Cold wind blew

Talk to the Hand...Period!

2011-06-23T11:33:00.000+08:00

3 months passed into this new office. For a small office with only less than 10pax staff strength, there is an awful lot of office politics.

The multitude of work pile is already bad enuff...now added with day to day of fighting and quarrels n insinuation...its just getting too much work for one.

Despite learning quite a lot of new stuff here, now I am beginning to wonder at wat expense. Its really tough for one to concentrate on work when there are so much commotion happening around.

Why can't pple just work in harmony?

Here are some deterrents (in my opinion) to the theory of working in harmony:
- power struggle
- selfishness
- busybody
- gossips
- complaint queen/king
- favouritism

Sigh. Can see all of the above in my current office.

Tiring...endure...change job when the opportunity arises.

2011-06-19T12:22:00.000+08:00

1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock, rock!
4 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, rock!
7 o'clock, 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, rock!
We're going rock..............tonight!

(Remember tat song?)

Here's a different version:-

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, work!
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, work!
Sunday, Holiday, Everyday, work!
I gotta work and work till I drop dead!

Ok, not exactly the best imitation of the song n I have issues with the last line anyway...but this is a clear description of my life these days...

Am I a workaholic? Or merely just responsible?

6-1/2 days work

2011-04-10T23:22:00.004+08:00

What am I doing blogging now?

Eating snake while working lor...but oh! not during official working hours.

In Singapore, most companies have like 5 days or at most 5-1/2 days work week (for office work at least...not too sure abt retail working hours lah).

For this week, I have worked like 6-1/2 days lor....actually more if u count the overtime I worked during weekdays.

Mon, 4 May - 9am to 8pm plus

Tue, 5 May - 9am to 9pm

Wed, 6 May - 9am to 6pm

Thu, 7 May - 9am to 10pm

Fri, 8 May - 9am to 10pm

Sat, 9 May - 10am to 10pm (this is supposed to be my offday)

Sun, 10 May - 7pm to now (its 11.30pm and clicking away)(working at home)

So almost like 6-1/2 days work week for me....sigh....tat works up to about 63 hours of work (excluding 1 hr lunch break and 1 hr dinner break).

Lets see when my body will break down or my brain will bursts and become squishy if this continunes.....sob.....sob.......

"They're milking you to your death!"

2011-04-07T20:40:00.006+08:00

After months of absence....I am going to blog a simple short post....

Why did I disappear for this period of time?

Coz it was the transition period when I was getting bored of my old job, hunting for a new job, got a new job, serving my notice in old job, starting new job and familiarizing myself in my new job. Good summary?

Fact is, today is exactly 1 month since I joined this 2nd law firm in my whole job history and the work here is killing me!

It wasnt that my last job was very slack but it had come to a point I know how to do the job there well and didnt have problem coping...this new job allows me to come in touch with a lot of new stuff I never did in the old firm (so its good for me in the long run). That plus the fact tat I had to learn a new file system that they used in this firm called "Leap". Now, tat is a challenge.

Oh, this post is getting a bit long....need to get back to my work soon....so figures, figures is wat I came to blog abt.

In old firm, I handled like 10 active cases at 1 go plus other conveyancing cases (cant count this coz its shared).

Here...the statistics goes like that:-

1st day of work - 19 cases

End of 1st week of work - 24 cases

End of 3rd week of work - 29 cases

1 month into the job - 34 cases!

What my friend said is..."They're milking you to your death!"

Hmmm...just becoz I dun say that I am stressed...or just becoz I didnt grumble like others when work get dumped at me, doesnt mean that its ok to keep dumping k...arghhhh....... (Curious to see how the statistics go in a few weeks' time? Tune in to this blog.....)

A Different Kind Of Blackout

2010-12-23T08:41:00.000+08:00

Not the electricity blackout.

Two nights ago, I fainted and experienced a blackout tat lasted ard 15 seconds.

Here's wat happened:-

I just had a midnight snack, Roti Prata, with A and was crossing the road when I hit the concrete on the pavement curb (I dun know how best to describe this). My little last toe on my right foot started bleeding and I hurried to cross the road then got a wet tissue to wipe my little toe. I bent down from a standing position (there was nowhere to sit along the pavement) to wipe my toe. Stood upright. Then decided to take another tissue to wrap my little toe up as it was still bleeding.

Just when I stood upright the 2nd time, I felt whoozy...my vision became unstable and I felt cold sweat creeping out of my skin. I was fainting!

Quickly I called out to A to hold me. Then I felt my eyelids close, my limbs go weak...a darkness took over while I was being lowered to the ground. Blackout.

15 seconds later (I was told tats roughly how long I took to wake up, if longer, an ambulance would probably take me away), I opened my eyes again.

(Damn, I alighted at the wrong mrt station. Little India instead of Dhorby Ghaut. Coz I was blogging while on my way to work.)

After I woke up, I realised tat I was sitting on the pavement, leaning against A, covered in cold sweat and still had the unbalanced feeling. Being weak, I sat there for a few minutes more before A walked me home.

Scary huh? At least for someone who doesn't experience fainting much.

My parents and friends told me to do a body checkup to find out the cause of the fainting spell. So I surfed the web for information and found tat there are soooo many medical checkup/health screening packages available! From less than $100 to $1000+.

So instead of booking a checkup randomly, I consulted a doc yesterday and was told this:-

My fainting incident was probably due to a lowered blood pressure at tat time. A sudden drop of blood pressure can happen when u suddenly felt stressed or pain and the body is in shock. For example, this happens when a person got hurt and bled or when a person received a shocking news.

The doc advised tat a checkup can be done to determine if a person is diabetic or anaemic which are more prone to fainting.

He also said tat I do not have a cause to worry. But if the fainting occurs more often, then its a cause for worry and he would then recommend tat I see a Neurologist to scan my brain.

Doc said tat for my case, I can do a checkup as a precaution but it wouldn't really help. And tat I shld be careful when bending down in future and most important of all...

DO MORE EXERCISE

to make my heart stronger...

Perfect Marriage

2010-12-15T10:34:00.006+08:00

Guess I am really to the age where women (or their parents) start getting worried if they are ever going to get married or that they will become a spinster.

No, no. I am not worried tat I am not married at 31 years old. In fact, I dun even have any inclination of getting married (though many pple warned tat my thinking will change with age). Maybe its the job I am in, seeing many couples getting divorces and knowing the reasons behind these divorces...its disheartening u know...Or it could be becoz pple around me having problems with their relationships and I too start having doubts about the existence of a "Perfect Marriage".

There is no such thing as a "Perfect Marriage"!

If I just burst tat bubble for u...well, tats just too bad. Reality IS hard to swallow anyway.

Of coz I dun mean that all marriages end in divorces and all relationships are doomed. There are couples who found equilibrium in their marriages, committing themselves to their family and their partners even if the responsibility part outweighs the love and romance they get before marriage. There are couples who maintain their relationships by making an effort, empathize with their partners and showing more than a little care and concern.

U reap wat u sow. By making the first step to improve the relationship/marriage, one might be able to have a more lasting relationship/happy marriage. Think abt it...

(My two-cents worth: Marriage is meaningless if both parties are unable to commit and live for each other. Marriage tat end in a divorce is just a bloody waste of time and energy. Better to remain single and in a happy relationship than to be married and unhappy. )

Pre-End of Year Review 2010

2010-12-15T10:00:00.002+08:00

Had the sudden urge to blog, about what? I actually have no real idea. Maybe a little pre-end of the year review of my year 2010.

Approaching the christmas and new year season, cheerful spirits and lightened moods greet me with open arms. I try to put the negative thoughts, feelings and energy behind me. And focus on the joy and gratitute for wat life/god has endowed/given me.

Lots to be thankful for: my loving family, my loyal friends, my accomodating colleagues (at least some of them....hmm...away negative thoughts), good food to fill my stomach, money to buy my needs & some wants, a stable job with its ups & downs (though I still feel like changing job...for advancement purposes), sound & peaceful sleep at night, opportunities for travel to see the world (my firm trip and short trips), etc etc...

I never really like making resolutions but I do have a few wishes for the year to come.

Year 2011, please grant me the following wishes:

1) Better health - LESS OR NO MORE: bodyaches, neckaches, chest pains, gas-sy/bloated stomach, flu, sore throats, coughs.

2) Become less irritable

3) Find a better job with great colleagues + good bosses + good pay

4) Be able to clear all credit card debts and save lots of money

5) A little windfall will be much appreciated

6) Blessings to my family and friends that they have a good Year 2011 as well.

May all our wishes come true!

November 2010 Updates

2010-11-22T12:30:00.001+08:00

Snitching a little time to blog during my lunchtime. To be exact, I have abt 30mins....

So wat have I been up to this 1 month since my last post?

1) Getting sick perpetually. I have this sickening gas filled feeling in my stomach which resulted in lots of burping and some farting. Think it might be some digestion issue coz the feeling gets worse after food. The doctor's prescription only helps for a while and it came back last weekend again.

2) I sprained my back on an mrt coming to work 1 day, for no good reason! I was not carrying anything heavy nor doing any stretching. It just happened. My mum said its due to "heatiness" in my body, I have absolutely no idea but I am getting pains and aches every now and then.

3) U may not be interested to know this but I have been expelling smelly urine and motion from my body lately. Maybe its due to the "heatiness" my mum was talking abt. Or my body could simply be failing on me.

4) Badminton sessions. Been playing badminton with some friends during the weekend (whenever we managed to book a court) to make sure I exercise somehow. Sadly my attempt at swimming didnt work out too well though, I only swam like one evening during this month so far.

5) Mood swings. Am trying to calm down when facing pple who irritates me or whom I immensely dislike and be benevolent to their innocent/not-so innocent actions/words.

6) Chanced Encounter/Rekindled Friendship. A happy thing happened this month though, I ran into Felicia my poly good friend! Its a good start to a rekindled friendship. I was so happy to see her again after losing contact for abt 10 years.

7) I watched Harry Potter 7 Part I....but I guess most people did too.

8) My planned trip to Yangon, Myanmar at the end of the year has been cancelled due to fears of political unrest there. Actually I am not too sure of the situation there...but since I am a foreigner, I have no business doing there when the country has its own things to work out.

9) 2nd Batam trip of this year, targetted at the last week of this year. 1 for the start of the year, and 1 to end off the year. Not too bad, an R&R short trip to get away from work. Maybe this time I can finally try Spa?

10) I have been chasing this k-drama called "Love In Heaven" which has I think 80+ episodes. Bought the show quite a long time ago but only took it out of box recently. Good drama btw.

I didnt complete this blog post in 30 mins...I did it like 1 hr 30 mins coz I fell asleep on my desk in the middle of it. Its a monday thing.

Inception

2010-10-28T09:49:00.000+08:00

Three (3) months after watching the movie "Inception", I have failed to do a decent write up on the show. Seems like a mouthful to explain the movie in detail and hard to start pen-ing down the explanations to some queries of the movie...but its again laziness being the reason why it took me 3 months with no result.

For those who haven't watched the movie, please go buy its DVD. Its guaranteed to be good...in fact, think I will buy one to collect and rewatch.

Although I initially thought I understood most parts of the movie, I just read this post by my friend Su and found that I have misinterpreted some parts of it. Heng ah (Luckily), I never write my post...LOL....or else ma-lu.

Anyway, for those who want some of their questions abt the movie answered, please click on the following link and read on...

http://i-miss-elmo.blogspot.com/2010/08/inception-answers-to-your-questions.html

Thanks Su! For posting this excellent blog post. ^_^ (u did wat I couldn't complete for 3 whole months.)

Gifts - value or thought?

2010-09-22T18:22:00.002+08:00

U know the old saying tat when buying a gift for someone, its the thought tat counts and not the worth/value of the gift.

I always kept tat in mind when picking up a gift for someone. Be it for birthday, anniversary, wedding, newborn, housewarming, christmas, new year or watever occasion. I will think if the gift suited the person, whether he/she will like it and/or whether its useful to him/her. Can't say tat I am spot-on correct everytime but at least I put some thought to it.

So wat is the recipient side of the story?

People might say "thank u", "I love it", "its just wat I always wanted" or some niceties as response.

I find tat I generally only have the "thank u" response, then I take the gift without further expression or action. Thereafter if u see me using the gift
, it probably means I love it n its useful. But if the gift never see the light of day after it has broken out of its wrapping, then it might mean I dun really fancy it. But hey think of it the good way, I might treasure it so much tat I can't bear to use it.

In any case, I do appreciate all gifts from my friends n love ones. If u dun fall into those 2 categories, well then it will depend very much on the gift itself.

Wat irks me most is a type of person who opens his/her gift n start eyeing on others' gifts. whether to compare or out of envy/jealousy. Then he/she will make remarks as to how he/she thinks the gift is not to his/her liking. Hello? Where is common courtesy and gratitude to the person who bought the gift?

Hell! Its worse when one asks another how much angbao/red packet $ he/she has received from the same source...shameless...

So the next time u buy a gift or receive one, do put some thought into it.

3, 2, 1....Fly Away...No?

2010-09-06T17:54:00.005+08:00

Something just happened to K's holiday to Perth.

K was scheduled to take an afternoon flight but she missed it coz she forgot her VISA!

Now with Singapore passport being so widely accepted by so many countries and us Singaporeans being exempted from VISA requirement in a lot of countries as well, its not surprising tat we might forget to check if we actually need a VISA permit.

Anyway, Australia definitely needs a VISA permit for entry. From wat I heard from J, its ASEAN countries tat we do not need VISA...am not too sure myself but I think its best to check.

I feel kinda bad coz of this incident. Becoz I didn't think of reminding her abt her VISA when she bought her tickets and also coz when she was at the airport LOST without her VISA, she called me many times n I didn't even get her call as my HP was in my office drawer. Though she managed to get another fren to apply the VISA, the approval came in too late and she missed her flight. :(

I do wonder if I am in a similar situation who would I call....hmmm...first I think I will call Goon ba, then if he is not available maybe its K - J - A - G...this kind of order. Why this order? Of coz I will find the person who travel the most mah...LOL!

So, I decided to draft this checklist for points to note when traveling overseas:-
1. Passport
2. Plane ticket/E-ticket to exchange for Boarding Pass
3. VISA
4. Baggage weight limit
5. Restrictions on liquids aerosols gels in hand carry bag
6. No weapons or sharp objects in hand carry bag
7. Be at the airport at least 2 hrs before flight time to check in

Is there other points I missed out? Do let me know k.

Childhood Myths & Superstition

2010-09-03T18:08:00.001+08:00

Had this conversation with a fren n mentioned an old habit of crossing one's fingers when u really want something to happen. So she made jokes abt crossing toes as well, but crossing toes will cramp right. Lol.

Anyway, brought me to thinking abt wat other myths/superstitions/old wives' tales I hv heard as a child n remembered...

1) Cross ur fingers = hoping for something to happen
2) Touch wood = away with bad luck
3) Left eye twitch = something bad is going to happen
4) Right eye twitch = something good is going to happen
5) No swimming during Chinese Ghost month = or else will drown
6) Go home before sunset during Chinese Ghost month = or else will meet ghosts
7) Peel an apple infront of a mirror at 12am = will see how ur future husband will look like
8) Stand up n walk a round to change luck during a gambling match.

I am sure there is some more but I can't quite remember.

Interesting huh?

Salt vs The Last Airbender

2010-08-16T12:20:00.000+08:00

2 of the much anticipated movies I watched recently: SALT and The Last Airbender.

Before watching Salt, I was in the toilet at Lido and overheard comments tat these 2 movies are not really any good. A little disappointed then coz I already bought tickets for Salt and do plan to watch The Last Airbender anyway.

Both didn't turn out as bad though. NORMAL. Tats how I rated both movies. 2-1/2 out of 5 stars. Now some short reviews.

SALT

So WHO is Salt? It comes as no shock itself tat Salt is Salt.

No master disguiser at work here. Merely an American kid whose parents got killed in an accident in Russia, got recruited into a Russian spygroup, then later got adopted by the CIA. Double spy??? Yah maybe.

