Wish List!

Work’s getting so busy that I can’t get a breather.

Sad to say, 80% of my work time this past week was devoted to Management Support. What is that? Things like being the secretary for our TEC Management fortnightly meeting, assisting the TEC Head (CIO) in preparing our Group’s performance plan – targets and goals for FY06 and the medium term – by working with the Function Heads and Management Accounting, and doing up presentation slides. What’s more, I have to impersonate him to fill up a survey administered by MIS Asia. How wonderful.

I want my main project to be kick-started real soon, but scoping it is tough. There are just too many initiatives and changes going on in our organisation. We’re in the stage of requirements specification with external consultants; we have two more potentials ones – one Singaporean firm and the other with ang moh consultants. Somehow I feel it may be tougher working with foreign firms.

No more mention about work. Christmas is coming soon! I have a new wish list, hee. Unlike Miss Shoezgal (=P), I don’t quite go for designer goods coz I have no money. Or maybe I can’t bear to part with my money.

Miss Nottoz’s wish list for Christmas:
(i) Panasonic VS6 mobile phone


Best thing is it has a red version. I like red. Also, a 2 mega-pixel camera with a 2.2-inch, 16M color screen.
(ii) 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle
There is a splendid one with Pooh family lying on the grassy slope, looking into the blue sky above filled with animal-formed clouds.

That isn’t a lot, right? I’m a self-contented lady.

I’m more wondering what to get for my loved ones and dear friends. :)

1. Big Bright Orange Bat
2. WW with his teh and tau sa pau

Photos as promised. Blame blogspot for its lousy photo-posting feature for the delay.

Round-up of the long break

My newly-bought Big Bright Orange Bat failed me today. But let’s just blame the nearby PowerPuff girl, whose string cut my Bat’s, and the uncooperative wind for not sustaining my heavyweight one. Bat, I give you another chance at West/East Coast Park ok? Don’t let me down, after all you’re too prominent to be seen nose-diving all the time. Quite paiseh you know.

Today I’ve played a good part in controlling Steph’s shopping expenses. Also gotta credit Fang for giving her good advice, let how she feels the Mango skirt is too short and will zao geng in it when bending a little or sitting down. Ger, we’ve helped you save more than 200 bucks! XZ will be very grateful to us, hehe.

Last evening met up with Feng and Jun too, chatted up and had our desserts at Bakerzin. Following the two ladies, I ate a slice of cake too – a mango mousse cake. Hee, tks gers for teaching me to enjoy the good things in life. Sometimes we must let our hair down, and not control so much (though my weight is fluctuating at the 45kg mark.. please don’t go up anymore!). Feng, all the best for your Thailand business trip, do your best and make your mark. :)

Today after the shopping trip at Orchard, WW picked me up and we went to Margaret Drive food centre for tea. We had popiah (very nice – only $1 and they use hand-made skin), teh and tau sa pau to fill our tummies. Below is a photo of WW balancing two glasses of teh and a tau sa pau while walking stylishly back to our table. Margaret Drive food centre is a really nice place full of flavour. Though it’s situated at a 老人区，it doesn’t have the old pok flavour and instead is clean and well-maintained. The food there is nice – it is popular for its chicken rice, cha kway tiao and popiah. WW recommends teh at the corner coffee stall too. To me, the place is great as it’s open-air and windy, lets you get a bit of sunshine during the afternoons too. Who needs food courts and high-class restaurants always anyway?

The flu virus is making its rounds again this time, first spreading to Tian and WW with sore throat, then running nose and fever. Now it has spread to me, but I’m fighting hard with medicine. WW has gotten cough on top of his sore throat; I hope he recovers soon. Stupid virus go away!

Eye in the Sky

Reminds me of our Europe trip, the wonderful times we spent traveling. I miss Europe! How carefree we were then.

Is a somewhat sad and nostalgic song that I can listen to endlessly, everyday.

When I close my eyes listening to it, I can feel myself on the small plane heading to Goteborg, looking out of the window, seeing the vast plain seas and fields below. It is not only the liberal feeling I feel, but only the pinning for someone I’ve missed seeing for close to half a year.

Sometimes I wish I could remember vividly every moment of those days, but realize that would mean I need a period of 3 weeks to playback those fond memories. Are snapshots sufficient? Can’t wait to revisit those scenic places with dear companion.

My Long Break from Work

Woohoo! Two days of leave give me six days freedom from work!

So, now at home, I’m thinking of what I can do in these few days. Wanna go shopping with Mama, visit a vegetable farm, do some sports (maybe kayak with Tian when she’s feeling well again) and do a mini cross-stitch.

WW and I were talking about the ways of communicating to one on your opposing views and opinions. No one likes to hear teachings of moral and may become more defensive to protect own beliefs. Thus, it’s a good way to just ask questions which are tactful and lighthearted. I like to preach my own morals to others, especially ones who are close to me, in hope that they exercise integrity and responsibility too. However, I overlook that everyone holds their own set of principles and I set for myself a stricter set.

I have a friend who very recently told me he would be going for a job in Kinokuniya as a retailer, working from bottom up. As a very technical IT grad, he would have fetched a higher salary being in the IT line, though the hours can be terribly long. I don’t think I will go for a more comfortable and slow-paced job in place of a hectic and stressful one. I believe in having excess for times of contingency. The idea of leading a somewhat more carefree life is so tempting though; I admit to daydreaming about it every now and then.

Hmm, it’s hard to find any kite-flying websites online. Any idea where to get a good kite? Something like a big black eagle that flap its enormous wings in the sky. Hehe, all the birds in the sky will be scared off by my eagle! Woohoo!

Our Mountain Bike

We bought a mountain bike last evening, and cycled straight off to West Coast Park!

Our new mountain bike - a simple one, but bright, yellow and quite cool huh




Kites flying at West Coast Park. I particularly like these two - black shark and cutey bat! I want to buy a giant eagle kite.


WW and his Shimano. We're off to West Coast Park.


Me with new bicycle. Tks WW for the bike! :)

If You Were An Anime Character What Would You Look Like?(Girls Only)

Ok you are a romantic anime girl and you love and
care for a lot of people.There is no evil in
you soul or your heart.Though sometimes people
don't feel the same way as you do you keep on
trying to change their mind.You love to help
people out and you are always happy.Keep on
trying to make the whole world smile because
you know smiles are contagious ^_^.Oh and if it
seems like there is nobody who could love you
as much as you could love them it doesn't
matter the thing is that the only thing that
matters is that he cares and loves you and it
doesn't matter how much well maybe it does but
don't set you standards to high cuz then you'll
find nobody


If You Were An Anime Character What Would You Look Like?(Girls Only)
brought to you by Quizilla

Europe is such a beautiful place

Just check these out:


Available on http://community.webshots.com/user/dkubiak

Breaking out of your comfort zone

Nowadays I prefer having lunch with people I’m really comfortable with. They include (i) my working buddies Eden & Judy; (ii) IA colleagues (the whole gang); (iii) the new batch of scholars; and of course (iv) my dear sister if she happens to be in CBD. I’m still trying to get used to having lunch with my new colleague. It feels weird having to relax and enjoy the meal with her, but later have to be back in the office bugging each other on work matters. I still have this feeling I work better with male bosses. With the rest of my department’s colleagues (only four of them have more regular lunches together), I feel at ease and in fact, quite enjoy being with them. However, one of them is fasting for this Ramadan period and thus the four of us in the group goes out with our different lunch kakis more this month. Looking forward to having lunch as a small team again after
Hari Raya Puasa, which means my Malay colleague can jio and gather us for regular lunches, despite having to frequent Banquet food courts much more often.

I feel it hard to break out of my comfort zone. Even a simple thing like eating with certain lunch groups can make me feel the difference between doing something in my comfort zone and something out of it. Now after getting used to the current way of life, there will definitely be a certain extent of resistance when faced with new or possible changes. I like the routine of certain activities such as jogging once a week to Esplanade, having my breakfast downstairs twice a week, meeting dear WW every Saturday and even eating my waffles every Sunday morning. Can’t imagine how it will be next time if something turns my life “upside down” (like being posted to overseas for work?) and robs me of my little pleasures. But we can’t get stuck in present state of life for too long and get stagnant in it, coz the adage stands: The only permanent thing in life is Change.

