the good thing was that it was only delayed by 20 minutes, and thank goodness it was an airbus aircraft.

relatively speaking, today was a much easier day than yesterday. maybe it was because i wanted to be more positive about the entire trip, so i put on a smile and took on the day with much gusto. maybe it was because managing to talk to friends to start my day and remind me that although the world is very huge, i am not alone , with all the constant text messaging and whatsapp-ing to remind me that i still matter to some people on the other side of the planet.

anyhow, i am just relieved and so happy and extremely nostalgic to be back in paris. in the cab to my hotel, i saw the eiffel tower in the distance, and it reminded me of so many fond memories. it is indeed ironic to be in paris alone, well technically alone, and i will try to seek some meaning in this ironic situation as i roam the streets of paris tomorrow.

bittersweet

2010-10-23T04:31:00.002+08:00

that's how i feel right now.

my first duty travel alone. my first entire trip. alone. well, technically there are people flying in on sunday, but still, i had to do an entire leg. on. my. own.

two words - mentally taxing.

especially after experiencing flight delays and then having no one at the counter to confirm that it is true and you're left scratching your head where to go to get confirmation and in the end, rely on trustworthy sources back home (thank goodness for SMS and data roaming) to confirm flight delays. spending an extra 1.5 hours roaming the airport, but having quite nowhere to go because it is extremely inconvenient towing a luggage and shopping at the same time. so plonked myself in a strategic corner where i can see flight status updates on the screen and read a book quietly. and then going through the boarding gates, only to find out that there's no plane, but a freaking bus awaiting you. and then, the biggest horror of all - an aged-looking FOKKER aircraft stands in sight when the bus pulls up. having been spoilt by the airbuses and boeings, my imagination runs wild with all the potential turbulences and begin to say my prayers. a quick assurance from the engineer back home that it is indeed safe to board gave the necessary peace of mind. surprisingly it was a very easy flight. with bad service of course.

tripped off the plane, luggage in tow, boarded the bus, and thank goodness, lisbon airport was much less of a disaster where a cab was promptly secured and i was off to officially begin business.

and after concluding official business, it was time to check out the shopping district of lisbon. to the left of my hotel is hugo boss and ermenegildo zegna, and to my right is mont blanc, which i promptly skipped and went down to look for cheaper buys. zara did not disappoint, and i found a pair of almost perfect rose pink ballet flats for a mere EUR15.90. amazing. signed my credit card like there was no tomorrow. i am seriously curbing my buying urges till i hit paris tomorrow.

walking down the streets, i saw starbucks and in need of something to keep me awake at 6 pm local time, 1 am sg time, i bought my all-time fave mocha frapp, indulging in whipped cream (well, half of it anyway...) and walking down the streets, where people were looking incredulously at my mocha frapp. i was left wondering whether it was because i was drinking ice-blended in the start of winter (but it's only a cool 20 degrees!!!). oh well. i was happy with my coffee and it felt so good drinking something familiar, in the oh-so-perfect weather, just happy being where i am after all the trauma earlier in the day and enjoying the moment, despite the nagging feeling of missing the bf and home.

i think traveling alone is very stressful, and i will appreciate my traveling companion more next time. traveling with the bf allows me to be one hell of a blur ball because he does all the stressing and paranoiding. but i will grow from the experiences and be stronger.

welcome to adulthood. after a full 27 years of being protected and having other people to mollycoddle me all the time.

having said all that, i would definitely choose to have a traveling companion.

at the end of the day, i want to look back when i am 60 years old and marvel at how brave i am right now.

this morning...

2010-10-17T11:34:00.003+08:00

the skies were grey, the rain was pattering on the window panes, and thunder was rumbling low. the perfect weather to snuggle under your covers, in your perfectly air-conditioned (temperature controlled to your liking) room, hugging the bf.

but what did the bf have to do?

drag me out of bed at the unearthly 9 am in the morning (we slept at 3 am...) and have breakfast at BK. our usual ritual includes getting a copy of the sunday times, parking ourselves at our fave BK outlet, reading the papers and savoring our croissanwich and mini hashbrowns, polished off with iced milo. oh the simple pleasures of life.

the week has been kind to me, even though i felt more stressed out than usual. finally getting the opportunity to meet up with june and alicott, meeting da man of her life, and then bitching about weddings over a good, simple chinese meal at ding tai fung. i seriously feel very guilty to all my friends and as much as i travel so often, i do keep all of you in my thoughts. and the thing is, because i am afraid of committing the date to meet up and then having to pull out the last minute due to some unscheduled trip, i tend to have this fear of asking. but if you ask me, i am more than willing to commit and accommodate, and when i do have to travel, the guilt is somehow lessened. okay well, if you didn't get my point, my point is, please ask me out more often and i will definitely try to accommodate!

and of course, going to andrea's baby shower and seeing the centimeters she has grown so far and so fast! i know it's selfish of me to say this, but i do hope she will become a toddler faster because toddlers are so much more fun to play with and dress up! but like what the older people say, savor it when they are babies and toddlers. their world revolves around their parents, and it will possibly be the only time that they look up (both literally and not literally) to you, listen to you and worship you. i wish i could post up the picture, but i seriously look puffy. have been dealing with puffy face for the longest time ever, due to lack of sleep!

anyhow, it's going to be a fabulous week ahead. i am heading off to lisbon, followed by paris for the next five days, for a conference! the first conference i am attending since i joined the company and i love conferences because basically you do nothing but sit there and try to look intellectual! and the best part.... of course, being in paris. and of course, attending conferences is really a bonus part that comes with my job, and i am just so thankful that my boss selected me for this trip! the sad part is, though, that the bf can't come along because he is currently in peak season. i will surely reminisce the times we walked down champs elysee when we were poor students, heading to arc d'triomphe and looking for the battle of grand port inscripted on the arc...

and with parents coming back from their month-long sabbatical tomorrow (and so thankful for that!!!!), i feel a load of stress easing from my shoulders and breathing normalizing. it is just so difficult to upkeep a house when you only go back on weekends.. or less.

okay be good now! will update when i can!

never say never

2010-10-11T20:21:00.004+08:00

and never say i am sure. ever.

i was so confident that i will be back on friday, but it was such a close call and i nearly missed my connecting flight in dubai, because the stupid airline (interline, not revealing which one though..) did not have my name on the flight, even though my ticket was FIRM. and the system closed and they had to put me on the next flight out. which left me only one hour to connect to my dubai flight. which, on paper, looked possible, but given the high rate of late arrivals, i was not sure anymore. plus, the next flight back home would only be at 6 pm the next day. it was a horrific situation to be in, and for the first time in my life, i screamed at the counter staff.

i remembered blogging not too long ago that i always treat service staff with respect, never raising my voice and never being unreasonable. but this was just too much for me to handle. being directed counter to counter to get me on the flight, and then being told that the system closed and there's nothing they can do about it, with the nonchalent look on their faces like it really isn't their problem that i'm not on the flight... that was just too much. the least i expect is for ALL of them to scuttle around and make it possible to get on the flight, and then be all apologetic about it when it turned into an impossible situation.

did i get an apology? no. did they look like they did all they could to help? no.

so i think i was highly justified to lose my temper and gave them a piece of my mind. i was so mad that even when i was finally on the interline flight, i closed my mind to relax, and felt the earth spinning, and i knew it was just me still feeling the waves of anger. which is not very good for my health. but at that point in time, i really couldn't be bothered.

such is bad for my aura. that is why i don't like being mean or taking my anger out on someone else.

anyhow, i did manage to catch my connecting flight home, all thanks to the wonderful system of an established and best (in my opinion) airline in the world. the lobster salad was absolutely fabulous and i managed to clock in 5 hours of sleep, which is not bad for a 7-hour long flight! and that was much needed for i had to trudge back to the office for a 3 pm meeting, when my flight landed near 12 noon, and saw me working till 9.30 pm that night.

as if that was not amazing enough, i returned home to a sickly bf (who had caught the infamous flu bug), went grocery shopping at 11 pm at night (all thanks to 24-hour supermarkets) and whipped up a pot of soup at 12 midnight, which by the way, was a happy birthday to myself.

and that was how i spent my birthday eve.

of all the gifts that the bf got me this year, the most memorable and unique one by far, is the flu virus that i caught over my birthday dinner.

the stay at MBS was good! the room was nice (normal 5-star hotel setting, nothing out of the ordinary), and the view overlooking the south china sea was simply fabulous. on the other hand, the skypark was overhyped, if not overcrowded. there were plenty of people in the pool, kids no less *shudders* and the whole top of the three towers were simply crowded with people, people and more people. the infinty pool would have been nice, less about 100 people in it. the view, frankly, nothing spectacular. equinox would have done the same, if not much better.

anyhow, overall a good stay, made very memorable by a sick bf. of course, there were the fabulous gifts, including a pair of diamond earrings -super loves- i refuse to take them off now.

and as usual, i haven't done justice to myself this birthday, as i did not last year either. i will post my birthday thoughts and year-on-year review soon. for now, i feel the medication about to knock me out.

stuck

2010-10-06T03:23:00.003+08:00

as things would have it, i am supposed to be on my flight back to singapore right now, sleeping restlessly on first class probably somewhere over india or the region.

but no, i am stuck and due to make a detour tomorrow, before i start heading for home on thursday instead. but whatever has to be done has to be done.

note to self: i will refill my bottles on each trip, regardless. and some face masks wouldn't hurt.

i will be back on friday. that much i can assure myself.

saw triangles.