The ultimate goal of the Russian spygroup is to take control over Russia. So their ringleader recruited young kids, trained and influenced them to be his pawns, plant them at various parts of the world to be his spies. These spies can stay hidden at their supposed post for years and years, waiting for msg/signal from the ringleader to carry out their assignments.

So Salt is a Russian spy. And she got recruited into CIA which turns out to be very convenient to the Russian grp when they wanted to kill the Russian president during one of his visits to the US.
But Salt is different from the other spies...she loves her husband so much tat she betrayed the Russian spygroup. Actually she was planted by the CIA to meet and get close to her German husband who works as a researcher. When she was captured and imprisoned by North Korea during one of her missions, it was her husband who saved her and from then I guess she fell deeply in love with him. Thus killing her husband was probably the worse decision the Russian spygroup made.

Anyway, the storyline is ok and leaves not much for guesses except on whether she is a Russian spy (this was disclosed like midway in the movie, so no more mystery thereafter). And I am pleased to have guessed right from the beginning tat Salt's colleague/boss in CIA is also a Russian spy! Brilliant huh? No lah, just a hunch.

Other than the above, her cool fighting actions and shooting scenes are not really tat realistic. I mean wat are the chances a female can beat up a horde of guys?

The only mean thing abt her is her expression but tat can be mis-interpreted to be constipation. LOL.

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THE LAST AIRBENDER

I never expected this to be a movie with a sequel. Also gotten some feedback tat this movie is rather boring. I think this movie might be better made into a TV series.

The whole story and the war between the nations obviously cannot be squeezed into one movie session and I am not sure a 2 or 3 parts movie series will do it justice either.

The storyline is a bit sketchy...though they tried to explain a lot during the start of the movie with lines and lines of words for audiences to read...but isnt it better to explain it IN the movie itself with scenes and analog storytelling???

Acting by ANG (the avatar aka the last airbender) was so-so only. He probably knows a bit of kungfu coz his movements seem believable but oh! not so pretty....he juts out his butt a lot...looks as if he is poo-poo-ing in some of his poses. Facial expressions...bad. Cant sense any emotions from his expression...forced and unreal.

Acting by the girl waterbender...forgettable...(so unmemorable tat I cant even remember her name in the movie). Ok more expressions than Ang but average performance coz I dun even remember much abt her....see! it might be good to have bad facial expressions like Ang coz at least I remember him. Only other thing I remember abt her is, she looked like she's dancing more than playing kungfu. Not at all convincing.

Special effects in the movie was probably the only thing which did slightly better than average. But this too is becoming common in most movies these days.

Oh wait, I just remember tat The Last Airbender is in cartoon too...maybe tat is better worth watching.

Colour Greetings

2010-08-13T13:20:00.005+08:00

I just have to share this with everyone.

Was having lunch with my colleague a while ago and we were complaining abt how a certain Idiot in our office (yes yes, the same idiot whom I complained abt in my previous posts) like to answer his phone saying "Yellow" instead of "Hello" and in the most irritating manner tat sounded like "Yello~w"

We started to come up with how we shld answer calls in different colours...and this is the best one of my colleague's son actually came up with:

"Gr~ee-n! Gr~een!"

"Yello~w"

"Bl~u~e are you?"

WAHAHA........ROFL.........LMAO..........I laughed until my tears came out.......

Dont get it? Read again...out loud this time..... ;D

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And I found this joke from the internet "All Indian Site.Com"(thanks to goon) which is one of the version the above colour greetings joke:-

A man goes to get a job as a secretary. When the manager saw his yellow and red highlighted hair, his mind was screaming,'No, not this guy.'

Nevertheless, he had to entertain his guest.

Manager: "Okay, I will give you some words. Make a sentence with them and the job is yours. The words are green, pink, yellow, blue, white, purple and black."

The man thought for a while and said: "The phone was ringing GREEN GREEN GREEN. I go and I PINK up the phone. I say YELLOW...BLUE's that. WHITE did you call? Aye... wrong number. Listen don't PURPLEly call wrong numbers and don't call BLACK."

The manager fainted.

Courtesy or ???

2010-08-12T08:03:00.002+08:00

Went to watch the movie "The Last Airbender" last night. Will try to write a review abt the movie and maybe finish off my review of The Inception.

So I was rushing off to the toilet after the movie and though it wasn't crowded, 2 ladies were walking in front of me to enter the toilet. I was relieved when I entered and saw tat there were a number of empty cubicles.

The 2 ladies were chatting, then Lady 1 went into a cubicle and Lady 2 suddenly stopped in her tracks in the middle of the narrow walkway in the toilet blocking my access to the cubicles.

"Excuse me." I said

And her reply was "Nevermind." And she continued to block my way.

?????!

WHAT! I thought the common response would be to give way since she obviously didn't want to enter any cubicle.

I MIND LOR, she was still blocking me! What nevermind!

Ok, correct me if I am wrong. Isn't "Excuse me" an international phrase for asking pple to give way politely? Was I supposed to say "Please go away" or "Get out of my way" or put up a YOG (Youth Olympic Games) logo to give way? Hehe...tat was a funny thought abt the logo huh.

Told some friends abt this incident and they laughed and said it will be a good tactic to use in future. Lol, ya probably to irritate some other pple. Hmmm...I shld think of a counter-response instead of just squeezing my way past tat Lady 2 last night.

Any good counter-response suggestions?

Estee Lauder Makeover Contest

2010-07-20T13:00:00.000+08:00

BUMP!

Please my dear friends and blog readers, do cast ur vote for Su in the Estee Lauder Makeover Contest (instructions are below).

The voting ends this Sunday, 25 July 2010, so please cast ur vote now!

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I am snitching a little time during work for this post.

A good friend of mine, Su, took part in an Estee Lauder Makeover Contest.

Look at how pretty she is.... ^_^

Let's all support Su...click on http://www.herworld.com/esteelauder and type in "#235" or "Suhaina" and VOTE for her!

THANK U ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT!!!

PS: I think pretty Su shld win...and not some of the ugly fat girls I saw on the page who are heading the votes just becoz they got more friends voting for them.

Spain Tops World Cup 2010

2010-07-12T20:28:00.006+08:00

After a long and hard 1 month, World Cup 2010 has finally come to an end at abt 5am this morning Singapore time with Spain grabbing the championship for the first time in World Cup history.

Walking down along Clarke Quay at a couple minutes after 5am, I saw many disappointed Netherlands ("Holland") fans. Some were dragging their feet, displaying sad n dejected faces, while complaints of "kelong" were heard abt how the referee of the match was unfair and seemed to side with the Spainards.

As the match had dragged on to extra time after both teams failed to score any goals within 90 mins, I was dead tired when I reached home at 6am, showered and got onto bed only at 6.30am. Luckily I took leave today and could sleep all the way till noon.

For those who saw my Twitter last night, they would remember my complaint abt the restaurant Le Baroque situated at Chjimes, Singapore. Really felt like writing some complaint letters abt the place to some authorities.

I tried calling a few pubs on Sat and Sun, trying to make reservations to watch the world cup but I either couldn't get thru their phonelines or they don't take reservations. Le Baroque is one of which don't pick up their phone.

So, A and I went to Le Baroque early at ard 9pm to find seats n wait for screening of the WC finals. The waitress lead us to some empty seats where we ordered snacks and drinks. It was only at ard 11pm plus when the waitress suddenly came over to ask if we are waiting to watch the WC and tat if we are, there is a minimum spending of $100 per person applicable.

Outrageous! How could they suddenly come up with such rule abt minimum spending which they failed to warn/inform customers abt before they decided to sit down and make their orders?! When I grumbled at the waitress, she merely sulked and said nothing. It was only becoz we were pressed for time to find another spot to watch the WC, that I quickly asked for the bill and left tat STINKY LE BAROQUE restaurant! Now tat I looked back, I think I shld have insisted to speak with with their manager and threaten to sue them for misrepresentation! Worse is...our bill came up to $80+....CRAP LOR!

Anyway, we were fortunate to quickly find another MUCH more ideal and AFFORDABLE place for watching WC - Verve Pizzeria situated at Clarke Quay. They not only serve pizzas and drinks, one can also find Italian ice cream there...yummy! :) LOVE...Do patronize this place, its worth for $ definitely. Unlike some places which are out to fleece pple ("Le Baroque").

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Now for some personal analysis of the WC finals.

South Africa has outdone themselves putting up a spectacular performance for the closing ceremony. A pity I didn't catch the opening ceremony. But I gather it shld be just as good. Shakira also appeared in person to sing the theme song for World Cup 2010. The ceremony plus a lot of recaps on the matches leading to this finals started from 12pm plus. I shall not go into details on those as the WC is more abt the matches anyway.

Holland did not lose a single match since the WC started and they have to many pple's surprise beaten Brazil, the 5 times WC champions. Though I find them rather slacking in certain matches (eg. against Slovakia in the round of 16 and against Uruguay in the Semi-finals), they do pick up their act sometimes.

The Finals? Well, I find that the Holland team was a little disorganized and "rough". They had 28 fouls and got booked by the referee for 7 yellow cards and a second yellow card (red card is issued when the same player gets 2 consecutive yellow cards in a match) which sent 1 of their defender out of the field at a most crucial time during extra time.

Spain on the other hand committed 19 fouls with 5 of their players booked with yellow card. I think Torres was like a lucky charm for the team and he contributed to the singular most important goal of the whole match when he was finally sent onto the field in the last 15 mins.

Though I do not admire Holland's team for the rough playing, I also felt tat the referee might have been biased or overly cautious. He shld have given a yellow card for 2 other occasions to Spain's players:-

1) when Spain's defender Puyol was tackling Holland's Robben when he was heading for the goal, Puyol fell and sort of wrap his hands ard Robben and swung his legs across Robben's legs, making him lose the ball. Though I would not say tat it was intentional, I think it shld have been a yellow card. However, maybe the referee is hesitant abt booking Puyol for tat becoz it would have been a 2nd yellow card for Puyol and he will be out of the match.

2) when Spain's Iniesta got sandwiched by 2 of Holland's player (I forgot their names) and lost the ball, it was supposedly a "legal" tackling (dun ask me...I dun know why its legal...just coz the commentator said so then), after which Iniesta got mad and actually pushed Holland's player down. Now, tat shld have definitely been a yellow. But the referee only decided on a foul and free kick.

If the referee had given out the above 2 yellow cards, maybe the outcome of the match might be totally different....who knows?

Eventually this WC Final turned out to be the match with the highest record no. of fouls committed and free kicks given - 47 in total from both teams!

I will not dispute that Spain does have talented players and played a good game...just tat things might have different.

Guess this WC 2010 did take quite a few unexpected turns....Brazil and Argentina out so early in the tournament, England's controversial goal when matching against Germany, Portugal's 7 goals against North Korea, and the many yellow cards given out.

Now for the individual awards for the players:

Golden Ball Award - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)

Golden Boot Award - Thomas Mueller (Germany) [He was also awarded the Best Young Player]

Golden Glove Award - Iker Casillas (Spain)

Will Casillas be the next Oliver Kahn? Haha....nah, hope not....I like my idol Goalkeeper as he is...non-replaceable.

PS: Post WC blues....not sure wat to look forward to watch now....so LOST.....

Octopus Oracle vs Divine Bird

2010-07-10T15:08:00.002+08:00

Paul the Octopus has an opponent to its position as the prophet for World Cup 2010.

Mani the parakeet has also taken to guessing the correct winners of the World Cup matches.

Coincidence?

Read on in this article...

http://g.sg.sports.yahoo.com/football/world-cup/blog/fever-pitch/post/Octopus-Paul-vs-Mani-the-parakeet-Who-will-triu?urn=fbintl,254967

So I was misinformed, the Octopus Oracle's prediction is supposed to be Spain and not Netherlands to win the World Cup.

But as the comment I have been hearing of late - "the ball is round and anything can happen". Anyway, its a 50% chance for either team to win anyway.

May the best team win then! (Anyway, my Germany team is out of the Finals...cant be bothered either way.)

On the way to the World Cup Finals

2010-07-08T09:14:00.003+08:00

Another short update on the World Cup 2010.

At 2.30am this morning, my favourite WC team Germany (who has gotten into the Semi-Finals) has been officially defeated by Spain and their dreams of entering the Finals is dashed.

Now the results of the past Quarter and Semi Finals since last weekend are as follow:-

Quarter-Finals
Uruguay vs Ghana = 1:1 (Penalty Kick 4:2) [Uruguay proceeds to Semi-Finals]
Netherlands vs Brazil = 2:1 [Netherlands proceeds to Semi-Finals]
Argentina vs Germany = 0:4 [Germany proceeds to Semi-Finals]
Paraguay vs Spain = 0:1 [Spain proceeds to Semi-Finals]

Semi-Finals
Uruguary vs Netherlands = 2:3
Germany vs Spain = 0:1

NETHERLANDS will fight SPAIN in the Finals!

T_T Boo hoo hoo!

Nothing to look forward to in the WC Finals le....so depressing....

And wats this abt the "Octopus"??? Some said tat it has predicted the outcome of many of the WC matches this year and it has predicted tat Germany will lose to Spain and the ultimate winner of the WC will be Netherlands? Arghhhh....stupid Octopus....

Just found a report on Yahoo on the stupid Octopus Oracle:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100708/tts-germany-offbeat-animal-fbl-wc2010-ge-509a08e.html

World Cup Fever 2010 - Round of 16

2010-06-27T03:10:00.005+08:00

Never thought I would get so caught up on soccer but I did for this year's World Cup.

Besides floating around to friends' homes to watch the WC, I have been frequenting some 24hrs MacDonalds and pubs to watch the LIVE matches...burning holes in my pocket while trying to comfort myself tat this is a 1 in 4 years thingy and thereby justifying spending hard earned $ as such.

In case any of u wonder where u can watch LIVE WC matches in Singapore (since maybe none of ur friends subscribe or u dun get invited coz u are not popular...haha...kidding), try searching "where to watch world cup in Singapore" in Google. Google is my solution to lots of questions these days. :)

Anyway, this WC gave me opportunities to discover parts of Singapore's nightlife which I was unfamiliar with since the matches are held at night in Singapore times.

I went to Durty Nelly's at Marina Square for one of the Stage 1 Group matches and discovered a cozy Irish Pub with friendly waiters/waitresses and an executive crowd who are not rowdy but yet participative in cheering the teams on.

Durty Nelly's Bar Counter

Big Projector TV at Durty Nelly's

Then there is my visit to Robertson Quay last night for the kick off of the Round of 16 WC matches. The place has changed beautifully.

I remembered Mohamed Sultan Road being the hype of nightlife and the buzzing pubs along the stretch more than 8 years ago. Now the pubs are all quiet with only a few patrons seen going into one of the KTV pub there. The crowd I guess must have shifted to more happening places such as Clarke Quay, Orchard, etc.

Robertson Quay which used to be a rather quiet part of the area is now filled with restaurants offering cuisines from all over the world and a wide selection of pubs and drinking places. And becoz of the many service apartments nearby, the place is frequented by many expatriates and their famliy.

Robertson Walk

Mess of Seatings & Projector Screens at the center of Robertson Walk for WC Fans

The next place I should be going to for WC shld be at Chjimes. I can just imagine the place roaring with cheers for WC, espcially at the center of Chjimes where all the pubs/restaurants are around.

Now for a bit of WC news if u have not been following my Twitter.

The 16 national teams which went into the Round of 16 for the WC are (I have matched them against the team they are going against in this Stage 2 and the results following into Quarter-finals):

Stage 2 = Round of 16 (updated on 30.6.2010)
Uruguay vs South Korea = 2:1 (Uruguay proceeds to Quarter-finals)
United States vs Ghana = 1:2 (Ghana proceeds to Quarter-finals)
Germany vs England = 4:1 (Germany proceeds to Quarter-finals)
Argentina vs Mexico = 3:1 (Argentina proceeds to Quarter-finals)
Netherlands vs Slovakia = 2:1 (Netherlands proceeds to Quarter-finals)
Brazil vs Chile = 3:0 (Brazil proceeds to Quarter-finals)
Paraguay vs Japan = 0:0 [Penalty Kick Goals = 5:3] (Paraguay proceeds to Quarter-finals)
Spain vs Portugal = 1:0 (Spain proceeds to Quarter-finals)

Let's all give our support to the WC teams!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Updated on 30.6.2010

I found another nice spot for WC watching yesterday. The 24hrs Coffee Club outside California Fitness building at Orchard. Its just right next to 313 Orchard.

