The Joyous Season is Coming!

I’m listening to Christmas Carols, getting into the mood of fun, joy, sharing (and more relaxed work!). Gift-sharing is a joy; you won’t know what you’ll be getting. That’s why I don’t like telling people exactly what I would want, but at most drop a hint or two.

This year round everyone in office is lazy. Nobody bothers to put up the Christmas tree and to hang the ornaments on their workstations. I realise we still have our Chinese New Year ornaments hanging on our lights overhead. There is a huge Christmas tree set up at the entrance of DBS Tower, elegantly dressed in burgundy and gold. That indeed is the spirit of Christmas! Maybe my company should place one beside the bull and bear, a tree splattered with greens and purples. Heh.

Cycling (yes, in the rain, again)

Photos from the McCafe tea this morning:

McCafe, Parkway Parade

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I made it! Out of the house without the rain coming down yet, that is. I had to pump my bicycle tyres thus cycled to the nearby bicycle shop. This short route slowed me down say 3 minutes and gave the rain the chance to catch me and Fluffy. But, not for very long. The rain reduced to a light shower where we could proceed without becoming a wet duck.

Went onto my usual route till the new condo Baywater, then side-tracked into Bedok Park and went all the way ahead till the entrance of PIE. Looped a little back to the big traffic junction at Bedok Reservoir and Eunos Link, then cycled along the park connector beside Blk 600+. That stretch can be a little dangerous, yet it was superb and exciting; full of up slopes and winding down slopes. Some evil soul placed a big rock in the middle of the path somemore, good thing I was on high alert mode.

Spent a little while to get to Telok Kurau Park along Siglap Park connector. Happy to be back though coz the Sunday before last WW and I were there together for a stroll. This time round it was Fluffy with me, and that little wild dog just liked going near canals thinking there would always be cats in there. Didn’t stay long before heading home as it was nearing dinner time and the rain was starting again. Poor Fluffy was drenched, all cold and not like me, who had to cycle hard and therefore didn’t feel cold at all. Heh, she was shivering at one point, but I thought doggies should be strong, if not, then should be trained up to be. I still gave her a hot shower at the end of the day to make up for her chilling ride!

On the overhead bridge crossing over to Kembangan area. In front was the Starville condo.

Dark clouds looming!

Wahaha, PIE's under my feet.

Fluffy with wet hair. Wahaha.

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Photos from last week's dinner with family, to celebrate Shou Bi's birthday.

Zi Cha dinner at coffeeshop downstairs. Papa Mama.
Me and Wong Tian, color-coordinated.
The birthday boy!

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Photos taken from Pine Court Chinese Restaurant, 35th storey of Meritus Mandarin.

Leave Days are Sweet

Yay, leave days are always so good as they mean freedom!

So morning set off to SingPost building CoffeeBean for an appetitising meal of muesli parfait. Very yummy, but sadly few CoffeeBean branches offer it. So I was there for more than an hour, concentrating and typing away on my reliable lappie. Ah, what else but work again.

Happy Christmas time is coming soon. See the tree at the left side?
Me with laptop and breakfast (and work, brr).
CoffeeBean merchandise

I headed on to Parkway Parade, this time to McCafe (favourite café!) for tea and more work. Managed to finish up some documents before the battery ran flat on me. There was this small group of young Japanese kids sitting at two tables in a corner of the al fresca area of McCafe, eating their packed lunches. They have the same lunch boxes, the same food – macaroni with white bread. It’s interesting to see how independent they are, and how sensible they are to find themselves a small corner so as to be more discreet (after all they are not having MacDonald food). I suppose they live in hostels, away from their families and closed ones. No choice but to learn to be independent.

Now I’m back in my comfy newly-painted room. Wanting to bring Fluffy out for a cycle together, but I can see the very dark clouds in the North seeming to drift here. No rain no rain!

Happy Birthday Shou Bi!

It's Shou Bi's 20th birthday tomorrow, and I'm teasing him that he's no longer a teenager!

Papa, Shou Bi, Mama and Me!

Got him a rich chocolate cake from Four Leaves

Now it's Wong Tian with Fluffy

I would think it is one of Shou Bi's best times of his life now. He has just finished his NS duties at Traffic Police, and now has more than half a year to start of university. In this period, he's taking his time to find a temporary job while taking his driving lessons. The rest of the time is spent playing computer games and helping out in painting the house. Good life hor? Sis and I gave him some hundred dollars as birthday present too. My lucky brother!

Digging Deep

I like digging, reaching deeper and deeper into the bottom of my heart, my emotions, till a point when it feels like the limit. Pouring out my innermost knots, but not to anyone (no one likes sharing miseries, I realise), but to the surface of my shell so that I can chew them over and savour them long.