2010-10-04T05:34:00.001+08:00

ironic weekends

2010-09-27T22:31:00.002+08:00

the weekend that just passed was fabulous. i finally caught up with one of my favorite past times - cooking.

you see, recently, a group of colleagues organized a french cooking class for all of us. it sort of triggered the fact that i have not cooked anything substantial (laksa is not counted as substantial) for a really long time. the french cooking class was good, not because i learnt new cooking methods, but because it made me realize how simple cooking really is. i am now well-equipped to make foie gras with port sauce. and pan-seared roasted duck breast. which really, is very simple.

okay so anyway, it sort of made me want to get into my cooking streak. so i drew up a menu for le bf and asked him to select his preferred choice. it ranged from maryland crab cakes, to foie gras, and tiger prawn pasta.

and being the bf, he selected tiger prawn pasta. (why am i not surprised...)

so on saturday morning, i met up with star team (less von) for breakfast at marmalade pantry@ion. it was a fabulous meal of eggs florentine, sponsored by jw no less, for the fabulous cover letter i wrote. now, if you require cover letter/resume editting services, or putting something together from scratch, you know who to call. i did two over the week, and both had raving and impressive comments when i turned the document back to them for their own vetting. of course, nominal fee charged.

so we had our eggs florentine (mine), french toast (jw), scrambled eggs with baked beans, grilled tomatoes and sausages (shu) and a geisha cupcake (jw was having a weird sense of humor...) which essentially was pandan topping with coconut shaving and totally yummy, all washed down with our respective teas and juices, done amidst catching-up, bitching and raving about our past and upcoming trips.

after which, jw and i continued shopping, where i bought a pair of nice black pumps which was ridiculously high and so cheap (for pumps!!), some benefit make-up and jw totally went crazy over the counter getting almost 200 bucks worth of product... finally, armed with my shopping list, i hit the supermarket to get the necessary ingredients for my cook-out.

i almost did not find the main ingredient... tiger prawns. and when i finally did find them, it wasn't exactly top grade, but it looked nice, juicy and succulent enough. only problem was that they were a tad small for tiger prawn. but i wasn't about to settle for the usual grey prawn. so i took the risk, and got some scallops as a supplement to the pasta. i was quite clueless as to what we could have for the side dish. so i went to the vegetable section in hopes of getting some inspiration. and inspiration i did find, in the form of portobello mushrooms, which are apparently in season! they weren't cheap though, but it was well worth the money!

so armed with all the necessary ingredients, i went home and started my cook-out.

first up, shallow-frying of the minced garlic, putting in the four large portobello mushrooms and diligently flipping them from side to side for about 15 minutes, and when it started to ooze gravy-soup out, i knew it was about done. the gravy soup was delicious, with the mix of mushroom taste and fried garlic aroma, but i thought it lacked something sweet. so deciding that i could spare a few scallops from the pasta, i threw in a few scallops and waited for it to broil in the pan. and when it was done, the gravy-soup was especially sweet.

and of course, putting together the tomato-based pasta was easy-peasy - something that i'm well-versed in by now. and there i had it - a lovingly-cooked meal for le bf.

needless to say, he enjoyed it, polishing every single bit of food, peppering his 'good' comments time and again. the texture of the mushrooms were just OMG delicious! i am definitely gg to cook that dish again. healthy and so yummy!

so it was a very healthy dinner. which was wiped out when the bf yanked me out of bed at 9.30 am on sunday morning for a bk breakfast... not that i am complaining... yummy croissanwich with mini hashbrown bites all washed down with ice milo.

and yes, i was quite oblivious to the F1 - which i now think is a complete waste of time and money and good resources, inconveniencing majority of the public for something that 3/4 of the population is not interested in, all to bring in the extra tourist dollar (really???) and elevating the status of singapore to world-class.. (haven't we already achieved that 10 years ago???) and seriously, can they please change the hideous design of the trophies? seriously...

but anyway, seeing the team lotus car burst into flames at the end had to be the highlight of the race. so despite the fact that i fell asleep between laps 30 to 45, the lack of excitement from the race was made up by the fiery display towards the end. it would have been totally hilarious if it wasn't painful to watch.

so anyway, this weekend is shortened, thanks to upcoming duty travels. but like i say, it is ironic because i would be lying if i said i wasn't excited about the place i am going to... which, if you know my surname you will know where i am headed! -winks-

so that's that. will check back in when i can catch a breather!

addedum to the post below

2010-09-21T23:21:00.002+08:00

on the things that i have done in my 26th year, can i just add being godmother to the current cutest baby on earth!

i was actually hoping for an october baby, like me. but she just had to insist on coming out one month earlier. just like how i insisted on coming out one day early, just so that the kor will have to celebrate his birthday on my birthday throughout all the years.

anyhow, welcome to the world, Andrea. the world is not really a rosy place, but i'm sure we will try to make it better!

updates of my life in picture links

2010-09-19T15:22:00.003+08:00

isabel's hen night here

isabel's wedding through my camera here

isabel's wedding through other sources here and here
(not sure if you can view because it depends on the privacy settings which i have no control over)

life has been pretty good so far and it seems that i have almost forgotten to do my pre-birthday groaning this year.

and it is less than a month left before i have to officially add one more year to my age. bah.

anyhow, i've had a good 26 years of my life, with the 26th year being a year of many good events. not one bad memory (as far as i can remember and i really don't bother remembering the bad stuff, if any...)

in my 26th year, i have...

been a bridesmaid twice (one time leaving me with aching arms and thighs...) it's something that i don't particularly think i would enjoy but i end up having fun and having a part to play in beautifying your friend on the best day of her life is quite a rewarding experience.

attended three airshows in three different countries, the best being in bahrain for the reason that we had presence and the aerial display was simply fabulous. the most memorable being in dubai for being able to get upclose and personal with an A380 before it went off for its aerial display and having the best and closest view of the aerial display (and more deafened in the process). and well, the singapore one... had good sea view, good food, wine and company.

been traveling to countries far and wide, cultures as different as night and day, savoring cuisines across continents (all-time favorite still remains in tokyo with spain/portugal coming a close second), spending close to a month abroad, living life on the fast and furious and very stressful but at the end of the day, you know it's the stress that keeps you going (for now...)

holidayed in the most perfect and relaxing holiday spots - kudos to ayara hilltops twice over, and of course, not forgetting my perfect taiwan holiday. i dreamt of 'feng mi nai cha' the other day. that's how good it is. though this year's holidays were pretty unadventurous (unless you count the mountain trail and getting upclose and personal with sheep..) it pretty much gave me justification of the hard work and stress levels that i put myself through. as it is, my work is adventurous and stressful enough, so no need for more stress on holidays (i.e. as little ey class time as possible please!!! and for those of you who think i am too spoilt, i WILL deal with ey class when i am no longer flying for my job. i will i will i will!)

and then there was mumu the mao who came into my life. my first pet ever. never fails to amuse the parents and me with her antics. for all the things i scold her for doing (like putting holes in the piano cloth), i still love her so.

so, that's the highlights of my 26th year. nothing too fabulous. nope, did not do my first skydiving, nor did i do anything remotely significant. for all it seems, it does feel a bit mediocre. but that's how i like it. i do hope my 27th year will be equally mediocre and stable with all my loved ones safe and sound.

the perfect place, the perfect weather...

2010-09-16T12:14:00.002+08:00

just not the perfect purpose. but, it was a good trip nonetheless!

despite my many visits to brisbane, i had never quite taken to the city. maybe i couldn't make up my mind. or maybe it looked like it couldn't make up its mind. i always felt that it did not reek of cosmopolitan city type. neither did i feel completely at ease or relaxed like i would be if i had be in, say, los angeles or chicago. it's just weird... like seeing shenton way crowd in woodlands or choa chu kang or something.

but this trip, there was something different. perhaps it was the weather. oh the weather was just PERFECT. not too cold and not too hot, but a bit humid though... not that i'm not used to it. or maybe it was the crowd. it was the start of spring and everyone looked happy and uncontentious. but whatever it was, i am now sold to brisbane, as a city.

the weather was just perfect for alfresco dining, having drinks in an open-air pub in the middle of queen street mall, taking the city cat down the brisbane river... not that i had the time for it. but still, i was imagining myself to be doing such and it was just fabulous... in my imagination of course.

i am just glad that i have unravelled the charm of the city now, finding the perfect service apartments to stay in, driving around leisurely and being so close to picturesque and quaint town-like livings.

and of course, having my visa to australia already paid for, i am more motivated to go back to australia for holiday within the next year! the new york/philly/orlando trip i've been planning for sounds like it is in serious jeopardy. uh oh!

in recent times, i realize that more and more often, i'm simply heading back to familiar places to go on holidays. i've been trying to figure out the reason why. maybe because i enjoy familiarity, or maybe it's because i want to understand the culture and city and people a bit more. or maybe it is because i am getting old and unadventurous... not to mention the thought of having to fly 12 hours in ey class. i do have a plan of how i will get through the 12 hours. i'm just not sure how good the plan will work.

oh well, i am off to get back to work. pity me. laters people!

living the life

2010-09-10T11:43:00.003+08:00

as you can see, i have removed my chatterbox since it seems to be attracting the wrong kind of comments. so now, i finally have the time to breathe and chill out a bit, before i start the run again.

so, to clear my backlog, first up, post-trip thoughts on taiwan.

the thing about taiwan is that, every time i go to taiwan, my heart is not set in its right place. the first time i went to taiwan in 2008, i was going through one of the darkest moments of my life. for that, the place always holds a bittersweet feeling in my heart. not to say that i did not enjoy the trip. i did, and fabulously so. two years on, i sought to erase the feeling that i had. but again, i went with my heart being left somewhere between singapore, thailand and taiwan. it's difficult to describe.

don't get me wrong. i thoroughly had fun! it was the most fabulous holiday i've had, in the sense that we totally went crazy shopping, buying cute stuff that we totally did not need (hello kitty mirrors and my melody cushion pillows and stickers... yes roll eyes. i was totally cute-sified on this trip!) and having not had a proper holiday in a really really long time - weekend trips are not counted and proper holiday usually includes shopping and spending money on stuff that i don't really need but i buy because i can and i want to - i sort of forgot how stress-less it is to travel.

how jw and i decided to head to the airport two and a half hours early, just so we could go crazy shopping! and a fabulous time shopping we had, stocking up on our cosmetic products, finally getting a pair of miu miu shades (something that i've been looking out for for really long), and then heading to the gate for boarding ten minutes before the flight departs. we were one of the last few to board the flight, feeling great after the commencement of our shopping trip! watching IFE and feeling so guilt-less about it - something that i have not done for seriously way too long! it was the perfect start to our trip, touching down in taoyuan in a jiffy.

shopping, by now you should have gathered, was utterly fabulous! we bought all sorts of junk - from the usual dresses and shoes, to the funky hair accessories and stickers and cutesy stuff. i had fun buying the bf souvenirs in the form of his fave character from one of his fave anime! and my most prized buys were not any clothes or shoes or whatever, but this mug with two cats on the ear of the mug. it's a small little white cat backing up a black cat peering into the mug. it is so uber cute and it's uber expensive. i spent a good half an hour deciding whether or not to buy the mug, for who would pay 30 over sgd for a mug??? but i decided i would and i bought it for myself and i am so happy each time i use it! it's from the same family as hello kitty and my melody. having went through the crazed phase, while we were at taoyuan airport on the way home, i saw on the store directory that there was a hello kitty shop at Gate C. and we were flying off from the complete opposite side of the airport, but we still made a detour down to the shop, just because. and then i bought for myself a my melody cushion and some stickers. just because. i love being so temporarily unreasoning with myself, just simply buying because i can and i want to. (and because the bf says that i will get into trouble if i don't swipe the supplementary card he provided for me.)