A nice cuppa of coffee or tea plus a slice of delicious cake is a good alternative to drinking beer during WC...plus easier on ur pocket.

World Cup Fever

2010-06-14T12:34:00.003+08:00

Have u caught on the World Cup 2010 Fever yet?

The matches which started from last Friday, 11.6.2010 are going hot and strong for World Cup fans out there.

I am not really a fan and totally missed the World Cup 2006 but I did watch some of the matches in the World Cup 2002 and remembered being a supporter of Germany then.

This morning while I was sitting in my bro's car listening to the 100.3 radio broadcast, the name "Oliver Kahn" hit a certain nerve in my memory and I remember this favourite goal keeper from Germany whom I was absolutely fascinated abt in the World Cup 2002. Not for his looks (coz I think he looks kind of ugly) but somehow he caught my attention, maybe for his wonderful saves or authoritative presence as the team's captain or maybe for the mere fact tat he looks mean and kinda like a member of the Mafia. LOL...ya, silly me.

As broadcasted on radio, he is the only Goal Keeper in history who has received the Golden Ball Award....I am more awed now....so I decided to Google...

OLIVER KAHN

Here are some links to his glorious history and his profile that I have found online:

By Wikipedia:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Kahn

By footballdatabase.com:-

http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=771&b=true&pn=Oliver_Hans_Kahn

Now tat Oliver Kahn has retired, I am not too sure if I will still support Germany in the World Cup but I guess tat remains to be seen.

A look at the current World Cup 2010 match results on Fifa's website:-

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html?cid=google_onebox

Hmm...lets see if I will start following the matches now...

Comfort Zone

2010-06-02T08:08:00.001+08:00

It doesn't matter how long u hv stayed in a job. 2 yrs, 5 yrs or 10 yrs...

U know u r in ur comfort zone at work when u:-

1. start going to work as a routine and no longer look forward to it
2. go thru work like a robot set on automatic mode
3. no longer take initiative or volunteer to take on projects coz u think its a waste of ur time
4. keep complaining abt stuff or pple at work but does nothing to improve the situation
5. knock off work on time even though work has not been finished and would think tat there is always tomorrow to finish it
6. keep telling urself to start looking for a new job for months before finally sending out a few resumes
7. attend the 1st interview since ur job hunt and feel demoralised
8. are hesitant abt job advancement coz u r not sure if u r up to it
9. dread having to adjust to a new working environment and getting to know new pple

Realised that I am in the exact situation - I am in my comfort zone.

But since I decided, like all decisions I hv made in the past, I will break out of tat zone.

My MIXPOD Music

2010-05-22T13:08:00.002+08:00

Since I dun have my own iPod, I went to get my very own MIXPOD to embed in this blog.

Took me quite some time on Thu night putting together this list of Chinese Pop songs as I went thru lists and lists of songs trying to find those with fuller versions and nicer MVs. These are songs from Original Sound Tracks of Taiwanese Dramas which I like...I think these are really touching and hope that they touch ur heart too.

Will go and put more songs in the playlist now. Meanwhile, enjoy tuning into my blog, even if its just for these songs.

Controversial Topic - Charity

2010-05-17T10:26:00.003+08:00

Here comes a highly controversial topic - Charity.

I seldom blog on controversial topics in fear tat it might cause some unhappiness among readers and who knows, I might even get sued for my own views and opinions (this seems ridiculous though coz "WHATEVER I WRITE IN THIS BLOG IS PURELY MY VIEW AND OPINIONS").

Anyway, I am not about going to comment abt charity towards the big charity organizations such as NKF, Renci or the likes. Nor about donations to schools or communities that sent their people out to sell "flags" and coupons.

Its abt a group of people out there selling little token gifts for a rather high price in the name of charity to "them"? The Deafs, Ex-Convicts, etc.

The only difference I see between them and those old uncles/aunties selling tissues at food centres/hawkers for 20 cents is tat they have an able body which I think can be put to better use.

U may find the following scenarios familiar:-

Scenario 1
Some deaf guy/girl will place cards with messages and soft toys on diners' tables in restaurants, fast food restaurants and food centres. Making their round, they will come back to ur table in a few minutes to collect the cards and toys, and hopefully some pple who might feel generous enough to "buy" the little soft toy.

Scenario 2
Some mean/not mean looking guy/girl approach u in a cafe where u r having a nice chat with a friend. The person held up a paper/board/certificate of sort and started telling u tat he/she is an ex-convict and how difficult it is to find job and earn a living. About the family members and children they have to feed and yet they cant find a job.

A badge, a keychain or a small toy for S$5 - $10 of which say S$1 - S$3 will go to themselves. Maybe its the real thing...to help others in need. But wat if its all a scam? Is it any easier for us to earn tat S$5 or S$10 than them? Do we not deserve some charity ourselves then?

Ok, wat I feel is...they have able bodies...if they are desperately in need of job, I am sure they can do jobs like dishwashers, cleaners, road sweepers, fast food waiters, etc. Low paying jobs...but they are all decent jobs. So why cant these pple from scenarios 1 and 2 do tat?

Am I just too judgmental?

Old vs Young

2010-05-13T10:22:00.002+08:00

I have been following a young friend's twitter recently and understand tat she was having some issues among her group of friends. From snippets here and there, I wasnt able to fully understand wat went on...but think she had some problems on her blog too.

I was trying to empathize but really dun know wat to say. Recalling back on how I had friends issues too when I was young. Everyone was hot-headed in those younger years...more emotional and expressive...not able to withhold thoughts and feelings...hurting and selfish words are thus communicated across to pple we might love or care about.

Found tat as we grow older, we learn to hide our feelings better...some to the extent of unreadable. Issit coz we have learnt to be more pretentious? cunning? manipulative? unfeeling?

Ok, time for lunch...

The Helix Bridge

2010-05-10T11:17:00.004+08:00

Have u heard of the Helix Bridge in Singapore?

I saw the Helix Bridge a couple of times before it got lighted when I was passing by along ECP. Din think much of it...and then it got lighted and it became beautiful.

So wonder where the Helix Bridge is and how to get there?

The nearest MRT station is the Promenade Station along Circle Line. A short walk from there across towards the flyer/floating platform side near the river and u will come to the entrance to the Helix Bridge. Its just between the flyer and the floating platform.

Colourful lights from beneath are there to greet everyone

Beautiful lights at the bottom of the lamp posts

Wall of children drawings...not too sure why they are there anywhere

Found this interesting shadow art on the wall of the building on the side (hmm...was it the side of the floating platform)

Lots of night visitors at the Helix Bridge

The bridge is a pretty sight with the hotel as the backdrop...my phone camera doesnt do the sight any justice

Walking along the bridge you can spot magnificent views across the river

The floating platform...guess NDP will be held there again this year

What is this? A flying ship?

No, its the top of the hotel

The Helix Bridge is blocked in the middle for work in progress

So many pple taking a sneak peak to the other end of the Helix Bridge

Anyone realised anything special with the above 2 photos?

...

...
...
..........

........

.....

...

Wah la! Not real pple...

I took a sneak peek too

I think Helix Bridge is really pretty at night especially with the lightings.

So, if u are game for a walk, go there.

Random Pictures from my BB

2010-05-09T15:58:00.018+08:00

I have been fiddling with my BB (ie. Blackberry) often lately and am awed at how technology has evolved through the years.

From a simple phone used by people for conversation, not so much different from a home phone.
To being able to send short messages (sms) and multimedia messages (MMS).
To taking picures/photos with better and better resolutions.
To having lots of functions in the phone such as calendar, alarm clock, games, calculator, MS applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
To be able to subscribe to Data Services to use the Web Browser, BB Messenger and Navigational Maps.

I discovered the BB App World a couple of days ago and found tat there are actually hundreds of applications available out there.

Before I familarize with all the uses of my BB, I am satisfying myself by taking pictures.

Here's one my niece Charmaine on the PSP....learning games at her tender age. This is the era of computer age.

Olio Dome at Marina Square. Wat a fantastic photo I have taken here.

Crispy Vegetable Spring Roll

Fried Chicken Cutlet and Satay with Egg and Fried Rice too. Ok lah, I forgot the name of this dish.

Yummy Cheesy Pizza

I have been travelling a lot more to Orchard Road lately. Mainly coz I like shopping in 313 Orchard and perhaps the welcoming fragrance in Orchard Central. Haha...the sweet Orangy scent in Orchard Central might just be worth the trip.

Horse Carriage in the middle of Orchard Road

Some pictures from Orchard Central.

Gigantic Woman Statue in Orcard Central

with Gigantic Heels...
Tully...heard of this new coffee place? Its comparative to Coffee Bean and Starbucks and their price range is similar too. But wat attracted me most are their cups, saucers and spoons....classic wo.

Earl Grey Tea with Milk and Sugar...looks smooth huh. Even the cup, saucer and spoon looks special

Coffee with Milk and Sugar in Grande size. The cup is definitely less cute than the Tall size cup above.
The major problem I have with Orchard Central is the weird way the escalators and lifts connect the floors. Cannot really figure out my way inside though I have already been there more than 5 times at least.

J brought me up to this place...I think its at level 7...or issit 9? Anyway, quite high up lah....tats why its called "Heaven's Loft".

Heaven's Loft @ Orchard Central

Doesn't the place just sound "Heavenly"?

Actually its Ben & Jerry's Restaurant...considered one of its theme restaurant

Free Ice Cream, compliments of J

Then I went to another Ben & Jerry's Restaurant near Dempsey Road...Ranch Theme. I think Country style might be a better description. Anyway, the place is cool with its own live band (probably on weekend nights ba).

Food is good too......

BBQ Chicken Pizza

A Large Basketful of Fries (too much for 2 persons though)

Juicy Golden Calamari Rings

Husband Installation

2010-04-30T14:44:00.004+08:00

Got this forwarded email on Husband Installation and decided to share with you. Enjoy reading it and TGIF, start your weekend with laughters:-

Husband installation......really good one

A desperate woman writes to the Technical support Guy,

Dear Tech Support ,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and I noticed a distinct slowdown in the overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewellery applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5..0 . In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as NEWS 5.0, MONEY 3.0 and FOOTBALL 4.1 . Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2. 6 simply crashes the system. Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed, Desperate Woman

**********************************************************************************

Dear DESPERATE Madam,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Please enter command: i thought you loved me..html and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewellery 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Silence 2.5 , Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1 . Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually
seize control of all your system resources.) In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend: Cooking 3.0 and Hot Looks 7.7.

Good Luck Madam!

Bloated with Donuts

2010-04-28T08:19:00.000+08:00

Feeling so bloated since last night. Ate dinner at Yoshinoya but was unsatisfied. So, went J.Co for hot chocolate n donut.

1, 2, 3....Finished 1 donut n got tricked into sharing the 2nd n 3rd donuts with A. Though I technically only ate 2 donuts, combined with drinks n my dinner earlier on...very bloated.

Regret! Knew I cannot resist food in front of me.

My First Post From My BB Bold

2010-04-23T23:39:00.000+08:00

It has been 2 weeks since I got my Blackberry Bold 9700. 1 week since I started using my data services.

So fun!!!

Being able to access Facebook, Twitter, MSN messenger, Blackberry Messenger and now Blogger! Hehehe...

Till next time...

VIP

2010-04-07T13:47:00.004+08:00

Am sure most of u heard of the title "VIP". It basically stands for "Very Important Person" and signifies that this person is special among all the other people around. It can be used in a variety of situations, eg. VIP of a company's Dinner & Dance, VIP of a certain Country Club, etc.

But what about people who has not been acknowledged as VIP but think of themselves as one? What should they be called then? SPVIP - Self Proclaimed Very Important Person?

LOL.

Personally I know a few SPVIPs myself and its not easy to stomach such a person coz u will be at the constant reminder of their self importance.

Case No. 1

The infamous ASSFUCKDIOT aka Public Enemy aka most hated person mentioned in my blog. His persistent effort to make us colleagues aware of his existence by introducing poorly planned policies, sowing discords among existing colleagues, bootlicking the bosses, etc...just to make pple notice him and acknowledge his importance. - I feel like I am almost becoming an expert in ignoring the existence of this person.

Case No. 2

She always talks about herself, protrays a goody goody image in front of friends and offers a helping hand to pple while rarely seems to mean it. Every topic of conversation with her ultimately turns into her experiences, her views, her.........just her. It seems that she revolves in her own world and expects everyone else to revolve ard her world.

Note: To identify a person who genuinely care for u as a friend and one who just wana appear helpful and nice in the eyes of the public, just observe how he/she talks and act. If he/she cares, he/she will listen more than talk and act to help when they are able to instead of talk.

Case No. 3

She does the littlest amount of work possible and claim the biggest credit for it. She takes MCs and leaves when she knows that a busy period with loads of incoming work is arriving. She threatens to quit just to get the bosses to agree to a pay raise and then boasts around to say that she is too important for the bosses to let her quit. She claims no one can replace her job and that she is a valueable asset to the team. - She is delusional

3 examples of SPVIPs for the moment...need to get back to work..self proclaimed break time is over....sob sob.

THE BEAUTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNDONE

2010-03-19T09:11:00.002+08:00

I lifted these from an email I received. Very interesting piece, so I wanted to share with u guys....hope u concur.

"Be confounded and confused by the English Language Something to ponder for the day.........
Just think about it......very interesting.

THE BEAUTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNDONE

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men, Then shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot and show you my feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those, Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England ..We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English could be running the danger of being called verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.

We have noses that run and feet that smell.

We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.

And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT IF PEOPLE FROM POLAND ARE CALLED POLES THEN PEOPLE FROM HOLLAND SHOULD BE HOLES AND THE GERMANS GERMS!!!"

My Words of Consolation

2010-03-12T13:42:00.003+08:00

Had a rather sad conversation with a friend today.

Sometimes behind the sounding laughters and beneath the smiley faces we see around us, there lies souls who are lost, hurt, sad and in despair. It may be tat they face bigger problems than us in general or tat their problems might be more serious...but I think every one of us have our fair share of problems.

And I believe there are 2 types of problem solvers among people:-

Type 1 - analytical & practical in their approaches. They tend to tackle problem first before they sit down to think about their feelings or others' feelings.

Type 2 - ruled by their emotions and have own emotional hurdles they have to cross before being able to tackle a problem.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So my friend said:-

"...the incident happen too suddenly and i almost cant cope .. but now...i try to get use to it and accept wat i have done...."

"i am lost somehow ..... lost in space ... all this time i try to run away try to avoid but it seems not a good idea ... after all is all my fault i have to face it alone. When will i find back myself is a question mark to me ... last time i not use to be so lost .. i always have a direction but now ... no direction at all. I dunno wat will happen to me in future . and i have no future at all..."

My words of consolation:-

...u dun have to have a particular goal to feel like u got a direction
...u dun have to have a family to feel sheltered
...u dun have to have a house to feel like u own something
...instead of a big goal, have smaller goals
...ur parents might have passed away n u feel no one is there to back u up but this way u learn to stand up for urself. And if u failed, there are friends around
...although u dun own a house of ur own, u have rest stops here and there. Its an experience for u. Rather than the monotonous and boring life, u now got an ever changing life where everything and anything can happen.
...learn to accept and adapt
...dun reject, regret and complain

I think my friend is a definite Type 2....so which type are u?

PS: U are welcome to talk to me abt ur problems, I will always have a listening ear for u....not so sure abt my advice though. As I am more of a Type 1 person, some of my advices might not work for all.