Beer Burning in Belly

Today too, I met up with two friends, one of them I haven’t met for about two years. These two rich girls, Joan and Rachell (Fang Qi), have no airs but full of sincerity, thus me poor girl feel very comfortable with them. We had Belgium food at Ooster restaurant at Far East Square; quite a novelty especially when my lunches are usually at food courts or hawker centres. But spending $30 for a short meal (I had to rush back for a meeting at 2pm) was a little too lavish. Poor me so poor. But hey, I was introduced to the fruity non-alcoholic-tasting raspberry beer imported from Belgian! How exclusive can it get!

Oh a side-note: drinking beer before a meal whets up your appetite! During lunch today, I had my first try at drinking beer in the day. And Boy, was I feeling famished after my main course! What’s more, the volume I consumed with so little, at most 100ml.

Dream Car

WW’s parents own my Dream Car of 2003 now! Honda Civic! Yesh yesh, that was my dream car for quite a while and now I still dream of owning a Honda. The power and the vroom… oh unbeatable. I picture myself stepping on my accelerator, speeding ahead the rest of the pack at the traffic light, even cutting between cars on the expressways. Oops, can’t let WW see this coz he promotes peace on the roads, with the mentality that everyone has only one goal to achieve while on the roads – to reach home smoothly for a good rest. Yeah, my man has the biggest heart and the most forgiving nature. :)

Baaa..

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

My Double Saturdays

These few weeks I can’t help have the feeling that Sundays are wasted without going out or doing something meaningful. Perhaps it’s because weekends are so short and Mondays always seem so blue. We should treat Sundays like Saturdays and cheong as we would on a Saturday (except maybe to save the Sunday nights for ironing clothes). Life’s too short.

Now on a Sunday evening, the blues are starting to trickle in. But looking back at the two “Saturdays” that are about to pass by (I have only the evening left to iron my clothes!), there is less reason to feel blue, coz I’ve had a good time generally.

Saturday
Saturday I didn’t quite “cheong”, but spent time in a relaxing way starting with breakfast with WW and his family at Bukit Timah Food Centre. We had kway chap, which wasn’t quite my favourite but I’ve learnt to adapt. :) WW and his family were singing praises for the kway chap, while I was there trying to finish the small bowl in front of me. But hey, I wasn’t thinking of how sinful the meal was, and was eating merrily away. I just don’t have the habit of eating so much for breakfast.. yet.

The afternoon was spent at WW”s place. Both he and his sister were taking their naps while I diligently did some work at the balcony, soaking in the afternoon sun. The weather was perfect for napping; thus I understand why both of them slept their 3 hours away! After that we had our tea break at his living room area, sipping milo and hot teh and eating toasted bread. It’s like going back to those old days in University while we just got to know each other.

WW and I settled dinner at Bedok Blk 85 Food Centre aka Bak Cuo Mee place. MAN is hooked onto the Bak Cuo Mee there! Plus they have BBQ chicken wings done almost perfect, yummy “or nua” and lots more delicious food.

Sunday
Oh today’s quite a happening day! Our family, except Shou Bi who had to work, went to Bedok Reservoir to catch HSBC’s Wakeboard Competition. Quite an eye-opener and Tian was so smitten by the wakeboarders that she wanted to take up wakeboarding. Wahaha, kidding la, she’s more a watersports-lover than a wakeboarder-lover. The performances by the wakeboarders were fantastic, with some doing 360 degrees turn, some doing ballet dancing on the ski boards when being pushed along by the speed boat. There was also one performance by a group of 12, forming a four-tier pyramid on top of one another while they were on the waters. So superb! The feeling’s great too, bringing me back to those days in junior college when we attended such outdoor events. Somehow different activities are always linked back to those times when you most vividly remembered doing them, and doing the activity transports me back those previous dimensions. It’s like going back to old days, feeling the emotions of the past. It makes me forget I’m a white-collar worker now, and gives me the ever-carefree feeling.

Despite the happy merry day (in which I got a tan 2 shades darker!), there was a hiccup in the middle when I got really fed up and irritated. We were having late lunch at Bedok Hawker Centre and after the meal, Mama wanted to buy fried ikan bilis with peanuts from the muslim food stall. But the fatty bom bom woman there was slow, bochup and brainless. She used her hand, wrapped in a plastic bag, to scoop up a handful of peanuts. That was obviously not enough for my $1 purchase (what’s more, her hands are small) and she switched to using an oil-soaked tong to scoop my peanuts into the plastic bag, making it all oily. How brainless! I was getting all pissed up then, clutching my fists tight. My mum had to shout for me all the way from the other end at this untimely moment, making my blood boil more. She had decided to get the ikan bilis plus peanuts from another stall and wanted to tell me that. I was super duper fed up; firstly mad with that extremely lousy attitude of that fatty bom, secondly angry with mama’s indecisiveness.

I wonder how people can have such patience, being so tolerant towards slow service and lousy attitude. I can’t hold my irritation towards lousy service, especially at a crowded and noisy place. Perhaps my tendency to lose it is attributable to the fast pace I face at work; at work efficiency counts a lot.

Bull Run

Nah. I should be doing work now but I don’t care. This morning at 9:05, my female supervisor came over to set the target for the week. This is good, I know, but I need a little space especially on this blue Monday morning. That’s why I feel female bosses can’t beat male bosses; the females drive you up the path they want without caring a hoot on how you feel.

So far haven’t gotten a chance to update on last Friday’s Bull Run! It was fun!! I got to run competitively and as a team with three other guys from Data Centre. The last time I ran competitively was in JC times; very long ago (some six years ago..?!). Competitive running is very different from normal joggings; you have to cheong all the way and not let others overtake you.

Although it was a short distance of 3.2km for Bull Run, the run wasn’t easy. We had to don the company’s attire for Bull Run and wear on us heavy red jackets while running down the roads. Quite tiring! Luckily my team relay members were protective and took good care of me, their only female team mate. They squeezed out a space right in front of the pack at the starting point for me, gave me tips on how to outrun the rest and one of them even pulled my hand along when we started off, fearing I might be “trampled down” by the main pack behind.

Somewhere along the 500m distance, Jackie Chan was there beside the road cheering us on. He’s quite a motivation, spurring all of us to go faster than our usual paces. (We just didn’t want to get caught on the TV strolling away.) Come the half-way point, I was feeling heated up with the Red Bull boiling in my tummy. Dunno whether it’s regret I felt then, for daringly trying some energy-boosting drink I’ve never tried before. But I suppose it did give me some strength in my legs to last all the way. The other half of the run back to the Padang (our starting cum finishing point) was not too bad. At one point I overtook our CEO and muttered “Mr XX, go on!” when I passed by him. Wahaha. Dunno how he felt then. Maybe he noted down my bib no. to add in his no-promotion-next-year blacklist. Oh no.

Yeah. I enjoy the run so much that I’m thinking of joining marathons. But Tian told me it’s hard to wake up so early in the morning (marathon flag-offs are typically at 630am or 7am) and you don’t get to run with a team of people you know. Maybe the only consolation is your strong will to finish the whole distance and the pride from wearing their t-shirts during future jogs.

The BFG

Well people like to read crap, therefore I try to write crap. True? Nah. I don’t blog for the sake of capturing an audience, though sometimes I blog because I like the outlook of my blog site.

Last night I was lying on my brother’s bed reading Roald Dahl’s The BFG, trying to grasp his life’s principles amid the seemingly childish contents. Don’t think I’m being a kiddy reading a children’s book ok, for Roald Dahl has a way of putting his skeptics and criticisms across in a harmless way. It’s interesting to do a re-read of the books I once placed as my top favourites, during my Primary school days. For example, in The BFG, the nine humongous beings in their Giantland ate human beings (the only kind one, named BFG, called them human beans). The kind giant paralleled the eating of human beings to us eating piggies and other animals. He also stated that we human beings are crueler than them in that we kill each other, while giants don’t kill their own kind. Furthermore, human beings set our own rules and accept no others, like how we reject absurd things as impossible. It was also funny how he paired up humans from various countries with their unique smells and tastes, such as the Englishmen tasting the most delicious and those from a certain country (can’t remember what, but the country name is linked with boots) having a booty taste. Quite corny.

Haha, so, if the BFG proves its worth, I’ll go buy the whole series ($80+)!

For now, I’m preparing to run off.. to Suntec for shopping!

Little Happiness In Life

Tks my dear friends for the concern! Only we girls understand the dilemma when faced with the thorny weight issue.

It has been raining the whole day. It was quite a turn-off; that meant no trip to the park and staying at home for the entire Sunday.

