Fluffy Walks

Today, it was a cycle trip to East Coast Park with Fluffy. It's a trip more for myself, to unwind, ease up my nerves and indulge in both freedom and melancholy (although both are totally opposite things). The skies seemed to spell out my mood then. Or could it be the skies inducing those emotions?

No picture of Fluffy today. She didn't cooperate by giving me a good angle!



Two weekends back, I brought Fluffy for a walk at Bedok Reservoir.

Some things in life are just... weird

Just look at this building opposite my office building. Where did the Oscar figures come from? Reflections from my building? Freaky!

Oh sweet moments

The break arising from the two-day course and the Good Friday holiday was good. It felt free and light not having to report to work for these few days and to be out of the maddening buzz, though I’ve just installed the VPN and Lotus Notes client application on my personal lappie. Well, for the sole purpose of clearing my emails and being able to pick up work fast on Monday morning.

The course “Making Great Presentations” held on last Wed and Thu was interesting though it needed preparation work. Each of the nine course participants had to give two presentations of their own, one in each day. My topics weren’t as interesting as some of the others, which included a proposal to hire two renowned football strikers in a bid to recover their team’s S League position and an informative sharing session on personal finance and investments. But still I managed to get good feedback from the audience (my other classmates) and the course instructor. We even had our presentations recorded in a DVD for our personal review.

Thurs night after German class, WW picked me up and drove to Paterson Road, the private residential area for my dinner. Dinner was ah balling from Queensway hawker where WW bought it during his dinner with a friend earlier. I thought to myself, this made a romantic scene, as if in the movies. A warm loving feeling swamped my heart, but of course, being the shy me I didn’t tell that to the man. A mental picture of lo bo biang and teh surfaced too. Oh those uni days. :)

Recently there had been unusual matters and somewhat shocking news, sending punching reminders to us on some of the more important things in life. It made us stop a step or two to reflect, ponder and worry. But I suspect by the middle of the coming week, we would have been submerged in our work and busy life once again that the reminders slip our minds. But well, there may be some good in that. Sometimes, not knowing gives you more comfort and less cause for worry. Just hope things be fine and luck be with us.

Work should always come after Health

I thought my work was bad enough with the amount of workload pouring in. Only after I hear of how the man has to handle life-threatening risks at his airbase and to answer for every major and minor incidents, do I realise mine isn't the worst and how much stress he's under. I can't do much than to hope things are okay and to encourage him to plan for his transition out of that very scary place. Anywhere else without that heart-crunching pressure would do fine.

Give me what I want

Why don't I go get what I desire for? We live only once in our lifetime after all.

At least it won't turn bluish.

What can I say?

Today, a long-sleeved business shirt.

Gone.

Yah, I earn so much that I can afford to throw after one wear.

I can't wear whites :(

Because Mama always turn my white clothes into bluish ones.

Like the white skirt she mixed with a running-colour blue top in the washing machine. That wasted my matching white jacket.

Then the poor white knit top from Ness that got the dripping rusty water from our water heater in the kitchen toilet. So much for my hand-washing. Tried to repair the damage by requesting Mama to soak it in rice water, which she did. But she did something more – mixing the then-salvaged white top into the washing machine with home-wear clothes, including a running-colour navy shorts. So now I have a set of matching bluish white knit top and similar-coloured skirt.

Grrr.

Still, made the remark “Why you wear white tops?”

!!!

Not that I have not reminded her, umpteen times, not to mix my whites with any other colours. My dear Mama..

A friend in need is a friend indeed

Friends whom I can turn to in times of need, whom I don’t feel shy to approach for help. They, I feel, are true pals. The slight panic on Sunday made me realize the importance of having trustworthy friends. And that no man is an island. Gotta thank WW for his generosity too. I can go shopping shopping, wahaha!

Little updates

Haven’t been updating diligently.

Work life has been hectic, me covering 2.5 persons’ workload. But like I always say, I work 2.5 times the load but get only 0.5 of the rightful pay. Don’t call me greedy. Generation Y seeks high rewards and fast returns and are willing to slog it out.