Who is Ms Popular?

2010-03-09T16:31:00.002+08:00

A short conversation with my friend Ni upon seeing her comment on MSN:

"I'm Ms Popular and not enjoying it"
Me: Hi Ms Popular, wat happened?
Me: U won a prize at Popular bookstore and got photographed as their Ms Popular?

Ni: haha
Ni: v creative hor
Ni: no lah... at work... alot of pple finding me
Ni: so ms popular

Personally, I like my explanation better ^_^

"Selfish"

2010-02-25T15:51:00.001+08:00

A friend, Ninniku (Nini for short) asked me today:

"Why is selfish called selfish.. i wonder? Fishes are not solitary creatures leh, they swim in schooools."

My answer (a very innovative one) is as below:

"Maybe there is some old wife's tale abt how an old maid was helping a fish monger to sell fish for the summer and when the villagers know abt it, they asked her to help them sell other stuff too, like crabs, prawns & etc. And though the old maid had lots of time, she did not have the desire to be helpful to the others coz they did not pay her a single penny to help them out, so she turned them down.

One day, the old maid was selling fish as usual and the other villagers were selling their own stuff but there was some commotion in another part of the village and they went to look-see, all but the old maid.

Then came the Ma-tah (policemen) on their patrol and at the sight of them, the old maid packed up her fishes and ran off, leaving the other villagers' goods to be conviscated by the policemen.

So thereafter, the villagers all called the old maid the "SELFISH" one."

KPO Pig

2010-02-08T10:03:00.003+08:00

U know how sometimes u feel like u are being watched or eavesdropped. When u have done something guilty, tat must be a scary feeling to be watched or eavesdropped.

However, when u are just having a regular conversation with another person and have been eavesdropped by a certain Assfuckdiot, all u will feel is IRRITATION. Not tat the conversation is a secret or tat the contents of the conversation is inappropriate...but simply tat in normal circumstances, any other person who overheard the conversation would just keep their silence and pretend they didnt hear a thing and only join in the conversation when they are invited to.

Well, the Assfuckdiot apparently likes to stick his stinking butt in everyone's business.

So I was having this early argument with a colleague on the pronunciation of the word "Abalone". Our views are:-

Colleague, V: A-ba-lo-nee

Me: A-ba-lone

Then Assfuckdiot interrupted and said "V, u r right. Its A-ba-lo-nee. Even radio FM95.00 is correcting pple's pronunciation." (Can just imagine his gloating face tat I got the wrong pronunciation.)

So I googled "Pronunciation of Abalone" over the internet and it turns out V is right. -_-

Ya lah, I am not the guru of English nor an English teacher mah, its ok to get it wrong occasionally.

But who is the Assfuckdiot to interrupt our conversation which he was not invited to?!!!

Pronunciation of Assfuckdiot: ASSSSS-FUCK-DIOT

9 Days to CNY

2010-02-05T09:00:00.004+08:00

Counting down 9 more days to Chinese New Year. Here is an early CNY greetings to all my friends and blog readers: Wishing all of u a prosperous and bountiful new year!

Getting all excited for CNY is a thing of the past when I was still a kid. Now CNY is just another festive season where I get extra few days off from work. A much needed break coz I am getting rather restless at work.

U know how pple always say tat CNY is a busy period when there are lots of preparations tat one must make to welcome the new year. My progress of preparation for CNY is as follows:-

1) Spring cleaning my room - Partially. I wiped the dust off most areas and tidied the table tops in my room but it still looks almost the same except neater. It was the DVD/VCDs tat was packed away tat made my room look less cluttered.

2) Buying new clothes - Zero pieces of clothes bought for CNY. Its not tat I din buy any clothes for the past 1 year but tat I din buy clothes specially for CNY. So, I shall wear worn clothes to CNY this year AGAIN.

3) Have a haircut - Nope. Not going to have a haircut. Been trying to grow my hair long for the past few months. It sure is taking its time to grow though.

4) Dyeing my hair - Just bought a pack of Liese hair dye from Watsons last night "Marshmallow Brown" colour, need to find time to dye.

5) Painting my fingernails and toenails - Planning to do it nearer to CNY coz afraid of chipping the colours.

6) Trimming my eyebrows - Also planning to do this nearer CNY.

7) CNY goodies - Dun intend to buy coz I always find food at home without having to shop for them.

8) Appointments for CNY - Still unsure wat my appointments are for CNY. The usual reunion dinner at home, then wat? The usual half day visiting on 1st and 2nd day of CNY, then wat? At least I am sure of my appointment on 3rd day, gotta escape from home coz there will be visitors. 4th day back to work...thereafter a few other appointments for visiting.

Hmm...8 items above, not too bad...dun seems to be tat much for me to do right. LOL.

Yah, coz my wonder mama is doing everything by herself: spring cleaning the whole house, decorating the house, stocking up on CNY goodies and preparing the reunion dinner. :)

The joy of being SINGLE, UNMARRIED and LIVING WITH MAMA....haha....

I "heart" u, mama. ^_^

To be "Deep" or "Shallow"?

2010-01-28T17:14:00.002+08:00

Just read a few blogs and realised tat there are many things I do not know abt my friends and even my own bro. Not as in secrets or sordid stuff but simply their train of thoughts, their experiences in life, their goals and vision, etc. Their postings seem to have a depth of sorts which I find amazing to discover and I envied these coz my postings of late seem to circle ard complaints of my workplace and silly and random stuff.

Made me think: Am I shallow? Do I lack the gift for writing? Or am I just unwilling to share some parts of my life which I hope to remain unexposed and unpublicized?

How far would we go to share ourselves on the blog which is accessible by all?

Then the devil on my head started shouting "Who the hell cares! This is ur blog. Just write wat u want. Read if they want to...heck care if they don't."

:P Then there goes all my readers... :(

PS: The angel on my head cowers in fear on hearing the devil's ranting.

Restless, Bored & De-moralized

2010-01-25T13:24:00.002+08:00

As I quoted in my facebook previously:

"I am feeling my umpteenth time of Monday blues. Think that my blues is almost like weekly pms."

Had basically lazed at home for the whole weekend playing Aion, eating (bing-ed on ice-cream a lot too) and sleeping at odd hours. And still I feel restless, bored and unhappy.

Now to add to tat, came to work on monday and feel de-moralized more than ever.

The faces I dun wish to see (some u know, some u dun), the voices I dread to hear, the mountain of files I wish were burnt, the work I cant get my gear started to do and my boss's non-stop orders to do this and that.

Sick...very sick...

Idiot's Self-Importance Technique

2010-01-21T12:32:00.000+08:00

The idiot has outdone himself.

Having been scorned for over a year, the public enemy cum idiot decided to make himself known in my office.

He sent out this email yesterday:

Dear all,

With immediate effect, if you are not able to report for work and need to take urgent leave, medical leave, child card leave, time off, etc, you are to notify your immediate superior and myself (96777663).

Email dissemination of the reason for your absent will be done by myself and not any of your colleague. This will help to streamline our
dissemination procedure.

Cooperation and compliance will be very much appreciated. Thank
you.

Regards
Idiot

The email was labeled "Absent" and the words "your absent" were mentioned in the 2nd paragraph of the email as well. Idiot tries to be smart and to appear good in his english....it should be Absence! Real idiot.

To make himself known in the office, he now wants to appear important and wat better way than to be in a position of power...when anyone who wants to take leave or MC have to go thru him and be at his mercy.

The idiot had previously sent out an email regarding dressing in the office on Fridays. Follow this link to my blog entry on this email: http://chrsfran.blogspot.com/2009/12/idiotic-email-writing-skill.html

Then I just heard from a colleague tat she asked him, cannot wear flip flops then wat abt some of the bosses (ie. lawyers)?

His answer was "Theirs are expensive flip flops."

Wat kind of an answer is this? Nevermind the double standard practice tats in place...is tat even a smart answer? The flip flops are ok coz they are expensive?

So if I wear expensive or branded jeans, t-shirts and even RAGS on Fridays in the office, its ok too right?!!!

Asshole, Idiot, KNN...he is just one of a kind, so atrocious tat I cannot find a word for him. Maybe I shld just invent a word -"ASSFUCKDIOT"!

Re-tying the Friendship Knot

2010-01-19T23:50:00.004+08:00

It was a long while since I met up with Am. Only met her twice in 2009 and havent heard from her since March 2009.

We were close once upon a time when we were the only ones in the site office other than our commercial director (it was a site office within a retail shop, so there are other sales colleagues but they are just not seated in our office). When we switched jobs and left the place, we were close friends who met up every now and then to go out and sometimes chat over the phone.

She is one of the smartest lady friend I know (maybe she is the smartest but I cant be sure coz I cant make all my friends sit down and take an IQ test) and I always have stimulating conversations with her. But maybe its coz she knows she is smart, she is set in her opinions, views and in her own ways...to a point of stubborness.

There was a small bit of tension between us nearly 2 yrs ago and our friendship was never the same since and wat with all the laziness to keep in touch, we drifted apart.

So it came as a surprise tat meeting her again the first time this year actually brings back nostalgic feelings of our friendship before and I must admit tat I kinda missed her. We talk like old times and updated each other on wats happening in our lives and before we knew it, we had to head home coz it was late. Promised each other tat we will meet again soon and I do look forward to meeting her the next time.

Now I believe tat time does heal ALL wounds...even friendship can rekindle with time washing away the past and letting good friends start anew.

^_^

Being Aware

2010-01-17T09:54:00.001+08:00

I seems to be having lots of reflection sessions lately. Not just on my life direction but the surroundings and the whole world at large.

I have never been the kind of person who keeps up with the current affairs in Singapore, much less the whole world. But every now and then I do feel a little embarressed tat I know so little abt the world and many many things out there. Its not tat there are no sources of info available to me or tat I am uneducated and couldnt understand wat is written...its simply coz I am lazy and cant be bothered to find out. Yah...scold me stupid... (-_-)

Anyway, as the new year roll in, my thoughts of switching jobs and changing a new working environment linger while I am still waiting for news on my last year's bonus announcement. Tired of working in my current job while trying not to be too sick of it or drag my feet to work.

Sure, my Batam trip on the first week did help but reality sets in the moment I return (oh yah, will blog on my trip next after I download the pictures from my digital cam).

Sigh.

The same idiot and his gang in the office. Portions of my work which I don't really enjoy and beginning to resent. Working environment which is consistently bad and just waiting for a chance to blow. Hope I could jump ship before the working environment deteriorate.

Double Sigh.

The good thing is I still have my family, friends and gaming. Such a comfort to have these consistent factors.

A home-cooked meal, a home-packed lunchbox, my niece's and nephew's squeals, my bro driving me to work so I can rest/sleep in his car, meeting a friend for dinner after work, meeting friends for coffee and gossips, shopping and movies with friends, gaming with friends, etc, etc...

^_^

Ok back to the part on my reflections.

Recent movies tat I watched left me messages which I decoded as the true meanings of the shows, or maybe I am thinking too much into it but who cares. Below are just the decoded messages I got from the movies and not the synopsis or details on them...go watch the movies urself if u are interested in them.

1. Daybreakers

I feel tat since the vampires (the majority) are so clever and they basically live like humans (work, eat and sleep) except for the fact abt their diet and they work at night, they should have long anticipated tat their food supply (human blood) will run out in future as the population of humans drops.

In such case, shouldn't they have done something to bring up the human population like catching humans and put them in a facility to breed them? Ok I know tat sounds crude but isn't tat wat we are doing with animals now...fishes, chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, etc. We humans credit ourselves as the clever species and so thought of the idea of rearing animals for food, so if vampires is smarter than humans, shouldn't they do the same things abt their food supply?

2) The Blind Side

I like this movie. Real heart warming.

It highlights the racial issues in America - white vs black. I don't know the details as I am not really interested in history. Correct me if I am wrong - ages ago the black people were slaves of the white people and though time progresses and slavery is no longer in fashion, I believe many of the blacks did not move out of poverty and the imbalance in the American society formed a rift between the 2 races.

A vicious cycle then developed. The poor got poorer. Most of the blacks were unable to get proper education tat shld have been available to all (by equal standards), get into bad company, destroy their lives and future (shall not go into details of these), then start giving births to kids which they cannot support and the cycle repeats. Sad...

Second thing abt the movie is on Charity. Its great to do good deeds, help the poor, donate to charities, be a volunteer and etc. It helps even more if u r rich and u wana donate.

Sandra Bullock in this show protrays a rich housewife who has probably nothing better to do than running the household and taking care of her husband and kids. Probably is her usual habit to do the occasional donating to charities like wat the other rich wives in the show do. But it sure took a lot of courage for her and her family to take in a total stranger and be kind and good to him. And luckily this black guy Michael is neither a crook nor a psychopath who will steal or kill the family.

Her family did a most commendable thing than just feeding and sheltering him, they accepted him into their family. Salute! Not all Philanthropists can do tat...it takes heartfelt warmth and care and true opening of the heart to do tat. To be more specific, Sandra Bullock cared for Michael as if he was his real son, fed him, gave him a room to himself, cared for his feelings, guided him in his studies and thought abt his future. Are all foster parents this caring? I hope so.

Go watch this movie before its too late and have ur wake up call.

Photoshooting - Xmas on 24 Dec 2009

2010-01-05T22:34:00.017+08:00

Call me bored or simply bo liao. I went photoshooting with A for Xmas 2009 to take part in the joyous occasion and be in the crowds this year as compared to hiding at home in the past years.

Was horrified by the crowds at Orchard Road and swear tat I will not be involved in this kind of countdown thingy there again. Ok, nevermind the squeezing thru a whole SEA of pple along Orchard Road...pple are armed with cans of foam sprays and spraying on unsuspecting friends, strangers and "ah-nehs" (the Bangladesh workers)...so mean, not to mention racist.

We started early at the Esplanade in the afternoon for some warm up photoshooting and headed for Orchard in the evening. Our Orchard photoshoot started from Plaza Singapura and when we reached the danger zone between the Heeren to Orchard Ion, I was paranoid with fear of foam getting into our cameras and spoiling them.

Luckily, we got thru unscathed but found tat it was impossible to retraced our steps back to Plaza Singapura straight away and so settled for some drinks at Gusttimo at ION for the countdown.

Cameras used for the photoshoot:

1. Sony Cybershot T77 - Photographer: ME

2. Olympus E510 - Photographer: A

Before starting the comparison of the photos taken by ME and A, here's 2 of my favourites...sadly both taken by A and not me. Actually I like some of those taken by me also lah but dun wana boast here mah...LOL.

Overall, I think I am gifted at taking photos at just the correct angle. U shall see wat I meant from the photos below...

Photos below are ALL displayed in the following order taken by:

(Left/Up) ME-Sony Cybershot T77 v. (Right/Down) A-Olympus E510

Good photos? Who did u think took better photos? Which camera do u think capture the best shots? Comments are welcome.

Mabel's Wedding - 29 Dec 2009

2010-01-05T20:22:00.006+08:00

Finally attended the last wedding of 2009 on 29 Dec - Mabel's wedding.

A marriage across 2 countries: Singapore and Taiwan.

Their cross-country courtship finally came to an end and now a shared life beyond the borders of their individual hometown.

Got a fantastic entry shot

The blissful couple

Red colour...the elders' favourite colour

Cylindrical lights at M-Hotel ballroom

The MCs

Change of clothes mid-dinner

Oops, 2nd shots tat cropped off the Groom's head

Tower of champagne

The MCs again...no, I dun know them or their names

The famous "Yum Seng"

Joey or Zoe? and guess who?

Got ur guess yet? and ME

Why the mystery? Well, this lady beside me is my friend and my blog's very own - "K" for Kim!!!! Isnt she a knockout!!!

I like to "wow" her in this entry coz tat was the first time I saw her after makeover (full makeup and hair styling) in our 13 years of friendship.

Let's see her transformation (at least the stages tat I manage to catch on camera):

WOW right? .....told ya.....

a SICK ending and still SICK beginning

2010-01-01T09:44:00.002+08:00

A great way to end year 2009 - being SICK

A great way to start year 2010 - still SICK

.
..
...
....
.....