Yesterday was good though. We went kite-flying at West Coast Park after having some light food at McCafe. Our kite (I named it “Moth-faced”) couldn’t sustain in the air after we brought it up by running across the whole field. There simply wasn’t enough wind. However, the beautiful sunset and the nice weather made up for it. And also, the great company. :) Heh, how about kite-flying again next week?

The pace at work is picking up fast, ever since the team lead has come in two weeks ago. I actually enjoy the adrenalin rush at work and am spurred on by work. They’ve got to reward me good come next year’s bonus allocation. How about a promotion? :) (But that’s only in September next year. Hmm.)

Well, couldn’t find much to write on blogs anymore. During working hours, I’m too tied up with work to do any personal stuff; after work I either go home to rest or go out with WW; weekends I spend them outside too. Usually when there are meaningful thoughts, I don’t have this channel to express them. Furthermore, thoughts are fluid; they don’t stay but stray. Nevertheless, there are things in life we should pause to appreciate.

The Little Happiness in Life

Delicious home-cooked meals at home everyday
Dear mama makes sure we don’t go hungry with her warm, nutritious meals prepared for our family everyday. The fact that she does cooking everyday makes her efforts even more visible in my eyes. Whose mama does cooking everyday now in these modern days?

My channel of voice for wind-down every night
Loving WW chats with me every night before I go to sleep, asking me about my day and making sure I am feeling fine and things are going good. It is sweet how sometimes my voice puts him to sleep or the other way round, with me falling asleep while he is still talking to me. Those are the days when either of us feels tired and sleepy from work.

Waffles for breakfast every Sunday
I’m still slim enough for me to enjoy waffles every week! And I live in a great neighbourhood with lotsa shops, including a confectionary, a 24-hours supermarket, 7 (!!) coffeeshops, a 24-hours coffeeshop which sells roti prate, teh and teh tarik, plus lots more other shops (even Watsons!). Heh, even the guy selling fish at the wet market gives me discounts every time.

From the above, I guess you could tell that I’m one with quite a routine lifestyle. Everyday, every night and every Sunday. These are the seemingly routine things, but which keep me going and motivate me through the boring workdays. On top of those mentioned, there are more to add: jogging to Esplanade with a colleague every Tuesday followed by treasured time-alone dinner at EastLink, breakfast of a pumpkin kueh and soy milk downstairs every Wednesday. The lunch appointments on every Tuesday and Thursday with the two dear buddies at work keep me going too. Yeah, life is indeed happy!

My persistent problem with weight

If on the heavy side, I get a physical problem; if on the light side, I get a health problem.

Why do I have to worry about my weight ALL the time??

Now when I thought jogging 5.5km, doing yoga and cycling/light jogging, all done weekly, would be sufficient to maintain my light-weight. But with more times sitting around in office, opening up of my appetite and more treats & good meals, the balance just doesn't seem to sustain. I really don't like seeing the scale hitting the next 'milestone', where the resolution gotta kick in again. This is such a difficult pivot to balance on!

Sometimes I wish I can happily eat my cake (cheesecake, tiramisu, ice-cream) and not have to care a hoot about gaining weight from it. If only I have the metabolism of a Hummingbird.

Boohoohoo.

Cantina: The Food and Wine Stop

Being the sweet and thoughtful girlfriend I am, I treated dear boyfriend to dinner at Cantina (http://www.cantinafoodwine.com/Restaurants/greenleaf.htm), an Italian restaurant parked in a rustic little park – Ban Guan Park, along Greenleaf Road. We ordered usual kind of dishes (no wild ones): Bruchetta bread, minestrone soup, sautéed mushrooms and main courses of spinach fettucine vegetarian (for ‘her’) and pork scaloppini (for ‘him’).

As can see, the greenish pasta whetted up my appetite, especially since I’m a vege-lover. The dishes were quite to my liking and did not give a bloating feeling. The portion was just right for me. However, the three big “chunks” of pork meat turned WW off, especially since he is a vege-lover (too!). WW doesn’t have much luck with the food he orders at restaurants; he is always getting something distasteful and unsuited to his food preference. I shall be his food advisor cum consultant. Nutrition and healthy eating are all within my area of expertise!

We came to the conclusion that Cantina is too noisy, kinda too al fresco for our liking and the food not really that delightful. We still prefer Al Dente and Spagheddies for their gastronomic pasta (can’t help but mention Al Dente’s Portobello Mushroom and Spagheddies Veggie Sizzilini. Drool!). Thus, high-class doesn’t necessarily mean you get better quality!

Honjin Japanese Restaurant & Mon Petit Bar

Last evening we had a great time, yet again!

It was MW's promotion treat at Honjin Japanese Restaurant for the whole IA department, including JC and I, the ones who transferred out. Eleven (imagine!) of us savored the freshest sashimi (salmon, swordfish, tuna, yellowtail), soft-shell crab, tuna belly, tempuras and sake. Very lavish food indeed! If you like sashimi, go for Honjin's buffet. Quite a bargain @ $48+++, one-for-one for UOB credit card holders. Yay, I have my Ladies' Card now. :) But indeed for such a big group of us, it must cost MW quite a bomb. He is in fact very generous, and willing to part with his $$ happily. Very nice guy! WW joined the group nearing the end of the meal, accepting the invitation of my former colleagues, especially the head of the department. WW ain't as shy as I've thought. =P So happy WW joined in the fun and enjoyed himself!

We then moved on to Mon Petit Bar, along Robinson Road, for some beer-drinking. I was surprised to see the entire department tagging along, as a number of them actually don't drink! Such sportiness is commendable. We were playing all sorts of "beer-games" such as Indian Poker and James Bond 007, even though we all, being the guai gias, were unsure of the exact game rules. All were so immersed in the games and drinks that we didn't realise it was 1130pm by the time we got tired! Fun fun.

Photos for Viewing

Adorable Fluffy running around on the field. But she fell sick after the trip to Pasir Ris (last Sunday) with our family.
Mama, Shou Bi (with Fluffy in his hands), Papa with me at Pasir Ris park. It was quite a tiring cycling trip!
Soaking in the mesmerizing sunset at East Coast Park (taken from Bedok Jetty) with WW two Sundays ago.

Self-contradiction

I want to stay slim, yet am gaining weight and yet again, do not feel like exercising for the time being. I've procrasinated and dragged my regular weekly jog to (hopefully, if I have the mood) tomorrow. Somehow, my mind tells me it's not so possible.

How I wish I have mega-powered metabolism rate.

I love the weekends

Had yet another good time this weekend. First it was shopping at Orchard with WW, where I bought a Roald Dahl children book - The BFG, and working shirt and high-neck top from G2000. Wanted to get a watch (budget $480) but couldn't spot a worthy one. Dinner-time, we had steamboat at WW's place with his family to celebrate his mama's bday. I thought it would be a meat-based meal but was very pleased and happy to find lotsa fish, vege, scallops and abalone instead. Yum yum.

Sunday was a tiring but very enjoyable day as we (papa, mama, shou bi, fufa and I) went all the way to Pasir Ris Park via the park connector. Shou Bi and I cycled while Papa Mama went on their kooter and wheeler. Cool huh. We spent close to 4 hours getting there and back, having rest for a while in between. And ended the evening with claypot rice downstairs (me not bad leh, being the health freak yet starting to eat... claypot rice!). Family bonding! TP join us next time oki!

Hidden Place - Ann Siang Hill

It's a beautiful park by day, happening pub cum fine dining area by night. A place waiting to be discovered, as I did on Friday evening upon exploration. Classy Italian restaurants and jazzy pubs line Club Street, while the wooden plank-tiled platform and palm-tree-lookalikes stand on Ann Siang Hill. You can even view the city's outline, which dazzles come night-time. This is definitely a place for some romance, with candlelight dinners at Da Paolos followed by relaxing chill out at the pubs (that is if you have many bucks to spare). Although ang mohs throng the place (showing how "high-class" that place is), you are bound to enjoy its atmosphere.

Jogging & My Time Alone

Mid-week! Damn fast, isn’t it?

Last evening I went jogging, from XGX Centre, along Fullerton & Esplanade, all the way to Kallang Coast Guard area and back to the exercise station under Bengamin Sheares bridge. Being the competitive me, I paced along with my fellow running mate and refused to slow down. But in the end she spurred on a bit more nearing the end-point, where I was not able to catch up anymore. Nevertheless, my speed improved a lot! There’s why we all need a pushing factor for us to improve.