on the food side, we totally got our fill of 'feng mi nai cha'. it was OMGOMGOMG orgasmic. seriously. the best bubble tea ever ever ever. and then the 'ru rou fan' and 'chua bin' and 'cha ye dan'. and we also had 'ma la huo guo', which was very very very good! i think the bf would totally have enjoyed the steamboat and i hope i remember where the shop is! and of course, the usual 'xiao long bao' at ding tai feng.

thanks to jw's diligence, we also went to this small cafe, which from the looks of it, is very popular, where i died in strawberry heaven! the dessert i ordered was simply delightful. a glass bowl full of strawberries with vanilla ice cream and condensed milk topping with strawberry jam on the side. OMG. very very nice. i can't really remember what the street name is, but i think if you google 'coffee alley taiwan' you might find it. and around the area, there looked to be fabulous shopping! we bought ourselves each a pair of nine west shoes, and it was too late for us to go to sogo. so, something to do on the next trip!

and of course, we did our usual manicure. but it was a little disappointing this time, as i felt that the manicurist were more interested in outshining one another in terms of coming up with unique and pretty designs rather than listening to what the customer really wants. i didn't have a problem with that, since i didn't quite know what i want. but jw came out not too happy with her outcome. but going to taiwan with girl friends and not doing a manicure is just not right. so we fulfilled that part of our trip.

all in all, it was a very fabulous trip and i came back, thoroughly refreshed and justified with my life.

following the trip, i had a good time learning french cooking and having a first hen's night and then isabel's fabulous chic wedding. preview photo below and more on that later!

us with the happy couple!

mushroom party time!!!

hen party committee babeliciousness!

it's been a quiet two months and it's time to start the engine revving soon! i'm off to duty travel again next week. so be good!

i am still alive.

2010-09-05T22:19:00.003+08:00

so before everyone thinks i've fallen off the planet, i have not. just that my days have been really packed, with fun weekend activities and the bf is finally home!

so pictures from taiwan can been seen here. it was a simply fabulous trip, and i would totally love to blog more about my thoughts of taiwan. i did not do so the last trip, and i would love to give justice to this trip. but it requires a clearer flow of thought which i currently do not have. so pictures will have to suffice for now.

and i have more pix from my fun weekend. those on my facebook can view the photos.

i will do more justice in the next post, which will be soon! i hope...

fabulously back

2010-08-25T21:48:00.001+08:00

and enjoying the wonderful complexion i have right now. have not had this good a complexion since i started my current job. the continuous nights of facial, relaxation, sleeping in as much as we wanted then going out shopping and eating and enjoying ourselves out to the max really worked wonders for my complexion. i could totally get used to this lifestyle!

okay pictures will be up soon. i'm trying to get past going back to work tomorrow.

colorless world

2010-08-17T20:55:00.002+08:00

i was walking to work this morning, and it suddenly struck me how much i actually like writing (to the point that i don't write for my job because i don't want to end up hating it). and how little thought i've been giving to my writings recently. but really, can you blame me? i think i am juggling my life quite amazingly already as it is.

but that aside, i do want to put more efforts into my writing, to come up with something more constructive, rather than the mere regurgitation of memories. but, that does not necessarily translate into having to post fake deep thoughts or whatever. i don't mean that kind. seriously, i never quite took to it. life is simple, just made complicated by people. i like to keep things simple. so i make a promise to myself to give some thought to start writing during my taiwan trip - which is to take place on thursday... (tries to come up with some false sense of excitement but really, i'm still too bogged down with work obligations that i need to get past those first before the real excitement sets in!!!)

that said, wish me luck!

the weekend was good, with dinner at kazu and seeing sun yanzi there... to not much fanfare really. never quite got a kick out of seeing celebrities, famous or infamous. and then it was parking myself at home watching grey's anatomy - something which i've been wanting to watch for really long. it really is keeping me well-entertained while the bf is away serving the nation (or so they choose to think... but never mind...)

anyway i am too brain-fried to continue on. i will check in here again before i leave for my HOLIDAY... or not.

repost

2010-08-12T20:50:00.002+08:00

it's been four years. it does seem like a long lifetime away, where it was but a dream. a dream that was so good that when i was there, i had nightmares at least twice about waking up and being back in singapore. they are memories that i will come to cherish - all the car trips that we took, driving out to all corners of the island to explore and cam-whore, playing host to our parents and enjoying lovingly home-cooked food (and free money!!!) whilst they are there. and i am just so glad for this blog that holds true our memories, evidence that the dream did exist, evidence that we were young and carefree once upon a time.

four years ago, i wrote this:

"hello again all!

back at the c-cafe again, this time with jiawen cos she's dying to use the internet.

we just came back from the beach. which puts sentosa's siloso and palawan and whatever that mud and muddy water thingy they call in singapore to great great shame. the water is so blue and so clear! we took many great pictures. the bus ride to the beach was about 50 minutes, but it was filled with great scenary. i wish i could post pictures up for all you people, but sorry man, i can't. and on our way back, we saw a protest along the road in front of our apartment. the protest was about the government increasing the price of bread. it was quite a peaceful protest, but it caused a massive jam along the road. of course, i took pictures, which i will post up soon.

so i was talking about my great apartment. it has a great view of mountains, and on a clear day we can see the blue blue sea. the sun sets right in front of our balcony, so the view is fantastic. i've been cooking. yes, le boyfriend and jiawen are still alive and very healthy.

oh, we went down to the university, and the campus is beautiful! think back to old campus... the buildings are slightly older though. everything here is old school. but i like it.

mauritius is like the land of rainbows. rainbow sightings are very common. on the way to and from the university, we saw a huge ass rainbow. and both me and jiawen were squealing at it! (think back to my squirrel entry, squealing at squirrels in new york... yeah, something like that..)

oh, my address is:

Hyde Park, Apartment 501
Buswell Avenue
Quatre Borne, Mauritius

write me!

okay, that's all for now. i miss all of you!!!"

reality check

2010-08-09T23:21:00.003+08:00

the long weekend has passed. all too soon. but there's plenty of work to be done and i do hope august passes really fast. so the bf will be safely back home and in my arms once again.

so recently, i complained to one of my customers about the service i had received on board a certain flight. and he instantly told me that i should write in to complain about it. but i politely declined to do so, for i did not want to get anyone into trouble or cause anyone to lose their job, even if i did not have to meet the person.

i've always told myself that i should not do a certain thing, or behave in a certain manner when i reach a certain stage in my life. for example, when i was working in the service industry at the front line of operations, i told myself that i will never be rude or unreasonable when others are serving me. that is unless they deserve it, of course. fast forward a few years later, i am proud to say that even when i receive less than stellar service (even in places where you will expect top notch service), i hardly make a fuss out of it, other than the occasional sarcasm or harsher than necessary tone. but never have i made an official complaint about service. (note: my complaints are directed at process lapses, not personality problems. hence does not count under such.) simply because i understand that humans are just humans. we all have days where we think that life downright sucks, that our cramps are hurting us more than necessary, that our woes rule our mannerisms just for that particular day. and then because some people are just downright unprofessional and it really is their own loss.

taking it on another level, whenever i see someone behaving in a certain way, in manners that i do not agree with, i will tell myself that when i am in the same position, put into similar situations, i will not behave as such. but i also know that when you are elevated into certain positions, you sort of lose the grounded reality you are on. and so i've always told myself to never ever let things get into my head, and i make it a point to stay grounded at all times.

i make it a point to remind myself of my reality, of what i am entitled to... which is pretty much nothing. what of material wants and personal gains and all that rubbish that we allow us to lose ourselves in. at the end of the day, what does it matter, really?

and i know, given my personality and my background, that i will allow pride to get in my way. and i know that i have to constantly keep myself in check. and so i tell people whom i trust that they will need to bitch slap me whenever they feel like i am losing my senses of reality, to guide me back to my own core values.

of course, there are also the moments where i just want to indulge in the fruits of my hard work. just for that five minutes, just so that i can continue motivating myself to push my own boundaries and breathe new challenges to my life.

but i will keep myself in check.

it's scary how things change so fast

2010-08-04T20:26:00.003+08:00

totally unrelated title to my post. but just a statement to remind myself that things are ever so fluid. and not to take things for granted.

the past week has been kind to me. i like to feel like i have some semblance of a social life - which i did!

it began with meeting up with zooey and bali for a quick saturday morning brunch, before proceeding to my house to ogle at mumu the mao (and so happened she was so teh that morning!) and lazing on my couch, just talking. and reminiscing. how we were like when we were 17 and how we are thankful that we are no longer going through it. but that doesn't discount the good times that we've had. and it kind of reminds you of the person that you are, your ideals at the age of 17, what kind of person you thought you would be 10 years down the road. which i must say, i don't quite differ from the person that i thought i would be. which can either mean that i was already quite perceptive at such a young age (yes yes proceed to roll your eyes please..) or it just means that i turned out as bad as i thought i would... or maybe worse!

the weekend was spent in a whirlwind, doing all the usuals, and plotting our next getaway. we still have not decided where our next holiday will be. but knowing us, it would probably be a split second decision, so no point having a headache over it. it will come naturally. like how ayara fitted itself in again.

continuing on the path of catching up with good old friends, twin and i FINALLY met up, after like a gazillion years. or so it felt that way. it was a good catch-up session, over taiwanese cuisine no less! makes me all the more excited for my taiwan trip, which is on the corner of my mind. too far away to be excited about it really, but something that i am totally looking forward to!

and then finally getting to meet up with alicia! talking and bitching and basically catching up whilst waiting for her tennis lessons to begin. and what little time we had, but it was something that i needed to get my mind away and off work for the time-being.

not sure if it is me, but i feel that maybe perhaps i should begin to change my personality at work. i hate to think that i am a workaholic. but i will be in denial if i say i am not. but i am glad that i have such checks in life to keep me in good balance all the time.

slightly down with the sorethroat bug that has been going around, but the bug is being curbed in my system and i will definitely conquer the war.

till then, be good!

the chronicles of a wonderful holiday

2010-07-25T21:05:00.005+08:00

**picture link updated

and all too soon, i am back from phuket.

it was much better this time. perhaps i was prepared for the heat, the unforgiving sun, and the stench of patong's sin. perhaps, the weather was better, more cooling with occasional (and irritating) showers and downpours.

nonetheless, it was a fabulous holiday, made completely wonderful by ayara hilltops resort once again.

we opted for a better room this time, which i prefered. even though we had much less space this time, the enclosed area gave me a more secure feeling. we still had our private balcony and whirlpool, facing the sea no less, as did our cozy bedroom and living area.

view from our living room. and private balcony. see the silhouette of the bf relaxing on the sofa already?

what i miss now...

more pictures viewable here.