Then again, I've packed my routine so full with things that I'm finding it a little difficult to breathe. Tues - yoga; alternate Wed - jog @ Esplanade; Thu - German lessons; Fri - go out. Which leaves only Mondays for myself, where I revise my German and do some little stuff here and there. There are just too many things in life worth trying out and exploring.

WW has shifted house from the West to the North-east last weekend and with that our residences have become nearer. It takes only around 20 minutes on car to travel between our places, yippie! Speaking of car, I’m still eyeing the sporty white Swift. But I have this personal rule of not getting into debts, which means if I want Swift, it has to be almost full payment on its costs and a minimal instalment amount. Striving towards a debt-free and liberating life.

Giddy Monday

Fish!

Work's getting damn stressed la! Getting me to do dual roles when they are still paying me peanut-butter pay! My day's packed with meetings back-on-back, and time at my desk is taken up by fellow colleagues' enquiries or discussions through phone-call or in person. How to do work like that?!?!I'm starting to detest work. Boo.

Ah. No wonder pple spend so much, especially on big items. Retail therapy, temporary self-satisfaction.

累

Is when you keep dozing off at as early as 1130pm. Is when thoughts of your home and your room surface when you’re working.

I feel so tired these days! Without a cup of teh in the morning, the rest of the day would be hard to get by. Is addiction to tea with condensed milk a bad thing?

These days everyone is tired and dreads working. Has a modern man’s life to be like this?

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Ho. I just woke up from a 2-hour morning nap. Woke up with a feeling that I’m missing out on something in life. The sun’s bright, the weather’s fine, but I would have to do work on my laptop at home later. Perhaps a bicycle trip to ECP would do me good.

Happy Birthday Mama!

A lovely cake for you!

Give it its first cut after making your birthday wish

Mama and me (photos of Papa, Bro & Tian not included, for their privacies :p)

See how happy Mama was!

It's Mama's birthday today! Though I didn't get to knock off from work early (I left at around 830pm), partly because I was waiting for Tian to finish her yoga, we managed to get home in time for dinner and cake-cutting before everyone's stomach called it a day. Tian helped order Green Tea Bavarian cake from The Patissier while I helped collect it during lunch time at Ann Siang Hill. Good choice. Mama liked the rum-soaked raisins, the bitter chocolate layer as well as the tasty green tea sponge layer. As a bonus, there were sour grapes/berries and strawberries on top. Yummy!

We had zi cha dinner downstairs on Sunday evening to celebrate in advance, knowing how difficult it is to get all at the dining table together on a workday. I'm happy to see Mama happy, and am proud to get her what she wants (secretly so pleased to see the two purple dresses she chose at BYSI). Of course, Papa would get the same pampered treatment from us come September, though I doubt he'd want any new clothes.

I'm reminded of how fortunate I am again, to have this wonderful family supporting me all the way, providing me with moral support, strength and warmth to pull me through life. :)

Scary Singapore! (With its colony of ants)

During my swim in the morning, I kept having to swerve to avoid colliding with the swimmer in front. To think that it was around noon time, yet there were so many fellow swimmers in the pool! The little kiddos took up like 8 out of 10 lanes; the adult male swimmers clung to the pool edges to get the sun - all of these made swimming not-so-easy. Don't understand why some guys just swam straight without giving way to coming traffic and I had to be the one giving way all the time. Irritating leh. Maybe they think since there's no harm bumming into me (and take the chance to kai3 you2) and perhaps they would be happier doing so.

The nightmarish IT Show at Suntec started on Thursday. People would have thought the crowds would converge only from Friday onwards, but how wrong, as the crowds were already packing Suntec on Thursday night. It's a scary nightmare, imagine being stuck on the escalator for 10 mins!

Living in Singapore is not easy and is getting more difficult with the increase in population size without extra land to accommodate all. Can you imagine 6.5 Million population? I would have to squeeze with 1,000 others in a MRT train, fight with 30 more cars at the CTE Ang Mo Kio exit, struggle to get into whatever queue which we need to be in and swim with 100 more people in the 10-lanes pool. Help me! The only good thing I suppose, is to ride on this mass population and create some businesses to tap this colony of ants!