After which, I had my usual weekly time-out session all for myself at EastLink, having my dinner of tau suan and tau sa pau. Mistake! Both were made richly of flour which made my tummy all bloated after the meal. I could still feel my tummy airs churning in my sleep last night. I must learn my mistake.

It’s important for us to have a time-out session all for ourselves at least once in a week. In the midst of our ever-busy and hectic lives, we could get too immersed in our work that we forget what is core to us.

Shoes Shopping!

Third pair of shoes in less than a month! This time round it's a classy black high-heeled shoes with bonze front straps from Charles & Keith. I need a big shoe rack soon! Wahaha.

On second thoughts, and after switching to Ms Practical after the first day of the work-week, I've decided flowers may not be such a good idea after all if they have a very strong fragrance (so strong it becomes overwhelming) and attract ants. Unless, they come in a bouquet easy for dry-hanging.

Heh.

To the guys out there:

Romancing your girlfriends is a very important and somewhat necessary thing to do. You don’t have to please her every other day, or every week, but a surprise once in a while is the sweetest thing a girl can get.

Guys can be as straight as the backbone of a herring, never able to grasp the messages their female counterparts send. Send her a bouquet of roses on a special day; bring her to an unexpected picnic by the reservoir or just pop by her house for breakfast! Little actions do not need much brainstorming to come up with, and not that much of an effort if you really want to make her happy.

Be told (warned) of the fact that all females, at some point (or all points) of their lives, would exercise a certain extent of jealousy and envy. Don’t expect to satisfy her completely with dates and dinners; she wants those sweet little things that you guys think silly of and laugh at. If you’re not willing to do these for the worry of “losing face”, then get a dumb girl, a 三从四德贤妻良母。Smart women are independent, yet they have a soft side to be nurtured.

After having said so much, am I to expect a bouquet of lovely flowers soon? *hmm*

Feng Gang Gathering

Nowadays when I tend to get angry, I rationalize my emotions with logical reasoning. Let’s say a friend said to drop by at 3pm, but reached an hour and half later. This I understand coz I exercise the same misjudgment, due to unexpected tasks and a lack of time. However, there is a fine line between what is a genuine miscalculation and an intended wrong. I don’t like people giving empty promises, people who don’t exercise punctuality (or at least who thinks you have a lot of time to spare waiting for them) and people who does not respect others. In the workplace, you see very irresponsible people who can conveniently forget to inform you of important matters, or shall I say it’s a whole department of staff who do that.

But aside from work matters, my propensity to get flared up has dropped, partly due to less time spent at home. Previously, I tend to get worked up facing Ama at home as she can be too stubborn for someone like me to bear. Furthermore, less time spend together actually increases both amicability towards each other. That’s how the Chinese proverb goes: 物以希为贵。Humans treasure only things out-of-reach to them.

Last evening the Feng Gang (as I termed it) gathered at Ivan’s house for a good meal cum catch-up session. We tried Ivan’s hearty cum healthy home-cooked dishes – teochew-styled steam fish, 公保鸡丁, prawns and stir-fried asparagus – which were very praiseworthy especially when it was Ivan’s first attempt. It was a very refreshing break from the routine of having meals out. I still remember the butter-oil-soaked pasta WW had the other time we met at Moonfish. Heh.

After the main meal we girls, as usual, were craving for something sweet (the best is that it’s chilling as well; we [they] don’t care about its sinfulness). As a natural progression, Tian excitedly presented the Marquise chocolate cake from The Patissier (http://www.thepatissier.com/) and joyfully took out two tubs of ice cream, rum & raisin and kahlua krunch, bought from The Daily Scoop (http://www.thedailyscoop.com.sg/) and very much to all’s delight. If we all meet every week, I will definitely grow to be very fat! But the desserts were simply too hard to resist; I had to cut some apples to curb the urge to dig on further into those two tubs.

In all, we had a good time, indulging in home-cooked fare, sinful desserts and one another’s company. We were laughing away when flipping through the photos of older times, especially the one taken in Swissotel, hehehe. We as a group have definitely come a long way together, as long as a good “some years”, as insisted by Xianhe. (Actually it was a good decade since those secondary school times.) Oh hoho. How young are we now?

Quidam by Cirque du Soleil

We’re going to watch Quidam this evening! We are given tickets for four – Mama, Papa, Shou Bi, and me – totally FOC. And those are VIP seats, each costing S$250. Can you believe it?

It’s a pity TP can’t join us as she has to work, but I’m sure the next time round the whole family can go together. I’m very grateful to the organization’s goodwill (I’m not sure which organization it is, but I’m going to find out.) and generosity. Mama has been mentioning her interest in catching Quidam since she liked the previous circus performance – Algeria. Happy that her desire to watch Quidam will be fulfilled this evening, and it will be another opportunity for family bonding. I love my family!

Only two days ago, we went to Chinese Garden for its Lantern Safari display during this mid-Autumn festival period. A pity Shou Bi was not able to join us due to work. Both TP and I took leave so that we could accompany Mama Papa and to take care of them. Will post some photos when I’m using the computer back at home.

Yay, looking forward to this evening! Quidam!

Mixed Feelings

VB is out, and I'll be getting it on the 25th! But I'm having mixed feelings, coz VB is pretty good, but increment is nutty peanuts. Less than 2%! What is that?

Back to the blog I posted on 20 August, I can afford to buy all those in my "wants" list, and still have $5k savings. :) Can give some to parents too. Yay.

To recap, my list goes:
1) Classic Swiss watch (I’ve wanted one for ages!)
2) Roald Dahl’s children books
3) The Economist subscription
4) Laptop for me to do my work and surf the Internet during weekends at McDonald’s drive-out [don't want oreadi]
5) 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle

I can't wait to buy my watch! WW, let's go shopping this weekend oki? :)

Saturday Night-Out

WW and I met up with his group of JC friends at California Bistro for dinner. We enjoyed the one-for-one pasta offer and saved quite a fair amount of money. Quite a pity that they don't seem to be having much of a business on a Saturday evening.

The three guys (from left to right): Hong An, Gay Yong, and WW in pink :p

And corresponding, the three ladies: Junie, me and Jasmine

Then we moved on to Liquid Kitchen at Upper Thomson Road to chill-out. Bitchy and flirty waitresses serving customers over there yo.

WW and YZ :)


Christina (she joined us after dinner) and Junie. Does Christina look familiar to you?


Yeah, the whole gang of us. Junie brought bite-size mooncakes from Mei Zhen Xiang for us too. Nice gathering!

Chase my thoughts, if you are able to keep up

What would you think of a person who keeps a daily expenses record, as well as a diary updated weekly? Or perhaps an excel sheet to record foreseen future expenses so that the full financial balances are clearly articulated?

What is a woman without emotions, especially those that swing in a manner similar to a roller-coaster ride? Who would have known that a female's hormones can affect so much of her thinking and feelings, evoking seemingly irrational and insensible conjunctions of the mind? Would a woman, usually more logical than emotional, opt for the male's way of thinking and devoid herself of such unwarranted conclusions chucked out by the insecure mind?

All females like chocolate, cakes, or ice-cream, isn't it? Why do they not hold any appeal to any lady then? Sometimes I really think I place tight controls on myself. No chocolates, no cakes, no ice-cream, till a point when I no longer crave for them. Why not give me an apple instead? I go ga-ga over chocolate fondue more for the idea and freedom it offers instead of the satisfaction from the taste of hot melting chocolate in your mouth tickling your taste buds. What freedom in chocolate fondue? Well, you get to choose which fruits or marshmallow you want to dip, and in which kind of chocolate - dark, milk or white. Am I enjoying myself with my cravings for healthy food? Well, should be, since I feel the sweetness of my apple is comparable to that of chocolate, or at least I think so.

HDB or private housing? No answer yet. If both choices are achievable, how so for private housing? An even further answer awaits. That also boils down to the feeling of envy seeing other ladies proudly presenting their black Ladies' Card for swiping, yet there's only the plain greyish debit card lying in my wallet. UxB is good coz they know how to thrive their business by working on females' weakest point - envy cum jealousy. We just don't want to lose out to any others! You have Ladies, I shall aim for Black. You have Black, I'll get that Platinum and just you wait and see.