after catching an early morning flight out (the bf and i are still debating on the difference between budget and non-budget airlines. he doesn't see a difference!), we touched down at phuket international airport at 9.35 am in the morning, and proceeded straight to our current fave resort. check-in was a breeze and we were whisked up to our room perched on the hilltop, afterwhich the bf and i promptly fell into deep deep sleep and woke up only in the late afternoon, with the afternoon heat long gone.

we headed down promptly in search of some food, and ended up having an ice cold beer with pad thai at the beach club by surin beach. it was nice just sitting back and enjoying the crashing waves against the beach. the waves this time were huge, much much larger than what i had remembered the last time. after filling our tummies, we headed for our first of many foot massages. oh don't we love thailand for the fabulous (and cheap) massages.

thereafter, we took our private transport down to patong, with the intention of getting some supplies, snacks, perhaps slot in a facial, and having the best bbq-ed seafood that we had the last time around. i had mentioned in passing that we could watch a movie whilst we were there, and i was clamouring to watch twilight eclipse, having turned into a recent fan after reading the entire series. we simply did not find a good timing of the show prior to the start of our holiday, and the bf was a tad resistant on watching the chick flick (or so he terms it...) so when we got to our all-too-familiar shopping centre, we checked out the movie times and lo and behold, there was one showing of eclipse, just perfect in timing so that we could make it for our transport back.

and so, we bought the tickets and the bf sacrificed his bbq seafood (which i did make it up to him...). we had a simple dinner at MK restaurant - something that was also familiar to us. the food did not disappoint, in terms of freshness and taste. and i simply love the fact that they tell you how many calories you consumed as they present to you the bill.

twilight eclipse was not that bad! i was cringing in pain as i watched the first. i hadn't watched the second. but the third was not bad, surprisingly! perhaps the cast was more familiar with being in character, and i think the directing was much better. and most of all, the movie was pretty much made for fan service. every other scene had the leads embracing each other or kissing. and i do think that the writers did a poll to see which scenes readers wanted to see most. almost all the scenes i had wanted to see was shown. and unlike harry potter, where the magical world is defined differently in each person's mind, i suppose twilight is much easier to portray in ways that attune to majority's imagination. or maybe i am just easy to please!

i did enjoy the movie, though there were some parts i cringed. and i couldn't help but notice wrinkle lines on edward cullen's face. isn't he supposed to be frozen in the age of 17??? more airbrushing please! all in all, worth the watch if you are a twilight fan. and i suppose, if you like the edward-bella couple combination. the bf has sort of rooted for jacob-bella combination. i suppose that guys would prefer jacob, because edward is just simply too perfect, too understanding, too out-of-this-century. and of course, to put it across less discreetly, because edwards simply do not exist in real life. and then because every guy has a dog in them.

anyhow, enough of movie reviews. back to phuket.

the next morning breakfast was a huge pull factor for me to come back to stay at ayara. having freshly-squeezed juices, a variety of typical breakfast items, and most importantly, having eggs benedict and eggs florentine. simply loves. and the day saw us thoroughly enjoying our room, sleeping in, watching dvds, enjoying our private jacuzzi, reading on the sundeck chairs, just basically slacking through and through. when we finally got hungry from slacking, we headed down, in search of food, this time at a different restaurant, enjoying our colas, maryland crabcakes (which were really good and stuffed with real crabs!!) and chicken wings. and of course, our daily dose of massages.

we headed back to our rooms after we were done, watched another dvd, hoping to catch the sun setting but this was marred by a thick layer of clouds, and basically waited till we were hungry again, before we headed down to the hotel restaurant for our dinner. craving for some seafood after being deprived of it the previous day, the bf had his revenge by order a seafood basket for two. and a huge basket it was. we totally OD-ed on prawns and crabs that night. it was good, but for the fact that we were completely stuffed to the brim. the tom yam soup was really good too! it was unique because for the first time, i actually see tom yam soup served in a fresh coconut, with its flesh still intact. it made the soup naturally sweet, and coconut flesh mixed in with tom yam soup is definitely worth a try.

surprisingly, even though we had a really slack day, we called an early night. the next day, after a good breakfast of fresh juice and eggs florentine, (and i am still amazed that eggs florentine has 20 more calories than eggs benedict! but that doesn't stop me from getting my dose of healthy spinach.) we headed out to patong early this time, for we know that we had a lot to do.

we wanted to shop, buy a few pieces of clothes for we had seen some good stuff on sale. we wanted to catch another movie and decided upon the sorceror's apprentice. we wanted (or rather i wanted) to do a facial, with the bf putting on a brave front to accompany me to do one as well. we wanted to do more massages (that goes without saying). we wanted to eat our bbq seafood!!!

so off we went, starting off with buying ourselves a pair of watches. i saw a tommy hilfiger watch which i liked, and it really resembles a watch i have been looking for for 4 years. i would normally have preferred to get a watch in singapore, but i did not want to risk being unable to find it here, so i just bought it anyway. the bf got himself another watch, something personally chosen by me, as usual. and so we start a trend of buying watches together.

after spending a good 40 minutes selecting, trying, debating and then finally paying for our goods, we headed off to comb the streets in hopes of finding some items that we were told to look out for. but being out in the streets simply did not cut it for me. after just half an hour, i threw up my hands in despair and the bf quickly whisked me back into the comforts of air-conditioning, where he promptly suggested going for our facial. then, i realized that he just really wanted to get the pain over and done with. oh so brave...

the facial was painful as usual, but it was really good too. they say it's a risk to try, but so far so good and my pores are totally cleaned out. the bf, as usual, braved it out with me. i am so proud of him.

then, we headed to purchase our movie tickets, and then headed off to grab some light lunch at black canyon - another not-to-be-missed place when we went to thailand. the spicy vermicelli prawn salad was really good! but that was majorly offset by the heavy dinner that i had. more on that later.

the movie was totally disney-esque movie, which meant it was easy on the heart and mind. which was what i like and need on a holiday.

and after which, we went almost crazy shopping. i ended up with three dresses, all for weekend wear. i am so glad my weekend wardrobe is buffing up. i was really getting bored with my usual garb. the bf ended up more of his usual weekend garb. which translates to berms and t-shirts. and then the usual obligatory shopping for souvenirs and food stuffs.

we decided that we needed to justify ourselves by having one more massage, so off we went, and found a decent and nice place with huge plush arm chairs. after a good hour of relaxation, we decided it was almost time to call it a day. we headed to our favorite seafood restaurant, ordered ourselves the biggest squid we could see, with a few tiger prawns on the side, all bbq-ed. and i couldn't resist ordering the tom yam soup and thai fish cakes. the squid left us in orgasms, the prawns a bit much after the previous night of OD-ing but still very good. they totally got the bbq flavor right, and you can taste the light charcoal flavor in your food. very nicely done without the overly-buttery taste. and tom yam soup was completely hopeless. i suppose it was catered for the foreigners who cannot take spicy. the thai fish cakes were good, and clearly the winner was still the bbq squid.

again, we left the restaurant with our tummies trying very very hard to digest all the food. we walked through the patong street of sin, headed back to our pick-up point where we wanted for our car to pick us up again, heading to starbucks to chill out whilst waiting.

that was pretty much it for the day. back at our room, i ran a bath with simply too much bubbles. but the peppermint flavor was too lovely and i could not resist pouring more and more bath gel into the bath. and of course, the rain shower. -sigh- i miss the room already.

we went off to the airport early the next morning, and whilst we were waiting to board our flight, we just could not resisting ending our phuket trip with a thai massage.

all in all, a simply memorable trip. it was an easy travel, for we already knew what we had to do and what to expect. i love having familiar holidays... once in a while. i am glad to be home though. i don't particularly enjoy flying, mainly because of all the oh-so-tedious but necessary custom checks - having to go to the airport at least an hour in advance, security clearances, passport checks blah blah blah. but i guess the upsides of traveling still outweigh having to go through all that. the boyfriend and i are toying with the idea of going to mauritius for a holiday. after all, we do need to reccee right? we shall see.

totally not looking forward to getting back into the swing of work. i foresee a serious case of monday blues. but i'll deal with it.

post note: i cannot believe i took almost two hours to write this entry... with a distractions in between. but still!

2010-07-21T23:04:00.003+08:00

what is the point of taking two days off when the previous 3 days saw you putting in more than 12 hours of work, averaging out to putting in the number of hours you would have worked if you did not take leave anyway?

but of course, i'm not here to bitch. as foul in a mood as i was this week, ranging from all sorts of reasons. oh well. life goes on, right?

so trying to get out of the crappy phase and go full holiday mode. the cramps are seriously not helping out. but i'll deal with it.

other than that, i should be gearing myself up to feel joyous feelings of joy that i am FINALLY taking a break. a well-deserved and very necessary break to preserve my sanity and recharge my batteries.

i will think of all of you whilst in my private whirlpool!

xoxoxox

i heart sake! i heart food!

2010-07-18T21:02:00.006+08:00

in case you think i'm still having the time of my life, drinking warm sake in japan, sadly, i am back. touched back down to sg at 1 am on thursday morning, and had a hectic two days at work which resulted in sleep taking first priority.

i did have my fill of sake though... i think i finished about 8 flasks of it (shared between two) and no, for some reason i don't get drunk on sake, neither do i suffer hangovers. so i really love that stuff! and it was really beckoning out to me, so when i went out to my ever ever fave kazu with iz and siff on friday night, i was being tempted by sake, and so over dessert i succumbed to my weak will and had a flask of it. oh so goooddddd!!!

so anyway, japan treated me well once again, as usual. nagoya was a tad boring, with plenty of factories and all. but the food... the fooood... OMG. we waited 2 hours to get a table. and the owner of the restaurant felt really bad, so he gave us complimetary sake (cold). which by far, was the best sake that i have tasted! i don't normally take my sake cold, but this was really just refreshing. and as tired as i was, the sake perked me up and got me all ready for dinner.

and the dinner... we had seasonal fish, called ayu (sweetfish), which was so perfectly grilled and sprinkled with sea salt. it was so good and nice and warm that it just melted in my mouth and left all of us agreeing that the food was definitely worth the wait. and prior to going to nagoya, i was speaking to one of my customers, whom i suspect is originally from nagoya, and he told us of the unique cha soba that is typical of nagoya. unlike the typical soba, it's white, and flat. he mentioned that it was more like 'ban mian' (flat noodles). so i ordered some and turned out, it was more like kway teow, and it was oh-so-good!!!

and of course, there was the usual sashimi, hot and cold sake, some sumiyaki, and quite an interesting dish of fresh tomato with chicken wrapped inside. the tomatoes were sweet and juicy, but the dish was quite ordinary.