Those heart-wrenching love ballads evoke more sorrow emotions. I just have to close my eyes and can see so much of the carefree life I used to lead. The Game of Love brings me back to PGP days; I could see the layout of my room and desk so clearly, and feel the sweet old days so vividly. Roxette’s songs make me feel so distinctly the same ironic emotion twists I went through then. Those times, times when you sing out to yourself till a point when you feel like weeping.

What goes down comes up eventually, after it hits the bottom of the pit. It’s a cycle, after all.

Why oh Why?

Me with chio babe Xiuling at Bull Run

We got ourselves wet from running in the rain, but it was fun at the same time because otherwise you would not know how it felt with rain hitting on your face.

Me becoming philosophical these days again. I threw myself a lot of WHY questions, but still can’t find any answers. However, I cannot pretend life is good and smooth always and thus not ask.

Bull Run 2006

It started with heavy dark clouds looming overhead, followed by heavy downpour which lasted close to an hour but reduced to a drizzle for our annual Bull Run event. My company organises this charity event, targeted to help out 13 charity organisations, and which involves financial institutions and listed companies.

Every year they would invite overseas ambassadors to grace our event and this year we’ve got Richie Ren (任贤齐), the Taiwanese singer. I caught a few glimpses of him in the VIP tent earlier on, but no big deal. :p Last year’s ambassador was more popular; Jackie Chan’s popularity was unbeatable (unless if it’s 金城武！).

This year I joined a team relay (but actually more of team work – all our times were added together for placing) with three male colleagues. It’s a coincidence that two of them happened to be in the same secondary school as me, and so we just teamed up for the Bull Run 3.2km race but it’s more for the fun of it. Last year my team, with another three of my previous Data Centre colleagues (who are with HP now), came in second and won for ourselves $280 in all.

Also, this time round we have the very young ladies for the top three ladies’ positions for my company. First was a lady around my age, petite and sweet; we couldn’t tell she can run so fast. Second was my junior from DHS and a fellow scholar, a young lady who does her midnight jogs and yoga during weekdays and swimming during weekends. Third was my dear buddy at work and fellow scholar too, who also jogs every morning without fail. What does this go to show? Determination, perseverance and hard work pays off. Haha, but I still won’t want to run everyday.

All in all, the event was fun and allowed some mingling with colleagues. After the event, JY, Joyce, Nee and I went down to Orchard for some winter shopping and for late dinner. These ladies are tired out from the run and headed home for a good rest after our dinner. We’ll have a whole-day outing the next time!

A Day @ Vivocity

Fountain outside the main entrace of Vivocity
My view from CoffeeBean, taken in the evenings when I was back there a second time in the day for tea and to finish another piece of work on my lappie.
It's a rather small area for dining and drinking. I had to take a five-minutes walk around the mall before getting a seat.
Morrocan Mint (finished) - my favourite CoffeeBean tea so far
View of HarbourFront Centre. Will businesses there survive still?
Tangs advertisement. To me, Tangs is like another Robinson, not quite a big deal after all.
Flags of vibrant colours - is Vivocity that vibrant?
Proved to be a good shopping haven, at least for me. Spent around $150 on shopping, including a trendy dress for Mama.
View of the main entrance, taken on a bench where I was escaping from the coldness in the shopping mall.
Foyer on the 3rd storey where shoppers can see out to PSA, Sentosa.
Whirling staircases

Mama (oops with eyes closed)
Boat that hacks tourists money

Papa Mama on the rooftop garden. Just the right place for a break from the cold cold airs in Vivocity (their air-con is free!)
Looking like the coastal beach behind Papa Mama
On the rooftop still.

Considering the pictures are taken using my 1 Megapixel Nokia 6111, the outcomes are not that bad, right? But gotta bear with the vertical photos not being properly aligned; I can't rotate them!

One precious day of freedom!

On leave tomorrow!

Have planned to get some "ME" time. To leave the house with Wong Tian early in the morning (I like spending mornings out) and head off to Vivocity. Shall slump myself into the CoffeeBean couch for perhaps 3 hours, savouring their Museli Parfait while typing away on my snow-white Asus. But it won't be 3 hours of messaging or surfing of Internet, coz I've got some work to do. Boo. But still beats doing it in the office while I get distracted and disrupted with so many other urgent but unimportant things.

After which I shall head for the retail shops; time to stock up on new pieces for the bursting wardrobe Wong Tian and I share. I need to get a beautiful dress for Li Ling's wedding dinner too, which most probably will come from BLUM. (Sidenote: She's the fourth lady, in my JC class of 10 ladies, to get married!)

If Mama Papa decides to head to Town or anywhere near, I'll join them after lunch. Then back home to nua on the bed, see the sun set with its rays on my bed or perhaps go for a run to release some endorphins.

Lalala, just having this one day without working can be so joyous!