My half-day off

On Friday I took half a day off from work and met up with Mama Papa at Vivocity for some shopping. First up was lunch, a late one due to me being late (can't leave before 1pm leh), then to BYSI and G2000 shopping. Bought two dresses for Mama, a knit-top for office wear for myself and two shirts for Bro (he has been wearing the same three pieces to work since last month; still 4 months to go).

After shopping was a tea-break at ToastBox with steaming hot teh and kopi plus a jam-spreaded thick toast. Very yummy! There was a traditional taste to the teh, which you can hardly find now.

While Papa Mama headed for home, I set off to Tiong Bahru to wait for WW to knock off from work. The sun-loving me strolled to the park beside Tiong Bahru Plaza and set foot there for one whole hour, basking in the evening sun. I thought I could post my photos to this blog in the park itself, but ah to my dismay I realised I needed to sign up for this service with M1 first. Its $5.25 extra charge a month proved not worth it tho. So no chance to do mobile blogging, boo.

Walking behind Tiong Bahru Plaza, beside PSB Academy

Wah the glaring sun shining into my eyes. But I like.

Tiong Bahru Park - neighbourhood parks are the best!

Looking towards the direction of Gan Eng Seng school

Struggling to keep my eyes open. Bright sun!

Quite a handful of joggers behind me sweating out. I also sweated.. while sitting on this bench reading my book with the sunshine on my face!

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Yesterday was a day out with WW and his mum and sis. We went first to 40HSD house they're going to move into next week (and staying for the next half year), then to another high-end condo, The Imperial, his bro-in-law purchased. It's damn cool. Aspires me to strive smart and hard to earn the opportunity for such luxuries. People these days sure know how to enjoy life.

Critising the media's language standards

“Some 390,000 – or 48 per cent of Singaporeans and Permanent Residents below the age of 20 – have no MediShield coverage. In contrast, 86 per cent of those aged between 21 and 60 are insured.”

What contrast is this? 48% NO coverage versus 86% with coverage – I don’t see this as a direct comparison/contrast. Wouldn’t it be clearer to say 52% versus 86%? Furthermore, does their “insured” refer to MediShield insurance?

Cover page leh. Can they have better English standards?

I've been spending $$

And the latest big-item spend was on this! Sony Ericsson k618i, along with M1 broadband plan which ties me down for half a year and other accessories that come with it. A coincidence that my old phone was bought just 1 day less than a year before this one mobile phone. Yesterday I went shopping for clothes too and spent $116 on 3 tops. Am I too deprived or what?


These few weeks I've seen quite a lot of commotion, big or small, in the office. There had been arrows flying around (reminds me of Just Follow Law, funny) but luckily none was hitting on me (perhaps coz I'm too small a fry). There were emails on a team lead who failed to exercise diligence on his execution work and another chain of emails on the quality of work produced by our consultants. Sometimes I wonder why we have to go to this extent? Also, does it mean the louder you are, the more likely you'll win? Another propelling reason why the corporate world is not a place to be, especially when you're higher up there.

Been rather busy, both with work and with after-work activities. Last Wed I jioed WW out for movies after work and I was happy I made the move. After all we hardly meet during the weekdays, but I thought if not now, then when? Do what you want to do soon, if not now, or there may be another chance.

Hot Wheels

Recently I've been eyeing this cutesy sports version of Swift, specifically the white one. Am also thinking of getting a Coach handbag.

It's good to have a dream(s). Makes you strive harder in life to achieve it (them).

Return to the Beautiful Land - ?

I was on the phone with WW just now and he reminded me of a dream we both have - to visit beautiful Switzerland (Schweiz) once again. It's been quite a while..

Dream a little Dream

This morning on my way to work, I was wondering, yet again, what is the purpose of work and all and if I needed to break out of this cycle. I realised that everyday at work, it's the same routine and the same drowning in the midst of being busy. If I don't stop a beat to dream my dream, I may just lose my ambition and cease to harbour the hopes of pursuing for something bigger.

We need an inspiration. Everyday.

Today mine is the above. The lovely Country Park condominium which I will pass by every morning of a working day. The name spells it all; a truly country feeling deduced from its architecture and layout. I want to own my own home in time to come, treating myself to the freedom I enjoy so much. Sometimes I can be there on my own, thinking my thoughts, doing my little things.