and the next morning, we took the shinkansen to tokyo, and it was really fast and i really enjoy the travel by train, a nice respite from being up in the air.

the dinner that night was another story in itself. the usual sashimi and all the normal cold dishes of wakame, pickles and such. and then... the main dish came. raw slices of beef. nice, marbled beef. and i asked whether we were supposed to eat it raw. and thank goodness, the answer for that night was no. the waitresses (dressed in kimonos no less!) came around to light up our individual grill. it's like those that they put the shabu shabu in, just that the water was below and the grill was on top, so the water never touches the grill, but the water will boil below and the beef will be grilled on top. i believe the right term for this is called 'charbroiled'. and as you put the beef on the grill, the fats will sizzle and melt away and the boiling water will keep the beef juicy and succulent. and as i put the first piece into my mouth, it was OH-MY-GOODNESS da best i have ever had. ever. and i've had plenty of good steaks in this life. but this... this was simply to die for.

and seeing our fascinated delight, our customers order two more HUGE portions and we ODed on the beef. and right now i'm just simply salivating thinking of the cow. super yums.

to top it all off, during the flight back, i chose the foie gras (over caviar!!) as my starters. and it was SO GOOD! it was terrine de foie gras with port jelly. and that combination was just simply simply delightful. it was so good that i took the time to enjoy and savor each and every bite of it. complete with a glass of cloudy bay. just the perfect way to top off all the fabulous food i had.

when i got back, it seemed that good food was just naturally gravitating towards me. almost spontaneously, we arranged for a girls' night out at kazu. and again, i had fabulous foie gras, which left iz and myself in multiple orgasms, much to the amusement of siff. the cha soba, again, lived up to expectations and we found ourselves devouring the entire two portions despite being shocked at the size of each portion. super yums. and of couse, the tsukune, ebi and hotate lived up to its good name.

and of course, to top it all off, yuzu sherbet, peach ice cream, and warm sake. yuzu was like the bitch with the edge, and the sour kept us all going for more. peach was like the girl next door. safe, decent and simply yummilicious. and the sake...

we (siff and i) ended the night with a night cap at KPO. despite the poser crowd, it is actually quite a nice place to chill out and talked our hearts out.

the perfect start to the weekend.

the next day, star team met up once again at our favorite chinatown haunt for some good dim sum (actually i abstained because i had a bit of breakfast with the parents at maxwell market. oh more good food!) and catching up and talking about all our recent travels. von is totally sold to korea having been there for work for two weeks. but i am still not sure about korea. i will give more thought to the place and perhaps, a visit in the following year?

and then it was off to get my much needed hair cut with my fave stylist, followed by mani and pedi. i now have funky blue fingernails! a nice deviationi from my usual french and red. and i decided to treat myself to funky blue because i am so happy that i am finally going for my phuket getaway!!!

i COULD get used to the tai tai lifestyle. but i still prefer my day job any time.

and of course, the rest of the weekend was spent in my nice cozy home with nice homecooked food. a simple fare of vegetables, omelette, and crabs! something that i really needed after subjecting my body to an overkill of outside food. after which, the boyfriend and i headed out to catch inception, after reading so many good reviews about it. well, it lived up to those expectations. but one thing i hate about such movies is people getting poser all over it. like what happened with matrix. the movie is good. replicating it in real life makes you look like an idiot. so let's just leave it where it should be. as a movie.

we couldn't quite resist a midnight snack after the movie, so the bf and i headed to over to our fave cck park, only to find it closed. disappointed, we headed to our next alternative, our fave jln kayu prata outlet, for some good prata, milo dino and lime juice.

the best thing about the weekends is waking up late in the morning, to a fresh pot of fried beehoon with roasted chicken, followed by lazing the day away, reading papers, watching tv, snoozing and then having another good homecooked meal, before calling it a close to the weekend.

this is by far, the best weekend i've ever had in the last two months! having been out and about and eating into my weekends, it really made me appreciative of having my weekends untouched and making the most out of it.

i am happy.

duty travel and farewells

2010-07-11T18:01:00.002+08:00

i have never felt so stressed going on duty travel.

tonight, the kor begins the next chapter of his adventure - one step closer to becoming professor. he leaves for the US tonight. and obviously there is a huge fan fare going on as he departs and will only return in a year's time.

purely coincidentally, i am leaving for duty travel, from the same terminal, same time, but on a different flight, resulting in me having to mold my schedule around such that it accommodates the logistics.

and this is the first time i'm going on duty travel and the entire family clan is coming to the airport with me!!!

okay wishful thinking.

need to go stress out further unnecessarily. will be in JAPAN this time around!!! happy happy joy joy.

no more requests please. my luggage quota has been reached! be good people. i'll be back too soon!

i'm so hot again!

2010-07-08T21:37:00.002+08:00

continuing from my series of hotness, i was speaking with a colleague along the corridors, when we both smelt something funny. something awful. something... omg is that smoke coming out from the air-con vent of my conference room???

i was the only one left from my division, and thank goodness i was with someone else, for i was in an instant state of panic, and started screaming 'omg omg omg!!! what is happening???' and i realized that my laptop and presentation materials were all still in the conference room. so quickly, we ran for it, at the same time, i was screaming, 'call my boss call my boss. omg who do we call? facilities??? security???' my colleague was more at ease with the situation (guys...) and said, 'what do you want to do?' and i screamed 'omg get my laptop out!!! i need it!!!' and he said, 'okay. i get your things. you call your boss.'

and my boss could hear the state of panic that i was in. but his handphone battery went dead at the same time, not before he told me, 'run down to security and let them know if necessary.'

and at this time, i realized my colleague had disappeared, leaving the things on my desk, smartly opening the windows to dissipate the smoke, and leaving me to wonder who the hell i should be calling. at this time, he came back and said he's informed the facilities. slowly, i realized that no more smoke was coming out, but the smell was simply awful. people walking past were looking at me in questionable doubt. like, 'claire, what the hell did you do???' and then there were the jibes, 'wow marketing people work too hard until their conference room is protesting!'

the facilities people came around to investigate, and we found out that the smoke actually came from the burning of the light starter, which effectively led to the awful smell because it was plastic burning. after burning through a good half of the starter, somehow the agent that was fueling the fire was automatically cut off. safety precautions i guess. hence, there was really no need for panic.

i was instantly transported back to the days of mauritius, where a socket was burning thanks to the wrong wiring of the oven. remembering how we all went into a state of panic and how le bf bravely put out the fire.

oh, what would we do without men...

okay sorry, was just having a rare moment of appreciating the other species.

i do wish, though, that i will never be put into such situations. and i really do need to get a grip on my state of panic. obviously didn't help much did it?

other than that, an otherwise uneventful week. other than lugging my supremely jet-lagged self to the office, culminating to an emergency half day off on friday to recuperate. did i mention i hate red eyes?

and bracing myself for the next one out on sunday night. the upside? i'm gg to japan! and i'm pretty excited about this trip, for good reason. well, be good people!

i'm so hot!

2010-07-05T15:44:00.002+08:00

before you think i'm taking another one of those ego trips, i quite mean it literally and physically. okay, no. that still sounds quite egotistical.

what i mean to say is that, it is BURNING up here in dubai. got in on early sunday morning and i am SOOOO glad that i am getting out of this place today! it's not that i don't like dubai. after multiple trips to this place, i've learnt to see beyond the stereotypes of this place. i would like to delve into this thought that i have, but right now it is not the time. it is, rather, the time to bitch about how i feel like i'm going to self-combust everytime i walk from my transport to the nearest air-conditioned building. a short 5 minute walk left my blazer completely soaked! and the heat gets to you so badly that your mind can't even think properly. definitely not a situation which i would like to be.

anyhow, i am glad for the sg rain and would love to get back to enjoy the sg weather once again. -braces self for the red eye out-

half-year holidays!

2010-06-27T20:15:00.002+08:00

it's good to be back, but it's not the last of it yet. things just keep moving at such a rapid, fluid pace that sometimes you know you have to ground yourself to keep yourself grounded.

the greatest challenge and satisfaction thus far is having to keep everything well-balanced. not sure if friends will agree with me on this, since i know i have been neglecting most, if not all. but being away for 20 days in the last 30 days haven't been exactly helpful. it's difficult to keep up and be there at times where you are most needed. it sucks though, the feeling. but i'm dealing with it.

i was just talking with jw nonetheless, excitedly planning our trip to taiwan, which includes a fabulous stay somewhere in the outskirts with breathtaking views, and i suddenly squealed, 'omg.. Omg OMGGG... i'm SOOOO excited... i'm FINALLY going to drink my feng mi nai cha (honeyed milk tea)!!!'

it's something that i've been craving for ever since i tasted it in taiwan the last time i went, which was in 2008. and all the bubble tea shops in sg just cannot live up to the expectation that i had.

actually, in essence i was really really excited that i am FINALLY going on a REAL holiday.

and to top it off, i checked the internal bulletin board and saw that the bf and my ever-fave resort in phuket is offering more discount for better rooms. so even though we were planning to go to langkawi this time round, we did a 180 degrees turnaround and we are going to phuket to just LAZE in our room, soak in our private whirlpool facing the sea, lie on our sundeck chairs and read... and having freshly-squeezed juice and eggs florentine for breakfast. oh so heavenly!

so fingers all crossed, we will be heading for our short vacation rather soon, followed by a shopping + r&r trip to taiwan. the next half of the year will be more exciting than the first half!

the highest form of flattery is through plagarism

2010-06-20T14:48:00.002+08:00

can't find any untruth in that as yet, so i'll just stand by it to justify how i am feeling.

just a short blog entry as i am catching a flight out in 3 hours time.

highlights of this week include...

booking my taiwan tickets for my holiday with jw in august. yes, FINALLY, i am going for a real holiday. real being defined as more than 4d3n trip EXCLUDING weekends.

finally catching up with zooey and partner over yummilicious sakuraya sashimi, and indulging in my ever fave avocado salmon roll - something le bf never quite enjoyed. oh wells. i am so glad that i managed to make it for the dinner, and it is really such small things in life that keep you going.

and then it was off to catch up on my movies. having been traveling back and forth, i have not been keeping up with the release of movies. i finally had my fix of watching sex and the city 2... yes i know it was more than a month since its release (or around there...) and frankly, i didn't quite find it as bad as the reviews had been. yes, the plot (or lack thereof) was shallow and carrie-centric (-roll eyes-). but the essence of satc still remained, and it was a delightful mirage of colors blended on-screen with all the orgasmic outfits and shoes, with strong middle eastern influence. i thought it was rather a novelty to see satc take on middle eastern fashion. and more importantly, the celebration of being a woman remains, highlighted mainly in the form of samantha. so this is my review, all in a short 5 minutes. i would love to indulge more in this, but i shall save it for dinner conversation topics.