Anytime in the day is never the same as 1-3am in the early morning. Don't blame me for the uninteresting posts; mostly I am not given the right timing. And then again, t-1 (in hours and in exchange clearing and settlement terms) was supposedly the intended sleeping time. No wonder I look like a panda. The knowledge of having insufficient sleep stresses me out. I don't know if this fear is derived out of concern for my body, or out of my own expectations of having enough sleep everyday. Sounds like a freaky perfectionist, huh?

In some aspects, commitment, obligation and expectation have the same connotation. No wonder there are many who are commitment-phobia, especially the guys, who are expected to carry on their shoulder greater loads of burden. To me, these three terms may mean lack of personal freedom and choice in some instances, which my independent heart finds very difficult to accept at times. Similarly, I wish not to impose any pressure on anyone at all to have to fulfill my expectations.

I'm hungry and sleepy. Will I ever get the chance to lead the carefree life of 3am-sleeping-time and 9am-waking-time again?

Bottoms-Up (to Red Wine?!?!)

That’s a terrible move! Don’t ever do that if possible!

Speaking from personal experience, you won’t want to blank out on an MRT train and struggle hard for balance. And you won’t want indecisive moments wondering if you should step out of the train onto the platform for unintended puking. (Luckily my stomach was strong enough to hold back all the liquor.)

Last evening a group of slightly more than ten from XGX (quoting Sher’s style), who are members of a major project team, headed to Mon Petit Bar opposite our building for a rolling good cocktail party. I thought I could get away with orange juice, but our dear Group Head wanted everyone to drink! Unwillingly, I requested a glass of red wine from the waitress, who very coincidentally happened to be my cousin! We nibbled some finger food and chatted among ourselves, then, some very courageous colleague suggested bottoms-up with another. That kick-started a round of merry-drinking and a guy (aka jiu gui) happily toasted his beer to my red wine. Jialat lah, I have ¾ glass of red wine left ok. How to ta like that? But ta I went ahead, plus another ½ glass later.

This taught me the importance of holding your liquor man. More drinking sessions to come!

My Lovely IA Colleagues

I'm the one in pink top, white sweaterThat's our IA boss eating nuts, and my extremely nice supervisor singing away.

A get-together for bowling, dinner & karaoke on 26 Aug 05. How nice. :)

Morning Musings

I’m bored at work! Too little work for me! Hmm, I had better not complain too much coz my team leader is coming in on the 3rd Oct, then will have read project to work on. Anyway, I’m happily reading reference books, and constantly thinking of how to pass time when my boss goes on holiday next week. I can’t possibly read all day right? I will fall asleep in no time.

Tmr evening is another party time with drinks and finger food at Mon Petit Pastry Bar, with around 24 people, including our internal business users and fellow teammates. Alcohol will be served – beer, wine and liquor. Slurp. Sometimes I think it fun to work in the frontline business, where you get to do entertainment and free-load on savoury treats in high-class restaurants. So far my boss has brought me to the restaurant at Chinese Swimming Club, Town restaurant (http://www.fullertonhotel.com/en/dining/townrestaurant.html) at Fullerton Hotel and Neptune Theatre Restaurant, where I enjoy lavish food for no cost.

That brings me to a question – would you prefer working in the business frontline or at the backend? Some prefer having a party-wild group of colleagues, who are in actual fact, actors in their own regimes, while others prefer having down-to-earth colleagues who are more true to their fellow workmates. I still find it hard to juggle between the two choices – I value sincerity from fellow colleagues, but on the other hand, am not able to open up to them as I do to my friends outside the organization. Even though we see one another every working day (that’s a good five out of seven days in a week), there is an imminent lack of proximity in terms of spiritual contact. Often, the emotions shared would be more of a venting of resentment or unhappiness of one’s boss, spouse or friends. This is mistakenly known as the spiritual contact between colleagues, which I feel is kinda shallow and reflects no bonding between teammates. A better mode of communication would be through teambuilding activities, but honestly, how many of that can you hold for the department? In no time, everyone would get busy with their own work again and submerge in their own pile of activities. So, I actually would not mind having a group of more money- and market-driven colleagues to work with. Being kept on the toes while working is not such a bad thing, coz you mould yourself to be a sharper person after all.

What do you have for breakfast every morning?

How about an apple to start the day with? That is what I do, munching an apple on most mornings and reading the papers at the same time. Then I would nibble on a piece of bread, sometimes on the bus if I couldn’t manage the time before leaving the house. These 140kcal of food won’t last me till lunch time, so I would supplement with biscuits, teh or soy milk. On some days, I grow sick of this regime and head for the coffeeshop downstairs for something more different. So, that would be tau sa pau with teh, or pumpkin kueh with soy milk at the coffeeshop that plays songs from the 60’s and sprays water vapours out from its fans. Previously it used to be TP, Shou Bi and I, but nowadays I have breakfast out alone.

I feel one’s breakfast choices do tell something about the person. My boss likes to have roti prata or roti boy (there is something similar in the two) for breakfast – not very healthy. Some of my colleagues buy soy milk with bean paste biscuits (tau sa piah) or bee hoon back to office. I won’t be able to tong that long for my breakfast; I get hungry the moment I wake up! Mama and Shou Bi do not usually eat breakfast when they are up. I wonder how they go about doing work with empty stomachs till lunchtime. It’s healthy and recommended to fill your tummy with nutritious intakes at the start of the day. Besides, it kick-starts your day with higher energy levels and boosts your metabolism.

Last time in Raffles Hall, we used to have a variety of food for breakfast. On Monday it used to be western – sausage, baked beans and bread; on Tuesday we had half-boiled eggs; Wednesdays it was pau (my favourite); Thursday porridge; Fridays.. I can’t remember. Though the meals were pretty routine and standard, I was quite happy with it. At least there were some days in the week when I looked forward very much to the food. And those were the days when we could laze around in the canteen in the afternoons after our lectures and tutorials, enjoying the tea break with egg tarts and teh. We could enjoy the rays of the evening sun, which were shining onto our faces giving us that joyful gleam. How I miss those days!

Or-bi-good

On my way to work this morning, I saw a young lady trying to beat the traffic at a congested traffic-light crossing despite it being green light for the vehicles. Initially there was a halt for the vehicles at the crossing and it was then that the lady tried to thread across between the waiting vehicles. But after passing the first lane of the three, the traffic started flowing again and she found herself trapped in the middle of the moving traffic. Standing at the other end waiting for the pedestrian green light and seeing her standing cautiously between dangerous vehicles (mind you, the cars were all turning in from a main road!), I was half laughing at her, mocking her stupidity and impatience, or perhaps her disrespect for the vehicles. I guess my reaction wasn’t that appropriate; perhaps I should be empathizing her wrong move and worrying for her instead of thinking she deserved the nervous and stressed moment.

Nonetheless, the road is a dangerous place. Gotta give it some respect ok. Who knows if I were the one driving, carefully avoiding bumming into a strange human figure standing in the middle of the road, I would simply honk and give that figure a jump. Having to look out for such conditions especially when driving in the busy CBD area can be quite stressful and irritable, you know. Wahaha.

Sophia & Vincent's Wedding on 9th July 05

Quite a spectacular restaurant

That’s Neptune Theatre Restaurant at OUB House along Collyer Quay. The place is BIG, with two stories of dining area and a big performance stage in front. You can’t tell you’re in a restaurant in Singapore. It is just too out spectacular! I was at the restaurant yesterday for lunch with my boss and my future supervisor, who is joining the team in October. The restaurant served dim sum, which I thought tasted not bad. Also, they arranged for a Mexico performance on the stage during lunch time! Very happening to see Mexican dancers doing their boot-tapping and the females with their colourful big skirts that fly up with the circles they turn. Around us, there were bankers and professionals eating and chatting merrily away. There is a flavour of the 80’s, from the restaurant decorations, the oriental-carpeted floor to the wooden railings and staircase at the sides of the stage. What a sight! According to my boss, due to globalization, they are able to hire foreign performers such as Portuguese dancers and Chinese Mainland acrobat performers. Quite interesting! Hee, lucky me get the chance to visit such a special restaurant. :)

Adorable Little Animals

Some really sweet photos to share!

Singapore Service Industry

I get peeved by bad service. Restaurants or cafes that make you wait for up to half an hour for your food during a workday lunch time, or waiter/waitresses who treat you like an invisible sheet are two main turn-offs. I remember bad service, sometimes even the face having the poor attitude. And my irritability with bad service started long time before the promotion for good service came about. In the service industry, what matters is a genuine smile to customers and if you are feeling good, your radiance will be reflected in your actions and treatment to customers. Sad to say, the standards in Singapore have lots to improve on.