Tried to upload photos on blogger as well as facebook...both failed...think the traffic must be really heavy. Everybody got loads of photos to upload issit?!!! Cannot space me a little traffice space meh. Sob sob....ok gaming first then try blogging later...

Idiotic Email Writing Skill

2009-12-17T16:07:00.005+08:00

Just when I was determined to ignore the Idiot's existence and am almost doing it, he just gotta do something stupid to trigger off my resentment towards him.

An email sent to all the staff in our firm plus the junior lawyers but of coz the partners and big shots are excluded:

"Dear all,

I have been given instruction
to inform all of you
that wearing jeans on Friday is strictly
prohibited. Shorts, Bermudas,
flip flops and T-shirt (non-collared)
are all classified as
inappropriate.

Smart casual on Friday is
acceptable but for
lawyers, if you are meeting client in/or outside
office, you have to dress
up appropriately.

Thank you for your
attention.

Regards
Idiot (with a capital "I") "

In normal cases, the above email will just set off some talks abt how the management's decision will affect our dressing and all...but this particular email set off talks like:

"Omg, cannot wear flip flops...then we must wear heels the whole 8 hours plus in the office? Aiyo, cannot walk like that for whole day lah."

"Cannot wear flip flops? Wat abt some of the bosses, how come they can? Coz their flip flops more high class?"

"Ok, no flip flops. Barefoot?"

"No T-Shirts or else T-Shirts must have collars? We cut out collars and fix to our T-Shirts? LOL"

"But ladies' blouses seldom have collars ar (those T-Shirt material blouses)."

All probably just becoz we dun like the idiot's style of doing things. Since its instructions from the bosses, why didnt he dare to email everyone in the firm including the bosses? Afraid tat the bosses realise how poor his command of English is?

"Smart casual on Friday is acceptable but for lawyers" sounded like everyone except the lawyers are allowed to wear smart casual on Friday. -_- Stupid Idiot!

The "Ring"

2009-11-25T08:56:00.002+08:00

Did u ever try waking up to an alarm which rang for 1 continuous hour?

I just did tat this morning :P

Have a serious problem waking up in the mornings and I tend not to hear the ringing from my alarm clock. Normally its the mobile phone alarm which wakes me up coz the mobile alarm has a snooze function whereby after pressing it, the alarm will go off again 5 minutes later and repeatedly until I set the alarm to "off" or if I press the red button on my mobile phone.

So my mobile phone was ringing and snoozing for the whole of 1 hour this morning while trying to wake up the pig (Me). LOL.

Anyone has better ways/methods to wake up in the morning?

Cozy Cafes

2009-11-09T16:50:00.002+08:00

Had a great and fulfilling Sunday yesterday. Not the usual Sunday Family Lunch coz my parents went to Kusu Island (pray....) and every other family members had our own plans.

So, I had a date with my friends to go cycling!.....ya lah, I dunno how to cycle....they decided to like make it a mission ("impossible") to teach me cycling yesterday. Failed lah...failed so badly....keke....luckily we rented like 2 single cyclist bicycles and 1 duo cyclist bicycle. So A and AK had to take turns to ride the duo bicycle with me...hehe....but tiring wo. See pple cycle like very easy and relaxing leh, how come I felt so tired cycling?

We also stopped a while at an area in East Coast Park where they had water skiing activity. People on surfboards hold on to a bar connected to a wired mechnism tat brings them round and round a pond/lake like place. Most of the participants are caucasians...think Ang Mos are more open to outdoor activities as such. Think Asians are generally more kia si...or maybe its Singaporeans who are less participative in outdoor sports. Anyway, it was good fun watching guys and girls splashing smack into the water! Must hurt.

Sudden rain cut short our fun at the coast...but it was time to return the bicycles anyway and we headed to Parkway Parade for some cooling off and lunch. The workout on the bicycle actually killed off my appetite for the afternoon...was only thirsty and wanted to replenish water content in my body.

It was regular window shopping then and the next highlight came after AK and K went off. Not wanting to head home though we were sticky and dirty from the morning exercise, I explored the Tanjong Katong area with A. Remembered passing the area once and there was a lot of eating places (cafes and restaurants) and a particular cafe left an impression on me coz the shop-front look soooo kawaiii...and its name is also special "with a pinch of salt...."

Our first step into the cafe. It is no doubt a family eating place. Lots of kids on other tables but not those young noisy kind of kids...older primary and above. The place was decorated with much care and warmth, creating a very cozy ambience.

A look through the menu...they serve an array of western food, pizzas, pasta, salads, desserts, etc. Good variety if u like western.

Here's the link for the cafe/restaurant: http://www.withapinchofsalt.com.sg/

I have mentally listed this as one of my new haunt with friends. Eating there was such a joy....u have to try to know.

Bring my thoughts back to another cafe I went to with K and M previously...serving cakes and drinks. Memories of the place in Victorian decoration (wondered if I remembered wrongly) but its unique...its "The Cheesecake Cafe" near Siglap Centre. I totally cannot recall how to get there but would love to revisit the place....must find time. Thanks to M, here's the link to the cafe:
http://www.thecheesecakecafe.sg/

Now pple...go enjoy the cafes....see! I share...

Back To The Mountains

2009-11-04T22:10:00.002+08:00

2 days MC is over.

2 days of sleeping, eating, k-drama and gaming...the type of anti-social lifestyle tat I missed quite a bit. Not tat I was in solitude the whole 2 days, I still do intereact with my parents and other gamers online. Its just tat to "nua" at home seems like a luxury sometimes.

Anyways, back to the mountains of files surrounding my work desk and the endless work awaiting my return. Felt a rush of helplessness in the morning while trying to grasp wat happened during my 2 days of absence but things flowed into the usual momentum and bit by bit I did my work. Had wanted to do OT and finish more work but I gave in to the urge to leave and left the rest of the work till tomorrow. There is only SO much a person with 1 brain and 2 hands can do.

2 things caught my attention at my office today.

1 - The stupid idiot cum public enemy cum the most hated person in the office is SO free at work (with probably nothing to do at work) tat I could hear him talk and laugh loudly on his personal calls. Then he walked to another colleague's table a number of times to eat tidbits, then he went back to his seat and continuously make the "clucking" sound of clearing his teeth....ARGHHHH!!!! ASSHOLE!!!

2 - There is a rumoured couple in our office currently (a woman known to be married with kid and her rumoured adultor who is also years younger than her...this same woman is rumoured to have a different adultor before this one who is also working in our office) and they would take leaves/medical leaves coincidentally and try to be discreet abt their affairs which is already widespread and known among all colleagues. So the 2 of them supposedly went on leave together last weekend and came back to work this week.

Shock! when I saw the woman this late afternoon...she was not just sunburnt like wat I heard from other colleagues...she was like charred! And her face was also burnt...think she couldnt put on makeup and her usual cake-like face (she usually put on loads of makeup tat they form thick layers of disguise) looked like HELL. I wonder if I saw wrong but I thought I saw hints of brown strokes marking under each of her eyes....looks like those war paints tat pple draw on themselves. No idea wat tat was abt so I will try to check it out tomorrow when I see her in the office.

Work is bearable today except for the irritating sounds coming from tat idiot but am glad its wednesday and I only have to hear those sounds for 2 more days before my ears get a break.

2 Days MC

2009-11-02T10:58:00.003+08:00

Woke up this morning...Day 3 since my sudden loss of voice...regained abt half my voice by now but I cant speak a proper full sentence without either my voice breaking up or suddenly stopping coz no sound came out...unless the sentence is short. :P

Topping it up, got phelgm in my throat and my nose felt wet when I woke up...so suspect the flu and cough are emerging too...well, come join the party flu and cough! Why wait?

Remembered tat my boss told me she got something for me to do today at work...so, deliberating between being a good worker and go to work OR taking care of myself and my health and go see a doc and rest. The latter won, I love myself more than my work. Yay! I think its a rather smart choice. Not as if the office or my boss will give me a "Most Hardworking Employee" award for turning up at work sick.

U must all learn to take good care of urself before anything else k! Nothing can compensate u for ur health. And no one other than urself should be worth it.

Anyway, called office to report tat I am on 2 days MC (the doc decided to give me flu and cough medicine too...so I took all the medicine he gave me) and of all the people, had to hear an idiot answer my call....yeah, idiot = public enemy = most hated person I EVER met at work.

Why is he an idiot? Among other things, a simple conversation and he couldnt make out wat I said...(though my voice was breaking up, but look at the sentence structure! how could he have heard wrongly?! I think probably its coz his english really jialat...so he couldnt understand me):

I: "I am on 2 days MC"

Idiot: "You are on MC today?"

I: "2 days MC"

Idiot: "Today or 2 days?"

I: "2 days lah, today and tomorrow."

Wah lau, if I meant to say I am on 1 day MC, I would tell him "I am on MC today". The word MC will come before today mah....stupid idiot he is!

Ok, no point getting upset over this kind of people. Going to rest now. Till next time.

"Mumms" The Word

2009-10-31T15:50:00.002+08:00

.............................................................................................

?

!

Oh! hahaha....tot coz I cant talk today then I also cant say a word here. LOL.

Hmm...I suffered from sore throat the past few days and was on the brink of developing a cough and more. Started coughing slightly yesterday and it progressed to a full phelgm stage when I woke upat 3pm plus just now. Not coughing as much now coz the walls of my throat is dry.

In addition, no voice can be projected out of my mouth now...was croaking on the phone with my mum when I woke up just now. So uncomfortable trying to get her to understand wat I was saying.

:P

Guess my weekend is burnt liao. Cant possibly go out in this condition.

Off to enjoy my k-dramas and gaming!

Michael Jackson's "THIS IS IT" Movie

2009-10-31T00:10:00.011+08:00

I just got back from the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It" and must say tat i had a blast! I am not a MJ fan so was not really expecting much from the movie and only went coz my friend A is a fan and urged me to watch it.

The movie contains footages of MJ's rehearsals for the LIVE concert which was supposed to be held in July but was cancelled due to his sudden death.

The day MJ died, the world lost a talented artist, his fans lost their idol and the stage lost one of the most spectacular performance tat could have been.

I have only been to a handful of concerts but the amazing part is tat I think this movie on footages of MJ's concert rehearsals are even better than those concerts I have been to. If MJ had not died and his concert went through, the visual feasts they prepared will have their audiences gap in awe.

Each song had an opening and closing sequence which incorporate some video footage, special effects and performances/dances on stage. For eg. there was a scene of undeads rising from a graveyard and coming towards the camera in the song "Thriller" while another scene of a little girl wondering in a beautiful forest and falling asleep but waking up to a destroyed forest appeared in "Earth Song".

The songs tat were featured on the movie are as follow:-

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Speechless
Bad
Smooth Criminal
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Jam
They Don't Care About Us
History
Human Nature
The Way You Make Me Feel
I'll Be There
I Want You Back
The Love You Save
Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)
I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Thriller
Threatened
Who Is It
Beat It
Black Or White
Earth Song
Billie Jean
Man In The Mirror
This Is It

At the age of 50 years old, MJ showed stamina singing and dancing to his songs. His dancing was smooth and sleek (not sure how to describe it) showing tat he knew the tempo, beat and flow of his music so well tat his body reacts naturally to the sound of music. Though his dance moves were probably not as sharp as when he was young, they were nonetheless executed expertly.

Wat I find most fascinating is tat even though I knew MJ was a LEGEND, I din realise until then wat a talented artist he was and to wat extent tat talent stretches. His voice was clear and bright as before. Just as his dance moves his singing was also executed expertly...he was able to catch the tempo and flow of the music and when he sings, beautiful lyrics melted with the music at just the right moment.

Based on his singing and dancing, one thing is confirmed....he can FEEL his songs and music! Extraordinary man indeed. How many singers can we say felt the songs they sang?

Anyway, for those who have yet to catch this movie, give it a go if u can still grab some tickets. U will enjoy the movie as I did.

"Wet" Dream Interpretation

2009-10-29T08:38:00.002+08:00

U know wat others always say abt the sub-conscious mind working while everyone is asleep?

Well, I think it might just be true.

I dreamt of searching for a toilet and finally finding one this morning. Actually it happened to me quite a couple of times in the past. Dreams of searching high and low and finally finding the toilet tat I so needed. Only problem with all these dreams are tat the toilets are almost always "open", ie. in public or not enclosed. Sometimes the toilet bowls can come in weird designs too.

Anyway, when I woke up after tat dream, I feel tat my bladder is full and really need to use the toilet. Interesting huh? Was the dream my sub-conscious calling out to me tat I need to relieve myself? Would I really urinate in bed if I dun wake up in time from my dream?

Hmm....wetting my bed...in a very different sense...LOL!

Baby Steps Back Into Blogging

2009-10-27T09:23:00.002+08:00

I am going to take "baby steps" on my journey back to blogging. ^_^

Love u all, my friends out there who regularly check my blog to see for recent updates and how disappointed u must be to see tat I was missing for like 2 months! OMG!

Anyway, besides the common excuse that I was busy with work and personal life tat I did not have time to blog. The long absence from blogging also made it harder to again write posts abt my thoughts and feelings.

Ok, so the baby steps will mean I will start off again with shorter posts every now and then...sound like a plan? Good! Then, tats all for this post...hehe...

Win ur very own LV bag!

2009-08-28T20:50:00.002+08:00

Cant say tat I am into branded bags and stuff but some of my frens do.

Happened across this contest and decided to just join in and try my luck. Its really easy to enter this contest, just click below and follow the instructions...who knows, maybe u will walk away with ur very own LV bag!

Batam Adventure - 7 to 9 Aug 2009

2009-08-11T11:10:00.004+08:00

Happy Belated 44th National Day, Singapore!

Am late in my well wishes on blog not coz I was not in Singapore this National Day but simply that I was too busy to go online after I got back from Batam on Sunday. Havent really touched my computer the whole weekend coz I went to Batam with H and S, to leech on H and her family's hospitality.

We met up at Harbourfront after work last Friday to take the Wavemaster Ferry which departed at 8pm plus. Only 45 minutes ferry ride and we were picked up by H's brother, chauffered to their shophouse (where we stayed for 2 nights) and brought out for dinner.

Shiok ar! No brainer...I just followed and act like "sua-ku" a.k.a. mountain tortoise coz it was my first time in Indonesia. I am not really a fan for visiting neighbouring countries, will go when the opportunity arise but will not seek to go visit, my vietnam trip also lidat mah.

Anyway, things in Batam is cheaper than in Singapore and reminds me of Johor Bahru last time before it became so commercialized. A 2hrs KTV session for 3 pax in Batam cost abt 280,000 rupiah (est. S$41+) inclusive of a drink each. 2nd Night we also went KTV and only 2 of us ordered drinks and the bill only came up to abt 215,000 rupiah (est. S$31+). Cheap lor.

We did a 90 mins full body massage for only 90,000 rupiah (est. S$13+) per pax! Plus a bit of tips still cheap. The manicure and pedicure there was in the region of 100,000 rupiah (est. S$14+) and 80,000 rupiah (est. S$ 11+) respectively but we ran out of time and money, so cannot pamper our fingers and toes...awwwww.....wasted!

And though we have Breadtalk and J.Co donuts in Singapore, they are Halal certified in Batam and of course cheaper! I managed to get 6 donuts for only 31,000 rupiah (est. S$4.50+)...hmm, must remember tat I still owe S for the donuts.

I even managed to find A&W fast food restaurants in Batam! Gosh, I miss A&W!!! The root beer float, chicken and waffles...yummy....enjoyed the chicken and root beer for old time's sake...waffles would have to wait.

As the usual lousy blogger I am, I didnt bring my camera (coz I thought there is no sight to be taken) and so no picture to show here. S did take a few shots though...maybe I can get from her. "S!!!!! Can email me the pictures u took in Batam?"