and of cos, how could i forget about toy story 3? a gentle reminder from le bf led us to the theatres, albeit empty on a friday night all thanks to the world cup fever. and yes, it was delightful, endearing, and good. i can't really say any more about it. in fact, i thought the reviews were overhyped. yes, it was good. but i really did not think that it deserved such raving reviews. okay fine. i still rank the incredibles as tops. no fight about it.

and as the bf had to go away for the weekend, i was left to my own devices on saturday afternoon, which led me to some serious shopping and spending some serious moolah! am so happy that i finally got the shopping bug out of it. going shopping after work just isn't the same, probably cos i'm still in my working outfit, carrying around the stress of the day.

anyhow, it's been a good weekend, except for the part on missing le bf. so, i sincerely hope to be back for the next weekend. -cross fingers-

till then, be good!

open book

2010-06-13T00:17:00.004+08:00

well, i finally got my ass back in homeground and really really glad for that. working through the weekend totally sucked but one's gotta do what one's gotta do. now let's just cross our fingers and hope that it pays off.

sometimes i read like an open book.

like how i was smiling the entire day away the day i received my confirmed ticket and the day we departed. even those who did not know me well knew that i was happy to be heading home, and could experience the same joy i did.

like how when the pilot landed the plane slightly harder than usual and my face grimaced at the pain of the landing gears (happened on both sectors!!) and my facial expression was completely caught by the crew who chuckled at my reaction. guess that's the downside of seating right in front in full view of crew on both ends.

like how i was recounting to someone an experience and my thoughts and how unfair life is to certain people, and find myself choking back - something that has never happened to me.

i used to think that i keep a rein on my emotions pretty well, but recently this has been proven wrong. i'd like to think of it that i have been living my life with more passion and more zest, and to truly experience the passion, one must feel to experience the true joy, pain, anger, sadness and pleasure.

i guess, i wouldn't want to be the sort of person where i am cold, hard, calculating, where money and power hold key to my life. and this i constantly remind myself.

up and away again

2010-06-02T22:55:00.002+08:00

will be out of town for a week or so...

this time, i will come back either super dead... or super dead dead.

never mind. i'll explain when i'm back.

p.s. zooey you're top on my list of pple to meet when i am back!!! alongside LGMN!!!

loves to all.

fresh perspectives

2010-05-30T20:37:00.005+08:00

there's something refreshing about hanging out with a 12-year-old kid.

i had the privilege of doing that this weekend, in the form of the bf's cousin. i was transported to the days where i took the PSLE, going through familiar yet foreign looking science papers and reminiscing about how easy english was at that point in time. anyhow, it is just a fresh perspective altogether and i felt rather young (okay i still am...) at heart once again.

i guess you sort of forget the simplicity of life, and kids have this innate nature to remind you of such. they also remind you of the great big dreams that you had as a kid. though i must say i ended up nowhere near mine. thank goodness for that, because after getting my degree, being cabin crew just didn't quite cut it for me anymore. (hey i was young, impressionable and only 7. and the singapore girl on my flight was really really pretty and really really nice to me.) and just for the record, i think my current job far surpasses my own expectations and i really do think that i ended up with a much better deal.

speaking of jobs, just this week i was presented the offer of a new job, with a minimum guaranteed salary, twice of what i am currently getting. and more. but taking it up would require me to uproot myself and live in a totally different city altogether. no doubt the money is very enticing, the job nature similar yet i know it will be a different experience and perspective altogether. but something in me just would not bite.

i am also very amazed at my own reaction towards it. i always thought that money talks, and this money comes with opportunities and great experiences (good or bad i would not know...). i'm not quite sure why i did not budge at the offer (it was unsolicited by the way). i've given up trying to figure out why. is it the family, the friends, being away from the boyfriend, having a job that i am currently more than very satisfied with...

i don't know. i really don't know.

or maybe i've grown up. living overseas last time was like the most exciting thing ever. we all looked forward to our exchange programs like eager beavers, and when our turn came to fly the coop, we couldn't do it any faster. but having done that already, and having one of the best experiences in my life in doing so, i think that is quite enough fun.

or perhaps, it is because i already have the opportunity to travel on the job, experiencing a vast different number of cultures, meeting with different people all the time, understanding the basis of human nature through the different layers of personality imbued with different cultures, what more could i ask for?

or maybe it is simply because i know i would not be able to live in this particular city. but then again, if i were to change the location to say, tokyo, i think i still would not budge. yes, i do love tokyo. it is a more than decently nice, with ambient atmospheres and climate. but i realized that no matter how polite a city looks, there are still the downsides. and i have personally witnessed japanese people spitting on the sidewalks - something which is punishable by a fine in singapore. and yes, i've seen it happen, not once, not twice, but three frigging times! but anyway, that's another story of another day.

and maybe, the fact that i realize how important it is to be close to your family and to not take things for granted. i used to think that such bonds only serve to tie you down, giving you the dreaded 'R' word (responsibilities...), as if you don't have enough already. but i realized that the love that a family has for each other is super important, and it is really a pity if one can see it only when it is too late.

i guess it is a myriad of reasons entwined together. but whatever it is, my decision is clear. for now. somehow, i have a feeling that this isn't the last of it. but for now, i do feel my medication kicking in, so i shall take my leave.

g'nite people!

keep swimming

2010-05-28T10:13:00.003+08:00

just to let all you lovely ones know that i haven't self-combusted.

sitting in my hotel room, doing an sk-ii facial (found an emergency stash in the corner of my suitcase!!!) waiting to check out and catch my 1st class flight back. but i would very much have taken economy just to get out of here and get my ass back home where i sorely miss the boyfriend and sg food. nothing beats sg food. and of cos, going back to disturb mumu the mao. but of course, ey and biz are both overbooked. so what the hell.

it's been a tough but fulfilling week, with more challenges ahead. -cross fingers-

keep swimming. just keeping swimming. everything will be fine and more than dandy.

oh murphy murphy

2010-05-27T01:10:00.002+08:00

i used to pack two sets of extra clothes whenever i go on duty travel. i used to bring extra everything - extra panadol (esp for menstrual) extra tampons, topped up my shampoo and body wash bottles to a maximum, facial masks, sk-ii, the whole works.

and just for this particular trip, i decided not to top up my bottles, brought just enough tampons to last me a day or so, and left another slab of panadol in my cupboard. i decided against bringing my face masks, thinking that i can survive three days without them, didn't bring any of my sk-ii less my miracle water, and basically, didn't pack all that much.

you see, i got really irritated with myself for bringing stuff and back all the time. i really wouldn't want to waste any more fuel burn carrying stuff back and forth unnecessarily. as it is, all that traveling is causing my global footprint to increase trillion-fold. no need to cause more damage already.

and..... whaddaya know????

my trip has been extended by another two days, effectively wiping out my long weekend. that's not even the worst part. my period decided to come early, my cramps are gnawing at me as i type this, and my facial complexion... let's not go there.

i'll update again if i haven't self-combusted.

the only thing interesting is my cat

2010-05-23T21:27:00.003+08:00

not exactly having the best of the weekends. hit with a bout of bad news on friday, spending sunday afternoon in the office trying to figure something out but never quite did. left still trying to sort the mess out in my mind. got back home late, only to have to face packing my suitcase for tomorrow. oh well.

the highlight of the week is watching mumu the mao taking her monthly bath. she was meowing so damn loud, i have never heard nor knew that she could mew so loudly. it was hilarious in a sadistic way. hilarious because the sight of her was just... indescribable. sadistic because, well, she wasn't exactly having a fabulous time.

anyway, pictures here. they go from uber cute to scary to downright funny!

so there you have it. focusing on the positive, having a little faith and hanging in there till the dark clouds pass over and the good prevails once again.

will be out for the week.

take care p'ple!

xoxoxo.

the true opportunity cost

2010-05-16T11:37:00.004+08:00

yet another prolonged weekend! and one that i nearly could not get, due to traveling plans. however, by a stroke of luck, all that got pushed back and instead of spending a sleepless night on the red eye, i was in the comfort of the bf's arms, watching a movie and sleeping snugly and soundly in my most fave room.

for the first time, i now know the true opportunity cost.

the weekend was simply fabulous. getting off on-time on friday evenings is always key to starting the weekend on the right note. and the right note it was. i was initially craving for some wholesome soup in the day, but as we made our way, we spotted KFC. and i haven't felt so good in ages and the big red sign with the huge 'KFC' words was just beckoning me (talk about consumer behavior!) and we decided on some finger lickin' goodness.

to be able to devour deep fried chicken in such fashion without consequence is just simply fabulous. wash that all down with nice sweet ice lemon tea and piping hot mashed potato... simply heavenly!

and after that, a slow walk down to chinatown, just to feel better about ourselves and prompting me to splurge on some serious eye masks back at my treasure trove shop. never had eye bags and eye line problems, not major ones i suppose, until recently i found them getting deeper and darker, no thanks to the stress and lack of sleep.

as tired as we were, we still managed to catch a movie, right in the comforts of the bf's room. on-demand tv is really a fabulous invention, and as long as the prices are kept reasonably decent, it really is a no-brainer for some good entertainment (provided you pick a good movie) and a cheaper alternative to going to the movies. a good bottle of wine, some decent snacks, and you can sprawl on your bed with your 42" plasma/lcd tv with your DTS home sound system. so much for the gold class experience. soon to come, 3D TV. wonder how that is going to work out.

and when i got home on friday night, a thunderstorm hit our area. mumu the mao, who usually couldn't the least be bothered with me (i don't feed her hence no incentive to be bothered with me), was unusually bothered with me. i think she was feeling scared by all that wind and rain pattering and was in need of some human company. so uber cute! i let her into my room (we usually keep her in the living/dining area) and she was just the cutest teh-est thing ever! and after she decided that the thunderstorm is not a threat to her, she went off and went back to her couldn't-be-bothered mode. oh that cat... she is just too practical. i like.

saturday morning was spent meeting up with jw and sis for a good breakfast at ya kun! soft-boiled eggs, french toast with kaya, kaya toast with that sinful butter, all washed down with a cup of teh-o. yums! and it was so cheap! okay well, it's not that cheap, given the low cost of all that ingredients, but cheaper than, say, going to mimolette's for a saturday brunch. of course, i still do enjoy the finer aspects of dining. but sometimes, shorts, slippers and some kaya toast does the trick. it all adds to that 'kopitiam' goodness. simple, unpretentious, and downright delicious.