Lacklustre Work

Yeah! Me here blogging again coz my boss has no time for me, and he asked me along to McDonald’s later to discuss my slides while he eats his super-late lunch. I’m wishing more and more that I belong to a more routine role where at least I get my role clearly defined! Here I’m waiting for the Team Lead to come in till my neck is getting as long as the giraffe’s. Now I’m doing all these staff work like writing minutes, presenting self-assessment takeaways and other management supportive tasks that I feel like a secondary employee in the company!

So, this morning on the way to work, I was thinking and wondering, what is my dream job? I like to be under the sun, like autonomy and trust to do greater things at work; dislike routine yet non-fixed tasks. Don’t give me small pieces here and there, while not embarking on a project or core work. But anyway, I don’t like being in this department when I have to handle everything single-handedly and every piece of work needs to go through two levels of bosses which slow things immensely since my boss is so busy. Sucky.

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Dad’s birthday is coming up on this Friday. It will just be a simple dinner at Tampines Mall to celebrate, and most probably we’ll go for Din Tai Fung xiao long paos and ramen. Dad, being the typical cost-conscious man in the family, is concerned about the price we have to pay for the meal. But we shouldn’t let him have his way. Should enjoy life while we can! Plus, my parents have been working hard to earn money and living frugal lives since young. They have every right to lead lavish lives too, which I hope we kids can bring them onto soon.

If you don’t do what you like and eat what you crave for when you feel like it, there are not going to be many chances to do so. We have so little time on hands and should just make ourselves happy by doing what we feel like, as long as they are not against own principles. That’s why a lot of people don’t care about whether they gain weight and grow fat (but still not fatter that what they can accept), or if they need to maintain a regular exercise regime. For me, the initial motivation comes from the beauty of being slim – allowing me the additional hop in my steps, that feeling or light-weight and that bounce that somehow reenacts my flying dreams in real life. But now I see the bigger picture and place greater emphasis on fitness, health and balance in life. Looks are still important, no doubt, but should not be placed as an inspiration above practical and nobler ones. And despite saying that, I still want to look young, with the radiant skin and pinkish glow in my cheeks! Where are the days when I managed to, somehow, charm a handful at the same time period? Hoho.

Happy Tree Friends

While having dinner with my buddy good good female friends (and two of their hubbies) last night, I mentioned about this Happy Tree Friends animated clips. Very nice and worthy watching, just don't do it before your meals. So to prove that I'm not the gee-na one among them, I shall link them to this happening site -> http://happytreefriends.atomfilms.com/index.html. Try it!

We had a fun time yesterday, though all had to wait for me to liquidify my Yum Yum Mushroom crepe. Those two women who are married actually are more playful and kiddish than Fang and me! I think next time they can roll around and play merrily together with their kids, behaving like them too. :p Happy to see them leading wonderful lives with their partners too. On the other hand, Fang and I need more rest! We were coughing away and especially poor Fang, gotta work hard in the IT line and even do OT on saturdays. Ger, must enjoy life while we can and job for greener pasture soon yo!

Sick Me

Yesterday I was shivering in the office, fighting against the cold air-con, combating hard against a fever, cough, cold and headache. Though it was a hard day having to bear with all the flu symptoms, there were small acts which made me feel warm and cherished. Tian came down to CBD to have lunch together with me, and dear WW called me earlier than usual to check out on how I was. At times of sickness, you hope there is someone caring about you and I'm happy that I have my loved ones by my side. Muack! :)

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

I'm not particularly an ice-cream lover, but.. CHERRY GARCIA! You scored 74% SWEET, 59% CHUNKY, and 62% UNIQUE!

cherry sweet cream base with cherries and fudge chunks Awesome...you are one of my personal favs: Cherry Garcia. You fall in the middle on all measurements- sweet, wild, and unique, but not overwhelmingly so on any of those. You make a good friend, able to share your unique perspectives on things, and able to have fun without winding up in jail or something. Good job.

Link: The Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor Test written by weered1 on Ok Cupid

What do you look forward to when you wake up?

What do you look forward to everyday when you wake up in the morning? Work days are boring. I look forward to lunches with friends, then after the lunch, to knock-off time when I get to go back home and rest. On other days when I have specific programs or dates, there is that something more to anticipate. On days when I go jogging at Esplanade, I look forward to the dinner at Eastlink (Tampines interchange foodcourt) and having a good time to myself, sipping teh slowly and nibbling my food bit by bit.

Well, is there nothing at work worth looking forward to? Then how can one motivate himself through the minimum eight hours at work? Some people have fun-loving colleagues to mingle with, who bring joy to their boring hours at the salt mines. Too bad I don’t have colleagues who are like me, young and non-family-committed (yet). So we can’t go to the pub or hang out together. This is one thing I must applaud IA, since they have all sorts of people in there yet manage to bond as a team, going for drinks, bowling, karaoke and dinners every now and then.

Mondays are indeed hard to go by. I wish I was in the shopping mall, browsing through the shops now. I want to buy stuff, try pretty clothes and get presents for my loved ones. Why am I trapped in this miserably cold and artificially-lit place? Boohoo. Maybe later take MC and go off, if not to shopping, then for home. I miss my bed!

Lucern - Today versus yester-year

Last year in July when WW and I toured Lucern, Switzerland.



Now, after tormental floods in Lucern.

Rsepect me for my Big Bucks?

Last Thursday and Friday my company's IT department, which has a full strength of around 130, set up a bazaar within our own office building and invited the whole of our company down. Lots of efforts are put in on the organizers and stall-owners, but all are for a good cause - The Bull Run funds. I chipped in a small part by giving shoulder massages, $5 per session of 5 mins. My "customers" commented that I'm quite pro ok! :p Then when the EXCO members came down to render their support, they had to buy up lots of stuff coz a trolley was pushed in front of them and they gotta fill it up somehow! All for the sake of face? Most of them (anyway there are only five) are very generous, donating without second thoughts and dropping $50 notes without asking for change. I bet they spent more than $500 each during that short half-hour. That's why to be at the top you need not only have charisma, but also the generosity to part large amounts of your money without the heart pain. (But then again, they are paid big bucks!)

Friday night I headed to Singapore Swimming Club with my colleagues from IA for some bowling and karaoke. In between the two, we had dinner at the restaurant in there. I tucked into nigiri set with sashimi and inari sushi. Yum. And the best thing was that the whole night of entertainment was free! Dunno if they are claiming the costs to an entertainment budget, but at that point everything was written-off by the boss. Wahaha, so small fries like me get the "freeload".

Gimme more work pls!

I feel so sian having nothing much to do at work! Gotta wait for the Team Lead for my QA team to come in before we can start on solid work. And that is somewhere in Nov/Dec! What am I to do in the meantime? I want to kickstart my project!!

Should I go jogging tomorrow or go for a meditation class? :)

Oh, don't call me a rac***. Today I had lunch at Banquet, a halal foodcourt which sells the usual dishes at any other foodcourts, except that all are halal. And this is not the first time I've noticed this: all their dishes and utensils are SUPER FILTHY! Very poorly-washed and bits of food are still left (in fact, stuck) on the forks, spoons and chopsticks! PUKE! And my logical reasoning is that Malays do the dish-washing and never bother to clean them thoroughly at all! Especially since the utensils are shared with all the stalls. My reasoning is not without rationale ok. I see at least one Muslim at each stall, be it a Chinese food stall or Malay food stall. I dislike going to Banquet foodcourts, but will have to bear with it when having lunch with a Malay colleague. Must bear with it.. bear with it... bear...!!

Freedom From Work (at least for 2 days)!

Not having to report to office work is damn shiok, especially when you got to walk in the early evening sun!

I am on a CMMI course at Beach Road for these two days and get to go off at 530pm. Damn shiok! Usually at work can only get to go off at around 630pm or later. There are only eight participants in this course - two females (me inclusive) and four Indians (the other female included). Why are there so many Indians in the IT line?? Then I realised some of them can't exactly understand the points brought up in the discussions and could be very deeply-entrenched in their own point of view. Hehe, rac****? But alright la, I still chat with some of them and can hehe-haha (new terminology) together.

The lunch was wonderful! I thought we had to go out to get our own lunches, but instead we were ushered to the hotel restaurant which serves a buffet spread! They even have salmon and tuna sashimi! Yum yum. But now that even fish is found to contain cancer-causing chemical substances, we had all better be careful and avoid ALL meats. Let's all go vegan.