Unspoken Love

夜

夜更了，令你不想睡。
已多时，差些不记起。
这感觉，该何描述？

Happy Birthday, WW

祝 WW 生日快乐！

It was a simple date over Muddy Mud Pie and Hazelnuttae at CoffeeClub, Holland Village. It spun less than 2 hours, but I was glad I made the right choice. Which other better day, than the day itself, to celebrate?
I sent via snail-mail a sweet birthday card which reached him promptly. (Tks postman.) There was a separate credit card-sized card for him, to add on to the collection in his wallet. Then a yellow Lacoste polo shirt (subtly to break his chain of pink shirts) as a birthday pressie.

简单是快乐！

恭喜发财！

The Wong Family (with Fluffy in too!)

My clever cousins - Weijie & Ziqi. Mama was actually quite proud of my PSLE record which Ziqi didn't break but managed to level with according to her own PSLE scores.

拜年 at my cousin's place. Posh, classy and upmarket condo that costs up to $5 million!

Fluffy in her new year clothes. She was sniffing away at the kueh lapis, egg rolls and pineapple tarts on the low coffee table. Greedy!

The past two days were a breeze with house-visits and us gorging on new year goodies (for me, more like mousing on the corners of pineapple tarts, kueh lapis and kueh bulohs). This year's house-visits were shortened significantly with my dad's side of extended family overseas. With that, our ang pow money has reduced significantly as compared to last year's too! Boohoo. Yesterday I went to WW's place to 拜年 and to help out a little in preparing the food for a big gathering with his dad's relatives. It was quite a lot of work for his parents, toiling away to get all the dishes done. Sweat!

Glad today is a holiday as they say, you shouldn't work on the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year as it would signify you slogging away at work for the rest of the year. Yippie, freedom is bliss!

My favourite restaurant

Check out Werner's Oven at East Coast Road (Siglap). I like the sausages and the muesli breadroll (at the bakery connected via a door), especially. And not to forget their pumpkin soup. Yummy!

Sparked Thoughts

新年快乐，恭喜发财！

It's a happy occasion, but my mind couldn't help but to think far ahead.

Is it really not within control? How can things be still the same? Why are humans created this way?

But, I take solace in knowing, deep down, that it is highly unlikely for us. That, I do have some confidence.

Woo touched beyond words

Cute moo-moo bday card. Nee, the pig-lover, actually finds the moo more an oink.

Two of my dear friends in the company - JY & YN (Note: J wasn't in the picture)

Oh no! How did they know.. again? :) Exactly what I've wanted.

The pinkish-white tulips starting to wither. Beauty may not be long-lasting; appreciate it while it lasts.

The sweet ladies gave me a belated present (combined) today, but it’s not belated without a good reason. It was a unique piece specially shipped from overseas, specifically and delicately chosen (through prompting questions I failed to uncover) and as a result, was of a design and colour I like best. Tks ladies!

WW and I didn’t meet up on Valentine’s Day but instead I went for a power run with my kakis along Esplanade and Marina Promenade while WW was doing a house-check then home. Being the unconventional couple, we intend to take a separate day to celebrate instead of the day itself. I remember either last year or the year before, we went out for dinner on Valentine’s Day and after seeing many ladies with roses in their hands, I felt envious and wanted one too. I started feeling sour and it didn’t help that the food at the restaurant was slow and not tasty. In all, it kinda spoilt the day and mood for us. So, better not meet on that day itself to spare ourselves of having to meet unusual expectations. Good thing WW salvaged the day then with handmade roses that, up to this day, are still on my dressing table and office workstation respectively.

Kite-flying!

Basking in sunshine at East Coast Park

Our almighty kite flew over our heads, above the coconut trees and into the skies with the clouds above

Entanglement of its strings in the tree limited its soar

After we cut off the string, our poor kitie did its sashay into the open seas. Irretrievable, boohoo.

Uber good weather yesterday, the kind we have missed so much as it was raining over the weekends for many weeks before this. WW and I took the opportunity to go for some sun and fun, at ECP kite-flying. The wind was erratic, swinging our colourful kite from right to left, from above the big tree to the free space above the grass. The result was the entanglement of the strings in the branches when our kite dropped to slightly below the tree-top level. We had no choice but to cut the strings as even the strong winds could not free it. Thus, bye-bye to our colourful one, into the big wide seas!