Honorary Credit Card User

2009-08-02T11:51:00.000+08:00

I was clearing my stuff a few days back, lots of old bills and receipts tat I have kept over the years for god knows why. Had abt 3 clear folders full of them and they date all the way back to year 2002! Can u imagine? - 7 years worth of receipts and bills!!!

Ok, tat sounds like mountains, I correct myself...they are only credit card bills and receipts.

I had a great time going through and remembering where I have been to, what I have bought, where I have eaten, etc during this past 7 years.

I got my first Subsidiary Credit Card (from my Sis-in-law) in 2002. I was going for my very first overseas trip by PLANE!...yah lah, age 23 then take plane for the first time in my life. PERTH, AUSTRALIA - QANTAS AIRWAY - WINDOW SEAT. It was a great experience watching the landscape getting smaller and smaller, then finally disappear under the clouds.

Realised tat certain important events in my life can be seen from the receipts and bills.

2002 - 1st trip to Perth, Australia
2002 - memorable dinner at Equinox, costing $150+ for 2 pax

2003 - enrolled in SIM 2 years part-time degree course

2005 - permed my hair for the first time (digital perm @ $300+)
2005 - 2nd trip to Perth, Australia

2007 - bought my PSP
2007 - joined True Yoga membership for 2 years

2008 - 1st trip to Brisbane, Australia
2008 - Firm's trip to Hanoi, Vietnam
2008 - Trip to Hongkong
2008 - Family trip to Genting, Malaysia

2009 - 2nd trip to Brisbane, Australia

But the most amazing fact I discovered is tat...abt 70% of the receipts are for F&B - food and beverages! I dun mean the total value of my spendings but just by the number of receipts. Scary. And also its eye-popping to see for a fact how much a person can spend in a mere 7 years, I dun even dare to total up the spendings.

Have u checked ur bills too??? Go on, its rather interesting.

Twitter

2009-07-28T19:15:00.003+08:00

Twitter - sounds like Tweeter...conjures images of birds chirping.

I first came in contact with this word at Xiaxue's blog. It looks like a tagboard thingy she placed on her blog and there were messages left there from her and her friends but its different in tat pple dun type out their messages on the message board itself, they need to have an account with Twitter and enter messages either via their handphones or through the website textbox.

Too complicated? Well, I am not too sure myself.

Decided to try it out and just created a Twitter account, will be putting my Twitter updates on my blog, watch for my updates!

PS: My old tagboard will still remain for my friends who doesnt have Twitter account and still wana leave me messages.

Eclipse: 22-07-2009, 9.00am

2009-07-22T08:46:00.004+08:00

Heard from colleagues that there is supposed to be an Eclipse this morning.

All I see is dark grey sky and rain...zzzzzzzzzzzzz...dun think I can differentiate the two.

Work has been hectic since my previous post, will try to update with new posts once I get my brains back.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a separate note:

Any of u having problems with ur PC/Laptop? Can call these guys (will put up a sidelink so tat u can find this contact again in future):

http://classifieds.mocca.com/node/500713

* Think I need to get my eeepc fixed soon....think spyware might have invaded the system....sad...though I heard tat the fastest solution is to format the hard disk and then reload everything...sianz...

Reasons Why an ASSHOLE is an ASSHOLE

2009-07-07T10:06:00.011+08:00

Think I probably reached tat period in my current job tat I dread coming to work coz I have to be in close proximity of people I dislike and hate (some of them lah, of coz there are people I get along with). Short of dragging my feet to work, find it hard to smile these days at work (hmm..or am I having PMS? :P )

Anyway, signals are out tat I shld start looking for way out of the current situation...a new job!

So, anyone got good recommendation???

I know jolly well tat one shldnt leave his/her job just coz of some idiot colleagues...but once the atmosphere at work changed to an unbearable degree...well, wat else can I say but "sianzzzzz"...

Plus I think its abt time I move on to some other place where I can learn more...getting to a saturation point here.

Lend me ur ears (ok lah, eyes for this case since this is a blog) while I complain abt this one particular ASSHOLE who (I believe strongly) created the whole unfriendly, uncooperative, unmotivational atmosphere at my workplace. For those who follow my blog and read my past entry on the "Public Enemy"...well, this is the same person but upgraded to ASSHOLE status. I am not even going to put disclaimer this time coz I bloody hell feel strongly on this topic and there is absolutely no need to be apologetic abt it.

The ASSHOLE is a/an:-

1. TROUBLEMAKER => He sows discords among colleagues by encouraging disputes and disagreements. Ever since some colleagues be-friended him coz of his designation (ie. he needed supporters, they needed a backer), he has caused bad working relation among colleagues. One who used to be helpful previously has now become a complaint king. He even told some colleagues not to help some of us to answer phonecalls. -_-

2. UNHYGENIC FELLA => He has a habit of sucking at his own teeth as if clearing them and making really annoying sounds while he does tat. He also coughs and sneezes into the air, not bothering to cover his mouth and nose while doing so. U might argue tat if he does all tat while at his cubicle, there is nothing we can complain abt...well wrong! He does all tat while walking around the office and sometimes while he collect printouts from the printer next to me. Positively disgusting!

3. "TAI-JI" MASTER => Nothing is his fault. Every error, mistake, problem, etc are other people's fault.

4. BOOTLICKER => He practically LICKS the floor tat his bosses walk passed and not just their boots. He targets and gets into the good books of the bosses one by one, giving praises and showcasing his talent at curry-flavouring.

5. BACKSTABBER => He pushes the blame of something he doesnt know how to do/solve to others. Our external IT support guys had to take the blame many times coz of this. As for internal people, well all mistakes are always others'...remember? Also to add tat he has the habit of digging info from conversing with people and then say "he/she said this/that" to a 3rd party.

6. NOISE POLLUTANT => He regularly and persistently imposes his lousy and outdated singing on those sitting near his workstation.

7. STINGY FOOL => How much can u save just by cutting the green tea and hand soap supplies in the office? And wats up with the 1 to 1 pen exchange policy? Stationery ordering which MUST be approved by him, even for a single pen??? Ridiculous.

8. ****-ING AH GUA => (Very sorry to those of you who might be Gay but are VERY VERY NICE people and happen to read this post...I meant as no insult to u....its just HIM). The way he talks to guys (eg. one of our IT support guy) sounded as if he is flirting with them. Hello?!! Workplace!!! There was one incident he was having this verbal sparring with tat IT guy and it definitely sounded like a "lovers' spat".

9. SMARTALECK => He tries to be the "know-it-all". When he debates with people over a certain topic/issue, u will like hear the words "listen to me" either in english or mandarin. Then he will insist he is right abt every topic of conversation. And even if he doesnt know the answer to a certain question and say someone else answers tat question, he will add "I also thought so" or "that's what I was thinking".

10. FAKEY => The way he laughs at some jokes...just one word - FAKE.

11. POOR DRESSER => His dressing is just all wrong. Mondays to Thursdays are not too bad coz guys cannot go too wrong with shirts and pants. But we had a few shocks on the first few fridays when he came dressed in bright orange or yellow colours.

12. LEECH => He is those kind of people who doesnt do much actual work in the office and only knows how to delegate work to others while he sits in his cubicle whole day calling and planning his next overseas trip. In game terms, we call this behaviour leeching coz u dun do any work and yet get experience = He doesnt do any work and get paid.

13. PRETENTIOUS IDIOT=> He pretends to be concerned/caring for some colleagues but always sounded like he has hidden meanings to wat he says. Eg. He told our pantry auntie, "Ah Soh, you have been in this firm for so long already, why didnt you go learn to speak English huh? You should go learn mah." - Not as if he is going to sponsor/make the firm sponsor auntie to the english language course right?

14. EAVESDROPPER => I lost count of the number of times he eavesdrop on our conversations coz we are unfortunately his neighbours in the office. How did I know he eavesdrop? Coz he interrupts mid-way through our conversations (be it personal or work-related conversations).

15. PEEPING TOM => Ok, I dun know wat phrase to describe this really. As he is the administrator of our IT system in the office, he actually have access to read EVERYONE's emails. Ethically, one wouldnt read others' emails unless u are checking on something. But he made it plain tat he reads our emails lor, even personal emails.

Decided to stop listing any other reasons for the asshole he is coz I am quite sure the above reasons explain my point sufficiently.

ASSHOLE's Email

2009-07-06T11:36:00.004+08:00

Received the following email from the ASSHOLE public enemy from my office (read my previous emails to know who this person is).

Hi Christine,

I understand you are very tire (he even spelled wrongly).

I saw
you dozing off a couple of times this morning but is not
appropriate. Hope you understand. Thank you.

Yah yah, I doze off sometimes at work. But hey, I still do my work k...and if I dun finish my work coz I dozed off, I will automatically stay back overtime to do it...I am NOT eating the company's time anyway.

But I do realise tat I have to watch myself next time so tat he doesnt go make "small report" to bosses...sigh...hate it since he joined the firm...no peace after he came.

I decided to prepare a draft email to him (give him back his own medicine) which I WILL send to him the next time he sings and irritates me and the message goes:

Dear ASSHOLE (name will of coz be replaced to actual name when I email),

Understand that you have a passion in singing and probably love to share your passion with people.

However, as some of us do need to concentrate on our work, it will be highly appreciated if you could please refrain from imposing your singing on us. Also a gentle note that the office is hardly the appropriate place for this activity, why not go to a karaoke lounge to sing to your heart's content?

Thank you.

Regards,
Christine

Starting a WAR?

Maybe...but it will definitely give me a sense of satisfaction, so why not...not as if he will be any nicer to me anyway.

Tiramisu Hunt 5 - 8/10

2009-07-05T18:38:00.028+08:00

Marvellous Cream.

I discovered this ice cream palour along City Hall Link and was absolutely fascinated by the mere shop outlook.

They also serve Tiramisu ice cream which is in essence different from the Tiramisu cakes and mousse I have tried so far.

Minus the fact tat they freeze to store the Tiramisu and I had to wait some time for it to thaw, it has a great taste. But one has to dig all the way in to eat a well mixture of all the layers in the cup.

Tastes like ice cream with a very strong coffee plus alcohol taste at the bottom layer of cake mix.

Tiramisu @ Marvellous Cream

A cute display of ingredients for the ice cream in the shop. I am quite sure they are made of wax and beautifully coloured to keep the fresh look. But they still look tasty anyway.

Following are snap shots of the staff mixing the ice cream with whatever other ingredients in the flavour u ordered.

Cool huh.

I ordered Hazelnut something de...forget the full name but it really tasted MARVELLOUS!

Tiramisu Hunt 4 - 8/10

2009-07-05T18:05:00.018+08:00

Have heard of the bakery/cafe named Bakerzin for some time but only had the chance to try the cakes and coffee there recently.

First time I stepped in with K and AK to have chocolate cake there...it was tasty.

Saw Tiramisu there and so I returned to try their Tiramisu during my next visit.

Tiramisu @ Bakerzin

Instead I fell in love with their Raspberry Cheesecake. Smooth cheese blended into cake leaving a soft texture. The Raspberry sauce on top add sweetness to the otherwise cheesy taste, which is a rather great combination.

Tiramisu Hunt 3 - 7/10

2009-07-05T16:34:00.008+08:00

The hunt brought me to a patisserie in Tampines One, the new shopping mall right next to Tampines MRT.

This time its the mousse-like type Tiramisu. The alcohol and coffee used is stronger than the one from Prego but Prego's won in terms of texture and overall taste.

I decided on doing the rating for the Tiramisu after all. So i shall also go back to the first 2 hunts and add in the ratings as well. Rating max is 10.

Upates - 5 July 2009

2009-07-05T03:38:00.014+08:00

Another long while since I blogged...first I was busy with work, then I got lazy, kept procrastinating whether to start penning my thoughts down in blog...then I got hooked to some new online games, 2 MMORPGs actually.

One being somewhat similar to MapleStory in tat its mainly keyboard controls and its side scrolling format. DRAGONICA - check it out - http://dragonica.iahgames.com/site/default.aspx

The other reminds me of Shaiya. Its more mouse control and needs less cocentration tan Dragonica. The shortcut keys were less friendly than wats in Shaiya but still fun after u get used to playing it. Now the game is temporarily unavailable as it was in Closed Beta and I am waiting for the Open Beta from 9 July 2009. YULGANG - go play together with me - http://yulgang.asiasoftsea.net/

Amidst gaming, I still do got out with friends and was not always stuck at home, so frens, u dun hav to worry abt me ^_^

I went with K and M to the airport one evening to eat dinner. While shopping in the FairPrice at Terminal 3, we met someone familiar! - Ah Gong!!???

No, its......

"Dao Ba 刀疤" Ah Gong with a Scar

He is ALMOST as cute as my real Ah Gong.

Infamous "K" with 刀疤 Ah Gong

Into Bleach, the anime series? K introduced it to me some time ago...absolutely love it! If u are into Japanese anime, u shld watch it too: http://4bleach.com/

Anyway, talking abt favourite characters in the anime...mine is Hitsugaya Toushirou. And K's favourite is Abarai Renji...and this is his famous...

Zabimaru (a gift to K)

Guess almost everyone have seen the recent Heineken TV ad where the story goes tat there was a party going on, the lady host showed a few female guests around the house and then to a walk-in closet where she kept her clothes, shoes and accessories. The group of women screams hysterically. They stopped screaming when they heard a not so distant roar tat sounded like from a group of men. Next scene was of the group of men screaming loudly and bowing over in a room full of Heineken beer, cans and bottles.

In my opinion, this TV ad is just brilliant! One of the best, meaningful and straight to the point.

Then I went to Harry's Bar at Suntec with A one night and saw this poster ad on Guinness beer. Ahh....such a long time since I heard of Guinness...but then I guess its coz I am not really into drinking beer mah...LOL.

Guiness Light Up Poster

I am more into other drinks....like

Hot Chocolate (from McDonald, its a bit plain...and the cocoa taste is not distinct enuff)

My bro's car needed fresh spray paint job coz he carelessly scrapped the side of his car and tat portion was rusting away.

Patch Job (on the rusting part) - $300

Spray Paint Job (including patching) - $1,400

Process of choosing spray paint colour - PRICELESS

The hassle of choosing a new colour for the car with ur family. My bro was outstationed when my parents got the quote for a spray paint job on his car. Wanting to take the opportunity while he was away to send the car for spray paint, which takes abt 1 week, they kept pressing me to sms/email my bro abt the colour. Hello? How to accurately discuss colour over the internet??!!!

Gosh, my dad was actually suggesting light gold/champagne colour...alamak! Ah Pek's (old man) colour lor!!! Why? Well, check out the goldish/champagne colour cars on the street.

As my bro couldnt decide given the lousy descriptions and bad samples of colours I found on the internet, my parents got a bit hasty and decided the colour without him (OMG right?...shld have waited for him to come back la).

Shall skip all the minor details of the hassle we went through in the process but the final decision turned out quite alright - Greyish Purple.

Ta-da...!

Last short note before I start my postings on my Tiramisu hunts.

NOTICE:

IDIOT WHO PRETENDED TO BE READING/REPLYING SMS WHEN HE CUT MY QUEUE DURING LUNCH TIME AT LAU PA SAT.

I was highly tempted to scold him on the spot but I din wana make a scene.

Attitude

2009-06-24T08:45:00.002+08:00

Economy seems to be picking up as my work is also picking up. Good or bad? Personally I think its good lah, at least soon there will be less unemployed people around.

I happen to come across this interesting email from a friend...yah, probably one of those forwarded emails but since its good, I am sharing with all of u.

Here goes (*Credit to dunno whoever wrote this email...but I edited some of the grammar):

"Talk about thinking out of the box...

If your company, Comb manufacturers assigned you to sell combs to monks in the temples? Can you do it?

What is your answer?
a) No Way, Impossible
b) Crazy
c) I will give it a try in order to follow my boss' instruction
d) Well, I will try.
e) Ya, I think I can sell ??? (5pcs? 10pcs? 50pcs? or more...you name it)

Pick an answer above and read below to find out if you are/you are going to be a successful person or not at all .