after that, a good mani+pedi session, where for the first time, my nails are not red or dark blue! well, my fingernails at least... the price of beauty is expensive. but looking good is priceless. they say that women's money is the easiest money to earn. (女人的钱是最好赚) well, as long as looking good is priceless, can you blame us?

having yanked the bf out of office to spend some quality time with me, we headed off to our ever fave sakuraya for some sashimi goodness. for the first time in a long time, we had amaebi at sakuraya, and it was just yummilicious! the hotate was as usual good, and the tako was simply chewilicious! all washed down with hot green tea.

then heading to the bf's home in an attempt to watch a movie, but the bf and i just fell asleep! we were that tired.

and it was off to my home for some home-cooked goodness, courtesy of the mother. and for the first time in a long time, i actually sat down to watch the taiwanese soap opera. i usually dislike taiwanese shows (bring on the hk drama serials any day!) and i absolutely loathe soap opera. but i realize one thing about soap opera, that cheesy that it may be, it really focuses on the character and the development of it, the honest train of thought of each character, and the detailed explanation of their chosen actions. i think it is really a good way to understand human behavior, for i can see the semblance to real life, in the choices that we make in life, the games that we subject ourselves too, frivolous or otherwise, and the twists and turns that life throws at us. and on top of that, i haven't watched a proper mandarin show in ages, and i think my mandarin improved twice over after that 2 hours of drama.

on top of that, we managed to catch the 10.30 pm robin hood at the theatre. it was good. that is all i can say. such movies are simply not my cup of tea. i was more interested in watching cate blanchett act than anything else. so, don't ask for my opinion of that show.

by the end of the day, we were knocked out and fell promptly to sleep, only to wake up to a morning of yet another home-cooked goodness of tom yam dong fen (vermicelli) and fried egg with radish.

and after sending the bf off to his own devices, i am back to the comforts of my room, having done my facial, having gotten the blogging itch out of my system, i am all prepared to head back to bed. for all the expensive products that i spend on my face, i had better complement it with some good sleep!

i simply love untouched weekends. and what's more, i got my day off for tomorrow! -does a double back flip) i have not felt so relaxed in ages. am off to bed!

xoxoxoxo

exams anyone?

2010-05-10T22:31:00.002+08:00

today i felt like i was having a math exam. two papers in fact. one in the morning, and one in the afternoon.

the morning paper was 1.5 hours long. the afternoon paper was 2 hours long.

the upside was, i had a calculator.

the downside was, anything less than 100% means failure.

i forgot what it was like to have all your concentration focused on getting it as right as possible, and zapping most of your brain cells in the process. after that, my mind was totally in a blank. still refusing to think beyond the superficial now.

this part of school i do not miss. it is one thing to constantly challenge yourself and push the limits of your own boundaries, but zapping up brain cells like this is just not right. i felt disconnected from humanity and robbed of my social skills after that. maybe that's the reason why academic people are so bizarrely brilliant. (note to the kor)

and since we're on the topic of exams, leading to the topic of school, i think it is pretty hilarious who gets the last laugh.

pretty becomes ugly. ugly becomes the new pretty.

cool becomes pathetic. nerd becomes the new happening.

girls get slim and pretty (well majority of them do). guys get fat and erm... undesirable. (ouch but true!)

maybe when we all hit our 30s, the tides will change once again. so let's just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

a thousand dollars in exchange for sleep

2010-05-08T23:17:00.002+08:00

was doing a quick calculation and i realized that ever since i started on my current job, i have spent approximately one friggin' thousand dollars on sk-II products. amazing isn't it?

that is in exchange for all the stress that i put myself through, the extra alcohol that i have to drink on my job, and the lack of sleep that my job puts me through.

just trying to determine whether my job is worth all of that... and i always know the answer is yes. much as i always bitch about how stressful it is, the traveling that halts my social and personal life, i still take the time to marvel at how very fortunate i am to have such bountiful opportunities.

yes i do.

and i suppose, i am really not the sort of person who would continue to do something i dread to do. much as there are many challenges yet to be overcome, i am amazed that i look forward to them and taking them head on. for the person who was totally dreading working life, i think it is pretty amazing that i feel this way. three years on in the workforce, and still enjoying the challenges. what more can i say?

anyhow, all photos for the bestie's wedding have been uploaded, which can be viewed here. totally see the need for a new camera, with richer colors please. on top of that nice coat that i saw that would be perfect for my next trip, plus that oh-so-elusive perfect bag that i am still searching for.

so much for trying not to be a commercialist.

busy busy

2010-05-07T22:49:00.002+08:00

one of the things i dread to see is lousy complexion after a hectic week of traveling, stress lines from all the late nights, and no matter how many facials and expensive products you use, it just does not improve and you know it is due to the lack of sleep that you are suffering from.

but what can you do when your schedule is just beyond limits and you just have to deal with it all. hectic traveling schedules, too many projects and portfolios to handle (and in the process of handing over a few), but what to do?

sometimes i do feel amazed with myself. when the adrenaline rush just kicks in, it's just a full charge ahead without really thinking of how tired i really am, without thinking about the detriments to my health, with only the end goal in mind.

nothing beats a glass of oyster bay at the end of a stressful and bad week... or two...

hmmm... maybe a good full body massage... but right now, that is just too much to ask for, isn't it?

shall start on my facial regime and then head to bed in hopes of improving my complexion. wish me luck people!

g'nite!

respect is earned

2010-05-03T23:03:00.002+08:00

i still stand by that. nothing is a given. nothing is guaranteed.

yes i do acknowledge that past efforts may have been put in, to elevate a person into a position of respect. and for that, we have to give due respect. but once that respect is given, dues are used up, and if the person fails to garner the necessary continued respect, does it mean that the others will have to continue respecting blindly?

i think not.

but maybe that's just me. young, wilful and ignorant. who thinks she knows everything but knows nothing.

say what you want. but you still have to earn my respect, and not bitch about it when you don't. or rather, let's just put it this way. you can bitch about it. sure, you have the right to. but it still won't earn my respect. or anyone else's for that matter.

and please don't get me wrong. i'm not saying that we should not respect our elderly. they would fall into the category of having to respect them for their past efforts they have put in, hence we as the upcoming generation should care and give them the respect, for all the years of toil and hardship that they have put themselves through.

anyway, whatever. i don't need to justify myself. i still maintain that respect is earned. and i'm sure the respectable people will agree.

the silver lining

2010-05-02T20:26:00.005+08:00

what could be worse than having a sorethroat the day before you go for duty travel?

your period decides to come at 4 am the morning you're due to fly. your panadol decides that for this once, it shall not work, and you're writhing in bed nursing cramps until 6 am in the morning, where your alarm finally rings at 7.15 am. your eyes are swollen from the overdose of medication, you're feeling slightly crampy, you pull yourself together, get in a cab and head towards the airport, nursing a sorethroat, a bad night's rest and cramps threatening to return.

you board the flight that you know flies over regions of turbulence. you feel slightly nauseous, knowing that it is just your period playing punk with you. (oh murphy murphy), but you know you should try not to throw up because that will just make your swollen eyes worse. you spend most of the flight clearing emails and doing up a document that you need for the trip because you hadn't had the time to do so in the office. finally you get too tired that you put away your laptop and drift into deep sleep.

finally, the pilot announces the descent into landing, and then makes another annoucement to say that due to bad traffic at the airport (!!!) your plane is only due to land in another 20 minutes time, and spends the next 20 minutes hovering around the air space in circles. after spinning around and around (literally), finally the plane touches down.

sounds bad huh? but after this, i am seriously amazed with myself, and with my gender in general, in the sense that when we push ourselves beyond our limits, we just take it all in and deal with it. and the best part? i went up feeling horrible, but came back my sorethroat gone and my period became manageable, as with getting past the first day of it.

the silver lining? first class benefits are back and i am definitely reaping it all! although, i must say that there is seriously no difference, other than having my pot of honey.

yes i am omitting where i went this time, for good reason. -smiles secretly-

anyway, i want to rave about how amazing we women are, and how we can straddle between the many committments in our lives and still manage our careers. i think that that is something that men are unable to do so. how is it that we manage to work the same hours, help out with the home expenses, ensure a decently clean household, and still be a mother to both our kids and husband?

amazing isn't it?

so next sunday, please remember all that your mom has done. i do. and i really appreciate my mom for all that she has done and her continued support even up till today. for all the nagging, ensuring that i eat healthily, literally shoving fruit down my throat, brewing the bird's nest just to give my immune system that added boost and my face that added glow, saving up so hard on herself just to pamper me and buy me the things that i want.

frankly, i couldn't do all that i have done today without her. my mom totally rocks and i always feel bad for not spending enough time with her and talking with her.

i think moms are really the most amazing thing in the world. dads come a close second, but let's just focus on how amazing women and moms (especially mine) are.

happy mommy's day in advance!

the in thing to be ill

2010-04-27T21:21:00.002+08:00

no fricking idea what is wrong with me. i've been to the doctor's 5 times this year, fast using up my medical quota, but frankly as long as i am healthy to do my work properly, i don't really care if i spend 5 bucks or 35 bucks per visit.

getting hit with another virus and this one really caught me out of the blue. felt totally fine and healthy one moment, then bam, woke up this morning with a funny throat.

the boyfriend thinks that i do not exercise enough. but i do not think so. is a 15 minute fast-paced walk each morning and a climb up 7 storeys of steps not counted as exercise? it's been the perfect solution to keep my legs toned and in decent shape, but apparently not enough to build up my defense.

after two full days of geisha-ing, i am seriously seriously tired. i guess being left to manage pretty much everything has taken its toll on me. but as what they say, what can't kill you will only make you stronger. and i think i've emerged stronger, mentality, from the entire experience. i am just glad that i did not have to do double geisha duty. maybe i would have ended up six feet under by now. who knows.

okay feeling a bit morbid. i think i am just peeved with my sucky immune system. or the lack of it. with the possibility of having to go on duty travel and an impending period, i think i am entitled to feel the way i am feeling and whine my blues away.

excuse me while i proceed to self-combust.

a few non-material things that i love

2010-04-25T15:13:00.003+08:00

buying back the parents' fave crab and watching them devour the entire thing and rave about how delicious, albeit expensive (i don't think so...), it is.

waking up in my familiar corner to familiar sounds, burying my head into my pillow to snooze just that bit more because i can.

having a bowl of bird's nest lovingly brewed by the mothership for breakfast and supper. it really really helps in my complexion and boosting my immunity levels!

doing my weekly facial regime and feel my skin regenerating after a week of torture.

a home-cooked meal with my loved ones, with chocking down all that goodness and canceling off the downsides of all the junk food over the week.

getting my fill of watching japanese dvds with the bf by my side, devouring ice cream after ice cream.