My (Our) Day

J&J had this beautiful pot of tulips (and other smaller flowers) sent to office and I was so cheerful hopping to the reception floor to pick it up. Tks! That made my (special) day even more special!

I did something special on my special day, and then went to 四马路观音庙to pray for good health for my loved ones. Dinner was Sakae Sushi at home (we ordered delivery service) with the whole family, including Henry. Glad mama papa shoubi liked the meal in general, though they didn't quite like sashimi. WW could not join us early but I still had the pleasure to cook him 爱心面when he came over later in the night. Despite his tired day at work, he still made the efforts to come down. 感动！

The Soft Side

Last night while on MSN, three of my guy friends logged on sequentially and all of them had pictures of them and their girlfriends as MSN profile pictures. I was kinda surprised as I thought guys wouldn’t like showcasing their couple photos (at least WW doesn’t.) On this aspect, I think I’m quite a private person as I hardly display pictures of WW and I. Maybe I should post more of our photos (then get chided by WW, heh). Or is it really that men now are being more in touch with their feminine (soft) side?

Romance, Fun and Laughters

Yesterday was an eventful day, one of romance, friendships and laughter.

Tian and I made our way to Ritz Carlton for Feng and Jason’s ROM solemnisation ceremony cum hi-tea buffet. This was indeed one of its kind; an invitation for hi-tea at a hotel. Thus, the good food, smooth arrangements and good service from the beverage and food crew. Happy for Feng and Jason and wishing them a blissful and happy marriage. Treasure and respect your partner in a marriage and you two will go far =)

I’m not a person of details, but I noted the little arrangements such as the rose arrangements – white and red ones – on the flower stands and the baskets on the tables. Their invites were nicely done too (hoho, we got them only yesterday) with a white lace across the card (ok, I’m a sucker for lace) and unique fonts. The ceremony itself was rather short of less than 15 minutes. When Feng was giving her thank-you speech at the end of the ceremony, tears swamped to her eyes and she couldn’t help but shed a tear or two. I was on the verge of dropping a tear too. These days I’m weak, no longer the strong me in younger days where I won’t ever shed a tear. Feng must had a lot of strong emotions then, when giving thanks to her parents. Hee, her mum, on the converse, chided her good-heartedly on being so emotional. Her mama is one happy-go-lucky woman.

Before we all left, it was the bouquet-throwing session. The eligible ladies were in a row, with the eligible guys behind. Most of the ladies were from the 姐妹党, while the guys were from the 兄弟党。The first threw yielded no results coz no one wanted to catch the bouquet, but I got it the second throw as Tian and Xianhe stepped one step aside! But you can’t let the flowers drop to the floor so many times, quite paiseh one, right? Heh, but it was shiok catching flowers.. free roses after all :P

The sisters helping out - Xianhe, Jun, me and Tian

The newly-wed - Jason & Jayce

Me and my flowers, hee

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At night it was celebration time. A dinner and drinking session to celebrate three’s birthday – GM, Peng and me! Wah, it was a well-planned night-out with lotsa efforts from the organizers. Thanks lots to my buddies, the gang – Joyce, JY and Nee. Couldn’t thank them more for the thoughtfulness and friendships. I had a jolly happy time, especially in the company of great friends and close colleagues. (Actually I don’t see them as colleagues, but more of friends.)

Dinner at Da Paolo, Club Street, with my dear friends. Tks to the ladies for the efforts, the planning and the thoughtfulness. They even ordered black squid ink pasta which I had been craving for.

We proceeded to Brewerkz for drinking. Joyce, the lady in black, ordered red wine, champagne and a jug of ale. And they had lemon cheesecake to celebrate our birthdays; they understand me so well. In the photo - GM, Joyce, Peng and Wendy

Me, Joyce & Peng

Me with the ladies who understand me so well. Nee, I realised all your photos were either: black-mouthed with squid ink, with your hands covering your face, or us pulling your hair. Will post a photo of dear Nee later when I get the photos from the other cameras!