Yeah yeah. Had a jog round the park (4 rounds) in the evenings coz I got to come back home early. It feels great, and now that I've burnt the fats away, I can look forward to the buffet spread again tomorrow. Tau suan tau suan....

Wants and More Wants

Miss Nottoz is drawing up a mind map! What mind map is this for? For MN herself! I chanced upon this book at Borders which describes how mind maps can be applied in all aspects of your life, and how we can get our priorities right using mind maps. So, shall see if this really works.

One month to getting my first work performance bonus in my career life, I’m so excited! Dunno how much it will be (blame it on stupid slow HR), but I’ve decided what wants to satisfy!

1) Classic Swiss watch (I’ve wanted one for ages!)
2) Roald Dahl’s children books
3) The Economist subscription
4) Laptop for me to do my work and surf the Internet during weekends at McDonald’s drive-out
5) 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle

And I still want to save $5k after giving treats to both families! Achievable?

What a group of professional tai-tais

I can’t believe I get tired so easily! These few days I have the tendency to doze off at work and don’t have the strength to run around that much anymore while playing with Fluffy. I have been feeling so drained these few days, despite staying guai and going home after work on most of the days. Perhaps that habit is what makes me more tired, now that my energy level does not get tested.

Last night WW and I were out for dinner at Yogi Hub, a semi-high-class vegetarian restaurant located near Tekka Mall. They sell organic and vegetarian food, including brown rice set, pesto pasta, pumpkin soup, chips with salsa and fruit salad, just to name a few. We enjoy the food there coz it’s healthy, tasty and pretty appetizing. The only downside is the price. It could be quite expensive, especially for the starters which cost around $7-$8 for a portion for two. Well, that’s the price you pay for scarcity, such as organic food. Over at Yogi Hub we spotted a celebrity and some really high-class tai-tais! Not to mention the die-hard vegan advocate ang-mohs we see every time too. While we were settling into the restaurant, we saw Xie SG walking out. It was not the first time we saw him since he and Ah-Fong are close friends.

Then, in the middle of our meal, WW pointed me to a group of 50-, 60-plus years-old tai-tais. There were about eight of them (I didn’t want to turn back and look too much, didn’t want to let the gang feel even more superior about themselves), all with heavy make-up, sparkling big chunks of diamond jewellery, ultra-branded shoes ($3500 LV sneakers-like shoes on one) and clothes (a scarf that looks like an authentic 100% silk-made one on another). They spoke proper English with deliberated accent and slowness. At first I wasn’t able to catch what they were saying and thought they were foreigners instead (wahaha). Oh man, I wonder what they do during their free time. And how could they be sooo rich? Unfair unfair.

Back to reality, I very much appreciate the good life that I have. I have a loving boyfriend who understands me very well, gives me the freedom I need in not restricting my actions and decisions, gives me a good massage when I feel tired (although that may be less that what Ally the Schnauzer gets) and whose character and thinking match mine so well. What more could I ask for? :) I also have my supportive family, teaching me the right values (although you don’t exactly call selfishness a good value; Mama doesn’t quite like us borrowing our stuff out coz she feels people don’t take care of them), letting me run free as long as I have my principles instilled. Moreover, you could hardly find a Mama who cooks for you everyday anymore, but my Mama does just that. Plus she does the clothes-washing, house-cleaning and all. Wonderful Mama! Papa also contributes to the family; he insists on working even though the pay isn’t that good and that his health is no longer as well due to the fatigue from work traveling. Poor Papa. I hope their healths are kicking good always.

Huang Tian shares things with me magnanimously, unlike me who is calculative and always throws a mini-tantrum when I couldn’t find the clothes I want to wear. She also gives in to my requests all the time, taking time out with me when I have no company. She’s my other-half, my dear twin sister! Lastly in my family there is the youngest child Shou Bi, the naughty yet sensible in the family. He gets hooked onto playing the online game Gamebound and neglects his two poor hamsters by leaving them in a cage full of unchanged smelly sawdust soaked in their own urine. But guys are like that, can’t blame. Nevertheless, Shou Bi is very smart and full of ideas. He’s a guy who dares to try and is one who goes for things even if it may have to be done by him alone. That’s the Wong Family spirit!

The Cream Puff Temptation

Would you eat a cream puff that has 560 calories (10x an apple’s or 2x a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin) and 47 grams of fats?? Crazy! Stuff it into my mouth and I’ll puke it out. Luckily, that was for a cream puff filled with heavy whipping cream. There are other brands of cream puffs with slightly healthier fillings, like the 1-ounce cream puffs with 80 calories and 5 grams of fats sold by a US food company Omaha Steaks. I read that cream puffs are making a comeback! People simply love “comfort food” and won’t mind the extra calories. Just look at how popular Rotiboy, Bakerzboy (new outlet selling extremely tasty cookies for “exorbitant” prices, according to a friend) and Beard Papa’s are. So if you want to make it big, you can start a wave of cream puffs craze again. Here’s the secret recipe at the left column.

Damn easy.

This afternoon I met my Group Head together with my current direct supervisor for a work discussion for my Group. As the Head’s desk is quite open and visible, anyone who has discussions with the Head can be seen by all the other colleagues on the same floor. My guess and sixth sense tell me that a number of colleagues from the same Group are talking about me, about how I get to be beside the Head on a lot of occasions. To them, it may seem weird that I, being with the Group for only one and a half months so far, get to handle these higher-level tasks and have the chance to be exposed to management meetings, though I may only be taking down notes and minutes of their meetings, and at the most only helping the big boss do a planning task. This is, in my interpretation, a good way of exposure to management issues and topics which my direct boss and big boss are presenting me with. In a way, they are glooming me for bigger roles to come and I thank them for valuing me highly. :) And hee, secretly I’m feeling happy that I get this bit more attention and that the others have noticed it. Evil me.

Monday Blues

Sleepy dreary Monday morning. Always falling asleep in the MRT train on my way to work on a Monday, without fail. Why do we have to wake up so early for work? 7am in the morning and the sun is not fully up yet.

Damn cold now; cold-air is bad for the body. Going for a free lunch with Thomas, previous SGX scholar, as the meal is on him for me borrowing two candlestick books. Tummy feeling weird though, bet I can’t eat much. Suggested Lotus Café, a cool café with fusion food like steamed fish with rice, sandwiches and pasta.

Boohoo, when is 6pm approaching? I wanna go home and have yummy dinner with family. Today shall leave at 615pm! One of these days must go back to Tasty Town for spinach pine nut pesto with WW. I miss that place!

Willy Wonka

It's interesting to read others' blogs, but I ain't have enough time. Newspapers waiting on the coffee-table, TEC Group Meeting minutes still undone on my PC and I haven't done my Sunday yoga.

Yesterday was a good and pleasant Saturday spent yet again. I drove from home to WW's house in his car, reached at 330pm sharp via ECP. The scene was great along ECP, encompassing the East Coast Park, Tanjong Rhu, Marina South, Benjamin Sheares and the CBD view. I like the feeling of being on a highway, especially for the ECP expressway which weaves high up on the bridges. Then, I spent some time with WW and his mum and sis at their house, taught his sis one Chemistry question (WW’s mama must be thinking how smart I was, though it’s all taiko) and then headed for the market nearby for teh and afternoon bites. Coming evening time, we walked to the nearby park; WW did his pushups of 20 and I walked around, basking in the evening sun. Dinner, comprising very healthy and yummy dishes of stir-fried cabbage, stir-fried cauliflower and mushroom, and braised fish, was settled at his house with his mum and sis. I think I ate more vegetables than any of the rest, but with rice as little as a cat’s consumption, heh.