playing hide and seek with mumu the mao, watching her enter her act cuteness phase as she gets hungry and wants food. (this cat is just too practical... )

having the mothership say, i'll sponsor your bag. now commencing the search for my perfect bag once more!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yes, the weekend was good. i look forward to more long weekends ahead. with 10.5 more days of backlogged leave to clear by september, there will be plenty more to come.

life has been very positive so far, having managed to catch up with almost everyone, having managed to help my bestie look her best during the most important day of her life, no more excessive traveling and waking up stunned by my surroundings, and having the balance that is oh-so-important. (only librans would get it...)

i think i'm very much on my way to fulfilling my 2nd resolution. which reminds me that i still have no. 1 and no. 3 to work on. no. 1 is a REAL DRAG i must say. completely no motivation and i'm just too busy to even give thought to it. okay i lie. it really really is a non-priority in my life. no. 3, well.... the bf has been nagging me to it, but again, no motivation. i realized how unhealthy i was after eileen's wedding, where a night of running around left me pretty much aching for three whole days after the wedding. and i didn't even feel like i was doing anything overly strenuous, and was really surprised that i felt the way i did. yes, it is a sign indeed.

i am just completely amazed that april is over. may is here. and soon, the first half of the year gone by. have you stopped to smell the roses today?

i need a longer break

2010-04-25T00:15:00.002+08:00

popped over to batam for a short getaway over friday to saturday for some good r&r, fabulous spa, in which i fell into deep sleep and missed out on feeling my back rub completely, dirt cheap hair treatment leaving my hair soft, silky and smooth! -loves-

having said that, i think staying at ayara and the likes of other fabulous hotels has spoilt me thoroughly, and boutique resorts just do not measure up anymore. or that our usual haunt got a bit old over the years, with too many singaporeans flocking to it as our means of a quick getaway, and it becoming over-commercialized without the ability to handle both the crowds and the age. that aside, i can't complain much because the entire trip cost less than a plane ticket (non-budget mind you) to phuket. the ferry journey, however, takes as long as the plane ride to phuket, of course not taking into consideration the pre-flight check-in times.

anyhow, it's been a well-rested weekend, albeit too short again. how i yearn for a longer break, but for now, i shall take on the next few weeks ahead and plan for my next getaway. the bf and i pine for ayara once again, but the idea of phuket is just blah. we shall see.

my experience as a maid-of-honor

2010-04-21T21:49:00.004+08:00

after sunday, i completely understood the meaning of being a bridesMAID. in all essence, i was the maid-of-honor, and even as sarcastic as that may sound, and as tired as i was, i am glad that i played an important role in my bestie's wedding. definitely an experience of a lifetime and with good memories to boot!

we are, after all, 14 years strong of friendship, and as her thank-you speech says, we will be friends forever!

so cheesy. but we are no longer teens and i think we are quite allowed to say that.

in essence, the entire evening was spent doing the following:

- learning how to pin the veil and taking off the veil without damaging the hair
- changing hair accessories without damaging the hair
- holding up the extremely extremely long and heavy train, shadowing the bride whenever she moved
- went into bitch mode and told the 5 couples when and how to walk during the 1st march-in
- ran back and forth between two doors giving the cue to each couple when they are supposed to start walking x 4 times (3 rehearsals and 1 actual). in the process, kicked my heels off and went almost bare-footed. thank goodness my stockings weren't ruined.
- ensuring her train was in proper order during solemnization and 1st march-in. (her train was not only damn long, it also had 4 layers and it would get ruffled each time i held the gown up. then again, can't say i didn't have a say in choosing it)
- touching-up make-up
- changing out from 1st to 2nd outfit
- shadowing her as she did her 2nd march-in and going around the tables for photo-taking.

by the end of the evening, my wrist and forearm hurt. and i was really really hungry. thank goodness twin helped me saved the entire dinner, and for the first time in my life, i actually thought the dinner was good! and by the next morning, my thighs were aching.

i never knew getting married was this tiring! no doubt it is fun, i definitely had fun doing what i did and i would do it all over for her again.

but i have decided, and i can proudly say that with all parents' approval, i am not going to put myself through all this.

so just a few photos, and still waiting for the professional ones to be out. i don't quite like my dress but i must say that it really really complements her 2nd outfit well. and yes, it was done on purpose.

that's me, handling her gown. wrist still feeling fine at this point in time.

see how much material they had on the gown... it was AT LEAST 1 kg, and that is just the train...

yay! my fave red outfit. spotted by me and unanimous choice! totally love the complementing colors! and bouquet sponsored by your truly!

and heart heart heart this photo! best friends forever!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

will post more pictures when the professionl photographer pictures are out. for now, hang loose!

sneak peak...

2010-04-20T00:05:00.003+08:00

sorry for the lack of updates. been up to my neck, not just with work (thank goodness!!!), but also with my more than pathetic attempts to keep up with my social life.

it was a good week, meeting up with my fave ac babes and star team, following which, my bestie's wedding, which i am proud to say went fabulously well! a sneak peak...

will blog more in-depth of my experience of being the maid of honor. in essence, very honored to be the maid of the evening, i must say.

for now i must crash. g'nite pple!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

fabulous weekend

2010-04-04T19:49:00.004+08:00

and picking up where i last left off, the weekend continued to be fabulous.

bali and i headed to the library to pick up a few thrashy novels, which i am just having the time of my life reading. somehow this weekend i felt transported to my uni carefree days. work is completely the last thing on my mind. maybe having a cat makes you feel therapeutic. hmmm...

and speaking of which, twin this is for you....

everyone, this is mumu the mao. she is currently our door rug/watch cat and everyone who has seen her is completely raving about how pretty she is. and she damn well knows it!

and this a picture of her teh-ing with kayla's red shoes. she has the same love of red shoes as i do! or maybe it is because the padding of the shoes remind her of her basket.

more pictures can be found here.

and to end off, a picture from our night out at morton's!

my fave colleagues @ morton's! completely stuffed to the brim with crabcakes, scallops and medium rare steak. i did not even touch the warm chocolate cake for dessert, even though i super heart warm chocolate cake.

and yet another successful laksa party held for the same crowd! though my fave wine disappointed me this time (note to self: never get 2006 vintage), the company, the chatter and the cat entertained us fabulously!

and tonight the boyfriend comes home! going to meet with him in a bit and so damn happy about it!

laters people!

xoxoxoxo

afterthoughts of japan and good friday!

2010-04-02T19:48:00.004+08:00

one of the rarest occasions where i am left to my own devices for an entire weekend! something that i relish, yet i sorely miss the bf. coming home without him in tow is just not the same feeling.

last weekend was spent in tokyo, where i had my onsen fix for the first time ever on duty travel. although the onsen was small (one outdoor and one indoor pool), it was still a fabulous experience. the dinner and breakfast provided by the ryokan was simply delightful, and even though i was trying very hard to curb a very strong flu virus, my appetite did not fail me, and the goodness and the culinary efforts overwhelmed my senses over and over again, and even made me feel so much better after i had eaten it.

this trip to tokyo, i have had my fill of sashimi and sushi. 4 consecutive nights of sashimi, warm sake, and japanese heavenly goodness. i simply love love love japanese food to bits, and that is what i totally look forward to when i go on japan trips. but i think i have had my fill of japanese food for a while now. when you've had the best of the best, there is simply no turning back.

food is always the one thing that i look forward to on duty travels. as much as we torture ourselves with all the jet lag, stress, negotiations, packing in our schedules so tight we can barely breathe, good food is never lacking. i do feel a bit apprehensive these days, because i know my expectations for good food has increased greatly ever since. but i still maintain going back to the basics. nothing beats a simple meal of rice, vegetables and hot soup at the end of my trips.

and yes, everyone was super excited for me because it was the week of sakura blossoming in tokyo. to me, i concluded that the whole event is simply an overhype. there are so many more beautiful and majestic and magnificent things out there in this world. and i am not saying this because i did not get to see the sakuras blossom properly. i did. as we were driving by in our cab, there were pink-flowered trees lining the streets, and it was really pretty - no doubt about that. i did not manage to snap a picture because i was too slow in taking out my camera.

i guess what i am trying to say is that, it did not take my breath away. there are things that simply took my breath away -- like standing atop the gris gris cliff in mauritius and watching the waves battering the cliffs, like the first glance of the colosseum in rome, like diving with dolphins. the blossoming of sakuras just does not rank. but having said that, pictures here, if you are still interested.

so that was my duty travel to tokyo in a nutshell.

this long weekend started off really well, with us having dinner at morton's - a long awaited event, in celebration of belated birthdays with my fave colleagues. the crabcakes lived up to its good name and we were all orgasming over the sweetness of the crabs and the goodness that just melted right into your mouth. the scallops wrapped in bacon were not bad, but i still prefer the yakitori-styled scallop wrapped in thin bacon at kazu. the beef, well, let's just say that it was overrated. i've tasted better. and the one thing that i was completely looking forward to - chocolate martini. it was oh-my-goodness fabulous! i would have eaten more of the chocolate but i really did not want to risk a relapse of the flu.

and today, a very very tiring day - starting off at chinatown with the bestie, finding wedding stuff, and then finding a treasure trove selling our fave face masks at the cheapest prices ever in town, alongside other fashionable and very reasonable buys! we were literally out in the hot sun and walking for hours, and by the end of the day, our feet hurt and our dresses were soaked. we ended up in town, where i promptly bought another pair of orgasmic red shoes.

you see, last night before dinner, we had about an hour to kill. so i saw a pair of red shoes from itti & otto, and it was oh-so-pretty. and having not bought a pair of nice red shoes in ages, i promptly bought them! and as we were walking around town, i saw yet another pair of red shoes, and it was oh-so-orgasmic! but i told myself that i should not buy two pairs of red shoes consecutively.

so all through dinner, my mind was on that pair of red shoes, and i told le bf about it, and he said that he would subsidize a good part of it. we never buy shoes as gifts for each other because we are damn 'pantang' about it. so i spent the whole night thinking of my orgasmic red shoes, and when i finally bought them, i was uber happy!

so now, i have two pairs of orgasmic red shoes and i am so happy!

wrapping up the day, meeting bali for a quick prata and teh tarik, before we adjourned to my house to visit the newest member of my family - mumu the mao.

yes, surprise surprise. the girl who was traumatised by the stray cats at the acjc void deck now has a pet cat. but mumu is the most beautiful cat ever. and she is damn princess-y. and she knows it.

still three more days of the weekend for me! totally looking forward to nua-ing at home tomorrow, perhaps a visit to the library to catch up on my reading, and then laksa party on sunday! will post the whole lot of pictures when i'm done with my weekend.

for now, i need to find food. laters people!