The Story: SELLING COMB TO THE MONKS =======================================
There was a company manufacturing combs which intends to expand its business and so the management wanted to employ a new Sales Manager. The company ADVERTISED the vacancy in the newspaper. They were so many people turning up for the interview everyday.... and soon it accumulated to almost a hundred people in just a few days...

The Company then have the problem of choosing the right candidate for the position. So, the company interviewer set A Difficult Task to those who want to come for the final interview.

The Task is to : Sell Combs To Monks In Temples

Only 3 Applicants stayed on for this Final Interview challenge - Mr A , Mr B & Mr C. The Chief Interviewer instructed: "Now I want the three of you here to sell these wooden combs to monks in the temples. You only have 10 days to do it and report to me after that ."

After 10 days, they reported back. The Chief Interviewer asked Mr A: How many have you sold? Mr A answered: Only one. The Chief Interviewer asked: How did you manage to sell? Mr A answered: The monks in the temples scolded me when I showed them the combs. But on my way back downhill I met a young monk who bought it to scratch his head due to dandruff".

The Chief Interviewer then asked Mr B: How many did you sell? Mr B replied: 10 pieces.. I went to a shrine and noticed that many devotees' hair were in bad shape due to the strong winds outside the shrine. The monk in there listened to my advice and bought 10 combs for their devotees in showing respect to the Buddha statue.

Then, The Chief Interviewer asked Mr C: How about you? Mr C replied: 1,000 units. The Chief Interviewer and the other 2 interviewees were astounded. The Chief Interviewer asked: How did you do that? Mr C replied: I went to a famous temple. After observing for a few days, I discovered that there were many tourists. I then told the Chief Abbot there. "Sifu, those who come here are much devoted. If you could give them a gift, they will be elated." I told him that I have a bulk of combs and asked him to raft his handwriting on the combs as a present to those visited. He was very delighted and straight away ordered 1,000 pieces .

End of Story.

MORAL OF THE STORY : HARVARD UNIVERSITY had done a research that says :-
1) 85% of success is due to attitude and 15% is due to capability
2) Attitude is more important than intelligence, specials skills and luck. In another word, professional knowledge only constitutes for 15% of success of a person and 85% is due to self-cultivation, public relation and adaptability ability.

Still remember the story on Selling Shoes to Africans? When 2 salesmen were sent to that continent, one of them reported: Cannot do it. No one wears shoes there? The second salesman said: It is good to market. A lot of opportunities. Success and Failure is dependant on how we face problems.

Do you know that eagles live up to about 70 years of age? But when an eagle reaches about 40 years old, its claws start to age and it cannot grab its preys. It is also not able to fly as well. So, it is time for the eagle to make a choice: wait for its death or go through a renewal process. If it chooses to live, it must try its best to fly to the top of a hill. And on the hill top/summit, it will stay for 150 days. It will hit its feathers onto the stone so that they will drop and wait for the new ones to grow. After the feathers have grown out which takes about 150 days, it will continue its balance 30 years life.

Remember, when the economic is good, there are people going bankrupt. When business is bad, there are many new millionaires produced as well. So, apply now the 85% right working attitude fully.

All the best!"

Inspiring? U decide.

Humour

2009-06-12T19:04:00.005+08:00

I finally decided to polish up this post after starting the draft at the beginning of this month. Took me a whole 2 weeks...and only after a fren asked me why I did not update my blog for so long and tat she's looking forward to reading my blog....awww....so sweet! Thanks JK!! Thanks also to the rest of u who read/follow my blog but have yet to tell me that u love reading my blog!!! :P

Did you know that Humour can pull a person through difficult times by letting one see the "lighter" side of things and not to take things too hard? Also not to take life too hard.

Humour can also brighten a person's day simply coz it puts a smile on our face. After a hard day's work or a disheartening event, we can all do with a smile.

At least tat's wat I think.

My work schedule has picked up and my days now seems pretty packed to the max...I dun really have enuff time to rest and sleep...no time for gaming either....

Now I stayed back more at work than the previous months, trying to clear backlots and forever trying to close case files but not having the time to even get started.

Ok enuff abt work...wats good these days are: MY FRIENDS!!!

Through my busy schedule, I make time to meet friends for dinners, movies, coffee sessions, shopping, etc...and with those dates/appointments, I get my fair share of laughters which is of coz good for my well being.

I went to Clarke Quay for a drink on one Monday night with A after doing OT till abt 10pm. Monday night at Clarke Quay was like a haunted night..not many souls out there drinking and making merry. Just lonely and some tired souls trying to drink off their weariness. Maybe for me too. So we had a drink at this pub call "La Noir" which seems to be the only pub with some decent music playing. The fun came when 3 SPGs lookalike girls approach the bar counter and ordered drinks. We started this debate session on whether these girls are really "guys"? Keke...I still think they are just SPGs out fishing for "cai tou" ang mohs (ie. stupid caucasians who will pay for them). Anyway, we left the pub at 12mn with only 1 of the initial 3 SPGs in sight, still hovering at the bar counter waiting to be picked up...woahh....business is quiet on mondays....so is business for SPGs on Monday...LOL!

Met up with J for some coffee/tea after knocking off from work one Thursday (after flying her kite/plane on our dinner date coz I had to do OT tat night). We went to our favourite haunt for our little chit chat session - Starbucks at Compass Point, Sengkang. I again ordered my favourite Earl Grey tea and chat with her on her updates on work and mine. I wonder if the nonsense started when I played with the bears in Starbucks which were on display on a table next to ours.

My itchy fingers went to push one of the bear's face into a mug and left it there for a while. Some moments later when I turned around, the bear is gone! Spooky? Or maybe its one of the Starbucks staff who saw me and decided to put the bear out of its misery of bending over into a mug?

Then I decided to place the remaining bears in awkward positions and take some snap shots quickly before I get caught...hehe!

Starbucks Bear Vomitting?

Starbucks Bear Shitting?

Starbuck Bears Shitting & Vomitting! (*and u wondered why he was vomitting? LOL)

Very bo liao? Issit? Haha...

The night ended with me babbling nonsense to J (think I might be a little sleepy and blur by then) and kept asking if she wanted to buy something to eat from 7-Eleven or Mr Bean or MacDonald...haha...but I was really full then, had only wanted to munch on something.

Friday night, after I finally put my work down to leave the office, it was quite late when A & I reached East Coast to have dinner at Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. Chilli crab...yum! Aiyah, forgot to take pics of the food! We decided to walk around East Coast Park after the hearty dinner when we saw some signages at pedestrian crossings that are like pictures of a Tortoise? I said some rubbish that the sign meant that whoever crosses is a TORTOISE! LOL...ya lah, indirectly scolding pple...hahaha...so whenever we wana walk to the pedestrian crossings, I would say "Whoever crosses is a tortoise!".....ROFL!

The only set back was that I had a slight diarrhoea condition around 3am plus which I initially thought was from the Long Beach Seafood...but found out from colleagues that it was caused by the Bryani which was catered in our office that friday afternoon.

Went shopping a lot with K lately, either too much money or too much time to spend? Neither lah...its just coz we cant think of other things to do...anyway its Great Singapore Sale now! So there we were at Marina walking past a Bebe shop when I commented "Bebe's clothes are like for people with big boobs huh." K replied "Yah lor...'xiong da wu nao' (ie. bimbos without brains)...coz the mannequins have no head mah!"....hahaha....we burst out laughing at that...a bit of a lame joke but it makes a lot of sense too...dun get wat I am saying? Go take a look at Bebe's mannequins.......

Had dinner with K and her friend AK at Suntec one evening. It was shopping first, then met AK, ate at Swiss Culture restaurant and had dessert and coffee/tea at Bakerzin. Friends of K all know tat she has a soft spot for branded bags, mostly LV. We were talking abt her bags and suddenly AK started weaving this story out of nowhere...

One day K was happily walking along the street carrying one of her branded bag (say LV bag) when a car hits her. She fell on the road hurt and bleeding while her LV bag flew and landed some distance away. The ambulance arrived and quickly went to her aid. But K anxiously pleaded with the medics, "Save my LV bag first! Save my LV bag!". The medics picked the LV bag up and put it on the stretcher. They brought the LV bag into the ambulance and drove off to the hospital. Behind K painfully got up and hailed a cab to follow the ambulance to the hospital, bleeding away... Upon reaching the hospital, the medics put the LV bag on a wheeled bag and rushed it to the emergency room while K got off the cab and barely able to walk, she staggered and drag herself in pursuit of her LV bag, bleeding away... "Save my LV bag...save my LV bag please..."

LMAO, academy award winner wo...such an imaginative story. Bow to AK!

Sick humour, bo liao humour, cute humour....just need to be humourous...

Getting Lethargic

2009-05-28T08:26:00.000+08:00

Maybe its tat time of the year again...when I start feeling lethargic and feel like travelling or moving on to something exciting...but this time the feeling came sooner than I expected (since I went for my last trip to Brisbane in Feb).

Work is starting to pick up, or maybe just coz I have been delaying some work and now the back lots are piling up way high...time to start clearing work...sigh...means OT (without the OT incentive). Think I gotta too comfortable with the "leave on the dot" lifestyle tat staying late at work is really tiring...and my gaming time is compromised as well....double sigh...

I was checking out the Mobile Blogging function offered by Blogger just now. Seems really cool to be able to post blog entries through mobile phones, that way, we can capture our thoughts/sights at the first instance...so many of my interesting thoughts and sights were lost by the time I sit down in front of the computer to blog.

Unfortunately, I realised that mobile blogging through SMS using normal mobile phone is only available in US and to be able to do mobile blogging through email, I need to use a mobile phone with the email function...sob sob....I need a Blackberry or iPhone!!! Who can sponsor me one???

Anyway, back to situation at work. Work environment seems to be deteriorating by the day. The EVIL forces are growing in strength and power, headed by non other than the Public Enemy (click link to see my previous post on him)!

Why do I call them evil? Simply becoz these pple are trouble-makers/rumour mongers who stirs up trouble/spread rumours, causing hurt and harm to others...curse them! How I miss the peaceful days before. Now that our lunch group friends are dwindling in numbers, I wonder how much long I would be hanging on in this firm...seems like time to look for a new job but with the current economic situation, common sense tells me I gotta hang on a bit more....counting down.......

Going to start work in 30 mins time...no time to blog, unless I wana work OT again.

Tiramisu Hunt 2 - 7.5/10

2009-05-16T11:06:00.004+08:00

I chanced upon some forum comments on cakes on offer at Intercontinental Singapore after dunno wat time (yah yah, I din read the post properly) and there was some mention of Tiramisu in their.

So, when I was shopping and having dinner at Bugis one evening, I decided to go there and check out the dessert menu.

The Olive Tree Restaurant at Intercontinental Hotel, Singapore. I have been there for buffet lunch once and the food is quite good...hotel standard I should say.

Anyway, I was there that evening and saw a queue at the counter for take-outs and the cakes and pastries were selling fast. As I had wanted to enjoy my dessert and some tea maybe, I asked the concierge if they serve cakes in the restaurant itself, which they do...but I was told that if I bought the cake for take-away, its at half the price they charge u if u ate in the restaurant! Preposterous!

So I bought the cake for take-away and ate at MacDonalds with a nice Ice Milo rather than my favourite Earl Grey Tea (only available at cafes and restaurants, not fast food).

Tiramisu Cake from Olive Tree Restaurant @ Intercontinental

3 layers of coffee flavoured cake (I wonder if there was a tint of liquour taste as well) with soft cream in-between topped with a layer of chocolate powder and chocolate pieces for decoration.

Based on the taste and texture, Prego's Tiramisu (from my first hunt) won hands down. But I guess u cant compare cakes with tat...so comparing with other Tiramisu cakes I have eaten before (Coffee Bean, Starbucks, etc), this one is good!

So, anyone know of places which serve tasty Tiramisu?

Random pictures

2009-05-15T11:16:00.002+08:00

Was organizing my collection of photos in my hard disks and realised that I have some interesting (though bo liao) pictures which have not been posted on my blog yet.

So, decided to just post them for amusement purposes...that is if they are amusing to u...keke.

Panda-Me (Reminds me of me ^_^ )

Me & My Sweet Ah Gong (I was pretending to be asleep...doesnt it just look soooo natural?)

I discovered an interesting thing recently, that is, ever since my mum started helping my bro take care of Charmaine & Ray, her world seems to revolve around them (of coz I know its naturally so).

She would pick them from school and baby-sit them till their parents are home, while during those times, she will be a part of their childhood and growing up. She will get to hear/see first-hand all the intelligent, smart, funny, weird and naughty things they say and/or do. I only get to hear my mum re-tell those tales and it was fun enough just to listen...so I think they must be a bundle of joy to her though they might irritate her sometimes too.

Now, the interesting part.....as my mum also cooks for them, she started cooking things tat Charmaine and Ray likes...(I still remember the Corn Soup horror! - available in a really old blog post of mine which I am too lazy to look for and link here)...and I discovered these:-

Smiley Face Star-Shaped Yong Tau Foo (it just tastes like fishcake)
Golden-Brown Breaded Fried Chicken Nuggets in Funny Shapes

This one is in shape of a Plane

I took a day off some days back to loiter (流浪) around Orchard Road with a good fren and saw a really "Old" fren.....

MR COURTESY LION!

Keke....seems like the government has decided to bring back the Courtesy Campaign Mascot of the past to instill some manners to modern Singaporeans, especially the youngsters.

"Try not to talk too loudly while in public places"

I remember getting a shock when I saw the words on Mr Courtesy Lion tat day coz I read them as "Try not to talk in public places"....zzzzzzz.....haha...I missed out the center 3 words and it made a BIG difference.

Now, some pictures of my dear Ah Gong...

I came home one day and found this scene of crime on my bed! No wait, this is the actual crime in progress...LOL!

Evil Leafy (my Sakae sushi frog) on Poor Ah-Gong

"Hiao" Days Are Here

2009-05-15T09:00:00.003+08:00

Its a woman's prerogative to be vain or "hiao". And although men might complain about women spending too much time or money on beautifying themselves, men cannot deny tat the result of such effort and/or money spent is worthwhile and sometimes rewarding.

Recently I have been exposed to this feminine side of me when a good fren suddenly developed an interest in dolling herself up (I think she finally woke up from her years of hibernation and finally discovered her GIRLY self...hehe).

Its not that I have no knowledge of fashion and cosmetics but think I am just too lazy to doll myself up daily.

Mix-matching clothes, handbags and shoes; hairstyling; manicure & pedicure; make-up; skin-care; grooming; etc....SEE, so much to take care of as a GIRL. Sigh...ya lah, I sort of agree with the saying "There is no such thing as UGLY GIRLS, only LAZY GIRLS", and I just happen to fall in the 2nd category :P

So far, we have been exploring in general areas such as:
1. shopping for clothes, undies, bags and shoes (which we have always been doing lah)
2. manicure & pedicure (we're having fun trying out the colours and using nail art stickers)
3. hairstyling (we tried both the straightening & curling iron but with not much success. No wonder we need salons and our hairstylists...thanks JACK!)
4. make-up (this is a tough area, although I know the basics of how to apply foundation, powder, eyeshadow, blusher and lipstick...I do not really practice. My fren is learning though...maybe in time I will learn together with her or from her how to draw eyeliner and mascara or even put fake lashes.)

Meanwhile, I happened upon this interesting makeup and beauty blogsite by Andy Lee (makeup artist for some Mediacorp Artistes) @ http://andyleemakeup.blogspot.com/

Can find information on some cool new beauty products, makeup tips and even step-by-step makeup instructions in his blog. Kewl...

What were u thinking?

2009-05-13T16:49:00.003+08:00

I havent been updating my blog for quite some time...partly due to my busier work/play schedule and partly due to my laziness (aaa...blogging takes a lot of organizing of thoughts k).

Anyway, I decided to share the following which I took wholly from a forwarded email (credits dunno to who):

A first-grade teacher, Ms Anna (Age 22 ) was having trouble with one of her students.

The teacher asked the boy, 'what is your problem?'

The boy answered, 'I'm too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the third-grade too!'