We then headed off to Fort Canning carpark (free parking, wonderful), walked past the underground to Plaza Singapura and watched “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (I termed it CatCC for abbreviation’s sake). It was my desire to watch the show, after all Roald Dahl’s children books were my favourite! I like them so much, reading some of the many such books he had written, while I was in Primary Three. I attributed my short-sightedness to Roald Dahl, thanks to his marvelously-written stories. At first WW did not seem so keen to watch CatCC, thinking it was some kiddo movie with a stupid plot to fool little kiddos. But hey, sure there was some crap in the show, but which turned out to be funny and hilarious! WW pretty much enjoyed the show in the end, especially seeing those oompas loompas seeing and dancing. Wahahaha, it was so damn funny. There was a lot of propaganda in the story too, for example there were two girls agreeing to be best friends on the surface, but deep inside they were just putting up false acts. The main song in the show is still ringing in my mind, “Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, the amazing chocolatier..” Check it out! http://chocolatefactorymovie.warnerbros.com/index.html

Ms Nottoz Works Hard

Yes! Ms Nottoz stayed back till 1040pm on Thursday, and has brought work home to do during the weekend! Ms Nottoz also went jogging all the way to Kallang River, Coast Guard station via Esplanade from her office, all by herself. Why pia so hard? I think she's trying to prove to herself that she can achieve her goals and always challenging herself. And it must be due to the opportunities her bosses give her to spur to greater heights! That is why work recognition, employer's placement of trust and confidence in an employee is so important.

While enjoying her work even though it can get tough at times, MN still dreams of running business with MW (aka Mr Wonderwen). Opening a European-styled bakery or developing a vegan concept, reaping in small profits and taking things into own control rather than having to answer to anyone. How does that sound? Slogging for own establishment, seeing it grow and racking brains out to market own products. The results will be so visible and tangible! Unlike slogging away... for a promotion or a good bonus? Not much personal satisfaction, right?

I realise I hardly describe the people around me, other than my loved ones (family members and WW). Oki, firstly, my good friends. Now that most of my friends have started work, we do not meet up as often as used to be, especially compared to studying days when we met in school almost every weekday for lessons. I have a number of cliques garnered from my different phases in life. In primary school, I was closer to my twin sis Tian Put (hee), and also lost contact with some of the closer friends I had made in lower primary. Thus, I'm glad to be in contact still with Stephie, largely due to our fate to meet again in Junior College. And happy to announce that she's blissfully married to XZ, for half a year so far. :) Then, in secondary school, I got to know the Feng Gang (although three out of seven in the gang, not including myself, were in the same primary six class as me) which hangs out together even up till now. We meet up rather frequently, celebrate one another's birthday and see each other through these eight years so far. Tomorrow we'll be gathering for brunch at Kalland MacDonald's, the place we used to hang out in those good old days. Also, there are more - Ker Sin, Minfen, Sher (whom I'm still very close to, coz we met again in Uni and JC), Zhouyun, Angela (she's also my Pri 1 classmate).

Well, I will introduce more friends of mine in the following blogs to come. For now, gotta start doing my minutes so that I can enjoy my lunch later, and the rest of the weekend waiting to unfold!

Rush Rush, off to offsite

I’ve another 7 minutes to blog! Although my desk is still messy and my things unpacked, I don’t quite give a care. Later together with TEC Group Function Heads and Team Leads, I’m going to Fort Canning Lodge for an offsite. And what are we doing? Self-assessment! Which is what I helped for IA a few months back.

These two days have been busy for me, running around, trying to get slides approved and amended. Well, at least later it’ll be fun, being with the TEC folks and getting to see how their meetings go. This morning I had breakfast with TEC Group Head and Function Heads to minute their performance planning discussion. At certain points, I could have contributed to their discussion but instead, I was hesitant and missed out on the chances. Why do I always keep my mouth shut? Should have just aired my views and maybe made an impression. But it could have backfired with an amateur feedback and view.

Yay. I’m taking Monday off and thus have a long weekend to look forward to! Going to spend time with family and WW, take a long good break and just dump work all aside! Lalalala

Ugly Singaporeans

This morning while waiting for the MRT train, there was a lady (young student) moving in in front of me. And I thought only old women or aunties do that. Cutting in just to get a higher chance of finding a seat in the train. So ugly.

Potluck to celebrate our First Year in SGX

Happy Birthday! It is the first year anniversary of work for the graduating batch of 2004 SGX scholars. Together with two of my buddies, J & E, I had a good time during lunch today. We had a potluck session, with each of us preparing a dish. I happily made use of my salad-making abilities (haha, which was easy for even a kid) and whipped up a dish of mango salad, filled with mango (of coz), raisins, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes and lettuce. It's not because I wanted to take the easy way out by making fruit salad ok, I truly like fruit salads for their health value. J made sandwiches of various assortments - ham sandwich with honey, nutella sandwich and peanut butter sandwich. She was generous in her spreads, giving us double or triple layers of them in between the yummy gardenia bread. Sorry for not being able to appreciate the thick layers though, I'm a health freak! :p I gotta admit those are yummy nevertheless. Then, E made very nice mash potato! Didn't know she could make that and it was delicious and healthy. Beats those sold outside, even KFC's. I like the part about mashing potato with its skin, which provided even more nutrients. Tks buddies! I had a very enjoyable time, eating and chatting away without a care.

One year into SGX, I'm getting more used to working life. I do miss the people back in IA; they are a really sincere and warm bunch. Over here in P&G, there are fewer people and most of them have to rush around for work. Couldn't really chat up with them much, except for our secretary (she also helps out in the major project our function is handling now), who is very approachable and friendly. Work-wise, I'm given lotsa opportunities to mingle and work with the heads in TEC Group. The exposure and chances given by my bosses are very much appreciated; I'll work hard and absorb as much as I can. Tks bosses! Partly due to the fact that there is only one solo member in my team (that is me alone), I have to pick up the ropes and learn new stuff, sometimes on my own (as my boss is quite busy too). There are the softer skills and project management skills that I get to pick up. Those prove to be challenging and I like that. Basically if colleagues in the company are willing to help one another, things will be much easier to deal with.

This evening I went jogging with the TEC Data Centre folks. There was one guy who, in my opinion, is very childish and immature. He keeps teasing me about me being different from the rest, that I'm a scholar and run faster than the rest and so on. Just because I was in IA before and did some audit interviews with him before, and that I'm in QA now, that doesn't justify why I should get such treatment from him. So, it's better for me to stay away from the gang, despite their function head's encouragement for me to join them in their weekly jogs. Hey, I can go on my own jogs anytime! Don't have to hear such niao comments as if I owe him something.

Nevertheless, a comfortable and pleasant dinner made up for all the unpleasantness during the jog (or more accurately, the walk back to office after the jog). I settled for kway tiao (their fried bee hoon was finished up again!) with mashed pumpkin, and bought a warm cup of teh at EastLink, the foodcourt along Tampines Interchange Linkway. Sitting there eating my food bit by bit (I must be the slowest eater there), sipping my warm teh was the most independent moment I have and enjoy every Tuesday evening.

Happy Day! (Tks to my long-awaited TOTM)

So, yesterday was good news day. :)

Other than that, I had a day filled with distaste and cold sweat. The Feng Gang met up for dinner at a cozy restaurant situated at Milenia Walk. It was to celebrate XH’s birthday, to pass her the birthday present, and also to give Tian hers. Poor TP. She got her belated present close to half a year late! The gang didn’t had time to shop for Tian’s present during the shopping together that time in February. Subsequently there was no chance for us all to go on a shopping trip together with Tian for her present. So this time Jun asked Tian what she wanted (which was a Nike sports shorts) and Tian got it duly! The marathon-runner can fully utilize her birthday gift now.

The gathering was okay; everyone was kinda tired and restless. The food, on the other hand, was HORRIBLE! I can’t help but to convert the word to upper-case. WW had a main course of chicken scallopini, which was drowning in butter oil. I had grilled Norwegian Salmon, hmm, so-so but also with lotsa oils. I dared not eat too much and passed more than half of my salmon around the table. WHAT KIND OF FOOD IS THAT? I wonder if MF is trying to p***** its customers. On the safe side, I would choose the place to eat the next time we gather, or if the suggested restaurant looks dubious, would eat something first then settle on salad while having dinner with the rest. Saves $$ and can avoid having to drink oils. I so prefer eating with WW at Crystal Jade restaurants, Yogihub, Spagheddies, HANs or Al dente restaurant. Call us choosy eaters.

After the dinner, WW and I walked to Funan the IT Mall coz his car was parked at the carpark there. Dunno where Tian and Tong went after the dinner, they disappeared so fast! I drove WW’s car back home, while WW helped me look out for the narrow carpark lanes and walls. It was scary! The carpark was dilapidated, the walls scratched and flooring bumpy. The entrances and exits were filled with slopes and humps. Gotta insert cash card twice too though it was scanned already a first time. Was quite stressed then and almost broke into a cold sweat. But good that such narrowness was manageable which gave me quite a fair bit of confidence thereafter. I must say WW’s driving skills are not bad too, especially when it comes to tight carparks like these. :)