Ms Anna had enough. She took the boy to the principal's office. While the boy waited at the reception of the office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms Anna he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the first-grade and behave. The boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: 'What is 3 x 3?'

Boy: '9'.

Principal: 'What is 6 x 6?'

Boy: '36'.

So it went with every question the principal thought a third-grade should know The principal looks at Ms Anna and tells her, 'I think Boy can go to the third-grade. ' Ms Anna says to the principal, 'I have some of my own questions, can I ask him?' The principal and Boy both agree.

Ms Anna asks, 'What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?

Boy: after a moment 'Legs.'

Ms Anna: 'What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?'

Boy: 'Pockets.'

Ms Anna: 'What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin whitish liquid'?

Boy: 'Coconut'

Ms Anna: 'What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky'?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, the boy was taking charge. Boy: 'Bubblegum'

Ms Anna: 'What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs'?

The principal's eyes open really wide again and before he could stop the answer.. Boy: 'Shake hands'

Ms Anna: 'Now, I will ask some who am I sort of questions, ok? 'Boy: 'Yep.'

Ms Anna: 'You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do.'

Boy: 'A tent'

Ms Anna: A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first.

The Principal was looking restless and a bit tense He took one large Vodka peg. Boy: 'Wedding Ring'

Ms Anna: I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you blow me, you feel good.

Boy: Nose

Ms Anna: I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.

Boy: Arrow

Ms Anna: What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?

Boy: Firetruck

Ms Anna: What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if you dont get it you have to use your hand.

Boy: Fork

Ms Anna: What is it that all men have one of. It's longer on some men than on others, the pope does not use his, and a man gives it to his wife after they are married?

Boy: Surname

Ms Anna: What part of the man has no bones but has muscles, lots of veins and loves pumping?

Boy: 'Heart'

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher : 'Send this boy to Stanford University ; I myself got all the answers wrong'.

Life's Unexpectancy

2009-04-20T08:58:00.006+08:00

Recently, I have fallen into the routine of going for my twice or thrice weekly swim and mapling at night (Yeah! I am back to MapleStory!) and meeting up with friends for gathering and makan sessions. Busy busy busy...but I am enjoying every minute of it.

Through my busy schedule, I have also experienced lots of emotions through things/occurences happening to me, my friends or pple around me.

Feelings of:~

~ insecurity from unstable jobs held or inability to secure jobs during this economic downturn;
~ fear of having insufficient money to make ends meet;

~ being lost at what one should do in future or which career path to take;

~ despair as one faces the probability of divorce and a broken family for the child;

~ being embarrassed for being left on the shelf and not having found that special someone;

~ sadness for the loss of a dear friend and companion;

VS

~ joy of spending happy times with friends drinking and making merry;

~ being touched that old friends are still there for you even after losing touch for some time;

~ anxiety over meeting new friends;

~ sweetness of dating and finding that someone special;

~ happiness of having someone to care for you and give u encouraging words when needed;

I also just passed a weekend of life's high and low, not the highest or the lowest but sufficient for me to go into another of my self-reflection session.

Besides spending a lot of quality time with myself during my 2 swimming sessions last week (coz both Kim and Mabel were sick...get well soon and stay healthy k!), maple until shiok, I also had a great BBQ time last friday with my colleagues and friends. The BBQ continued to a night of drinking, chatting and prata...lol!

Photos from the BBQ

It was fun hanging out, eating and chatting on a Friday night...reached home abt 5am plus on Sat and decided to stay awake coz I had to collect my new IC (its the regulation that all Singaporean who reaches the age of 30 has to re-register their IC) that morning. So, I mapled from then till I left the house at 10am plus, got my IC and came back ard noon, ate my lunch and continued mapling till a received a very sad news...

One of my maple friend, a 72 year old granny (her family of 3 generations play MapleStory...cool huh), passed away on Sat morning. T_T

I shall skip the details abt her death as it is rather personal and will likely sadden her family if they see this post. But the news came as an utter shock coz we just had a gathering a week before and met her in real life for the very first time. Decided to put up this post in our Maple Guild Blog for all those who knew her leave some messages:

http://kabishms.blogspot.com/2009/04/in-loving-memory-of-granny-xksg1x.html

Then I start recalling what was I doing at the time of her death?

I was mapling... :(

And the hours before while she was suffering?

I was making merry with my friends... :(

Such is life. Happy and Sad events may occur at the same time and space to different people. So sudden. So shocking. So helpless we are to control them...

Sucky Monday Blues

2009-04-13T13:45:00.003+08:00

In the current economic situation, it would seems that everyone who still have a job would be striving to keep their jobs safe so that they will not join the crowd of unemployed now.

The symptom of Monday Blues can also become a threat to one's rice bowl.

I have exactly tat symptom today and there is nothing I can do to bring my mood up.

Woke up with a heavy feeling and a strong urge to take urgent leave and not go to work. But I had to drag my feet to work coz there is work to clear and my boss is returning from her leave tomorrow, which means need to prepare things to go through with her once she is back.

In addition to the sickening feeling of Monday Blues, I had to see the ugly sights of some Singaporeans early in the morning.

Ugly Singaporean No.1
Morning peak hour train crowd. An office lady ("OL") squeezed in the train pushing everyone near her in by force. I took 2 steps back to stand near the railing bar while playing on my PSP (I was not outstretching my arms while playing PSP so am sure i din obstruct other pple by playing my game). After the lady in front of me alighted, the OL came to stand in front of me. My bag, which was held in front of me, was unfortunately pushing into the OL's back making her turn back and shoot stares towards my direction a few times. She then reached to hold on to the bar thus making my small personal standing space even smaller.

It was after the OL moved beside me tat she realised my bag was not purposely made to push against her but becoz another guy who was behind me had his bag pushed against mine. Then she directed her dirty stares at the guy and his frens instead (scary...). Though she moved on to stand on my left and away from the bar...she still insisted on holding on to the bar thus making her arm smack right in front of my chest where I was holding my PSP and still trying to play.

What I couldnt stand regarding this whole episode is - yah we all know peak hour train crowd is annoying but aint we used to it already?! Why keep shooting dirty stares at pple?? Nobody molested her ma.

Ugly Singaporean No.2
Getting into the lift at our office building is quite the challenge as sensors for all 4 lifts seems to either faulty or working at a much slower pace than expected. Instead of the usual detecting the hand or leg that is outstretched to make the lift doors "bounce"/stay open method...the only way to make our lift doors "bounce"/stay open is to put our whole body smack right in the middle of the lift doors in order for it to detect something.

So today just as many other days, I had to use my body to make the lift door open by letting it knock against my arm and rebounce open. In fact, often its coz the pple who went in the lift first did not bother to hold the lift by just pressing the door open button. Those selfish dim-wits.

This morning, it was different. I was among the first few persons to enter the lift so I wasnt too piss by the fact that my arm was used as the human buffer to open the lift door. As I had to move right into the lift to make space for more pple to enter, I was naturally not standing where the lift buttons are.

What pissed me off was tat, the pple standing right in front of the lift buttons were such selfish dim-wits tat they couldnt lift their precious little fingers to press the buttons when others are alighting at their levels. Hello!!! Basic courtesy??? Its really a shame to Singaporeans lor.

Monday Blues coupled with encountering these dim-wits just started my day on a wrong note. Then I realised I ate too much since morning and it could well affect my diet plan:

7 am plus - 2 pieces of Kaya Cake
8 am plus - 1 piece of Carrot Cake
9 am plus - 1 Chicken Big Bun
11 am plus - Glutinous Chicken Rice
12 pm plus - Ya Kun Set A (includes 2 slices of kaya toasts, 2 half boiled eggs and 1 hot milo)

-_lll

I definitely eat more when I am upset....sad....

Tiramisu Hunt 1 - 8.5/10

2009-04-11T21:50:00.006+08:00

Here begins a new adventure for me...What adventure???

My hunt for the best Tiramisu...

I wouldnt say that Tiramisu is my favourite dessert but lately I have acquired a liking to it.

The soft moist biscuit base flavoured with a mixture of coffee and liquour. Plus the mousse-like creamy layer topped with chocolate powder to finish off the look. Unless wat some may think, the traditional Tiramisu is not the cake-like dessert sold in Cafes such as Coffee Bean or Starbucks. It is the mousse-like thingy tat I am coming to like.

I started off my hunt with a bang!

Tiramisu from Prego @ Fairmont

As I have not tried many Tiramisu yet, I shall refrain from rating. However, I must commend on the taste of this 1st Tiramisu of my hunt....bagus!

I also tried a weird version of Cheesecake at Prego (I forgot the name of this dessert). It came with Strawberries on top of a small layer of cheesecake, some raisins and apricot? (ok, am not sure if those yellow thingy with the raisins are apricot), and Berry Sherbet. Its not really to my liking as the cheesecake lack the taste tat I am used to. Its neither rich in flavour like the western cheesecake nor is it light like the japanese cheesecake.

Await my next entry on my Tiramisu Hunt!

Innocent N Smart

2009-04-06T08:45:00.000+08:00

Had a very busy 2 weeks meeting frens, celebrating colleagues' birthdays, going swimming, meeting frens for coffee, going fren's place to play Wii, mapling and etc.

Yes, I am back to mapling...maybe coz I am bored, maybe coz I need to vent some frustration by killing the mobs (ie. monsters in the game)...for watever reason, was kept busy for most part of my days.

My mum seems to be concerned abt my frequent going out and late nights/early mornings back home...rather curious but wasnt pushy to find out. Goodness, 30 yrs old and still being treated like a child.

Anyway, although I missed Charmaine quite a bit (hmm...nope, I dun seems to miss Ray at all...tat notti boy), I din really feel up to playing with her that much. Children just have endless energy and it just seems so hard to keep up.

I remember an incident 2 weeks ago that my mum related to me.

Weight is my "hottest" topic lately and I have been trying to keep to a healthier diet and swimming to reduce it. Not sure its working much but rather hoping its not all for naught. So, as I was saying abt the incident...Mum told me she asked Charmaine one day, "Min Min, do you think that Gu Gu (ie. me) has lost weight?"

Charmaine replied, "Yes!...................but she is still fat."

*FAINT*

Innocent >>> Yes

Smart >>> Yes

Cute >>> Definitely not

Sad la...still classified under the category of fat...and we all know children dun lie.

:(

VCD & DVD Collection - as at 24 May 2010

2009-03-28T22:00:00.012+08:00

Due to a special request from frens, I am listing below the VCDs and DVDs which I own. I have also included the star rating based on my personal views on how good the show/drama is (max 5 stars).

I decided to load pictures of the dramas I own below (as many as I can find) to make it easy for u to recognize the shows...so enjoy the list...

Disclaimer: The ratings below are purely based on MY views & opinions and we all know tat different people's views & opinions differ.

Legend:
* - rating (from 1 to 5)
UC - unable to complete (coz its too boring/horrible)
CW - currently watching
HS - havent started watching
X - pls dont watch, its horrible T_T

Korean Drama

***__3 Dads with 1 Mommy 3个爸爸1个妈妈

**___9 In 2 Outs (9 局末2出局)

UC___Alcohol Land 酒国

*____All In 大赌注


***__Attic Cat (aka Cat On The Roof) 阁楼猫咪

*____Autumn In My Heart 秋天的童话

**___Beautiful Days 美丽日子

**___Beethoven Virus 贝多芬病毒

**___Billie Jean My Love 我的爱比利金

****_Biscuit Teacher And Star Candy 饼干老师星星糖

HS___Brilliant Legacy 灿烂的遗产

***__Cinderella Man 男版灰姑娘

**___City Hall 市政厅

**___City of Glass 菜鸟变凤凰

****_Coffee Prince 咖啡王子一号店

HS___Come Back Soon-Ae! 回来吧顺爱

***__Couple or Trouble 幻想情侣

HS___Craving for Sunlight (aka Into The Sunlight) 美丽的阳光

HS___Crazy For Love 为爱疯狂

HS___Cruel Love 酷爱

****_Dalja's Spring 达子的春天

***__Dating Now 正在恋爱中 [loan out-KW]

***__Fireworks 火花游戏

***__First Love Of A Royal Prince 皇太子的初恋

****_Foxy Lady

***__Full House 浪漫满屋

***__Get Karl! Oh Soo Jung 青蛙王子，拜金女

**___Glass Slippers 玻璃鞋

HS___Goodbye Solo 告别单身

UC___Great Expectations 伟大的遗产

***__Hello Miss (Hello 小姐)

**___Hotelier 情定大饭店

**___Hwang Jin-I 黄真伊

**___In-Soon is Pretty 任顺真美丽

**___Into The Sun 爱在阳光里

***__Jia You Ju Hua! 加油菊花!

**___Juliet 朱丽叶的男朋友

UC___Loveholic

HS___Love In Heaven 老天爷啊！给我爱

HS___Lovers in Paris 巴黎恋人

HS___Lovers in Prague 布拉格恋人

**___Love Story In Harvard 爱在哈佛

****_Love Truly 真的真的喜欢你

***__Merry Mary 玛丽大求攻防战 [loan out-HQ]

****_My Girl 我的女孩 [loan out-SY]

****_My Love Patzzi 红豆女之恋

*****My Name Is Kim Sam Soon 我叫金三顺

***___My Wife Is A Superwoman 贤内助女王

HS____那道阳光照亮我

****__Night After Night (aka When It's at Night) [loan out-HQ]

****__On Air

***__One Fine Day

HS___Perfect Match 不良情侣

***__Powerful Opponent 强敌

*____Present 礼物

HS___Prince Hours, Goong S

***__Princess Hours, Goong 宫

***__Queen Of The Game

**___Rival

**___Robber Of My Heart 无赖汉

***__Romance 罗曼史

UC___Sad Love Story 悲伤恋歌

HS___Sassy Girl Chun-hyong 豪杰春香

**___Screen 银幕

****_Snow Queen 雪之女王

HS___Stained Glass 玻璃画

**___Stairway To Heaven 天堂的梯级

**___Summerbeach (aka Let's Go To The Beach) [loan out - HQ]

****_Summer Scent 夏日香气

**___Sweet 18, Little Bride 新娘18

HS___Sweet Proposal (aka Delicious Proposal) 美味情缘

**___Sweet Spy 甜蜜间谍 [loan out-HQ]

****_Taste Sweet Love (aka Snow White)

HS___Tazza War of Flower 老干

***__Temptation of Wife 妻子的诱惑

****_Thank You 感谢

**___The Accidental Couple 傻瓜

**___The Man In The Vineyard [loan out-?]

****_The Successful Story Of A Bright Girl 开朗少女成功记

HS___The Time Between Dog and Wolf 狗狼之时

***__Tree Of Heaven 天国之树

**___Triple 恋曲三重奏

*____Wedding 结婚

***__Which Star Are You From? 你来之哪颗星

****_Who Are You? 你是谁

***__Winter Sonata 冬季恋歌

***__Yu Hee, the Witch 魔女游戏

Taiwan Drama
*____Angel Lover 天使情人

***__A Game About Love 剪刀石头布

****__Black & White 痞子英雄

HS___Corner With Love 转角遇到爱

UC___Devil Angel 恶女阿楚

***__Devil Beside You 恶魔在身边

*****Hana-Kimi 花样少年少女

HS___Happiness Is Definitely Strong 幸福一定强

***__Hi My Sweetheart 海派甜心

**___Honey Clover 蜂蜜幸运草

***__Hooping Dulcinea 斗牛，要不要

****_It Started With A Kiss 恶作剧之吻

***__It Started With A Kiss 2 恶作剧之吻2

**___橘子酱男孩

*____Kiss of the Toast 土司男子吻

X____Kiss of the Toast 2 土司男子吻2

****_KO One 终极一班

**___Lavender 薰以草

***__La Robe De Mariee Des Cieux 天国的嫁衣

HS___Love Contract 爱情合约

*****Meteor Garden 流心花园

X____Meteor Garden 2 流心花园2

**___My MVP Valentine MVP 情人

***__Peach Girl 蜜桃女孩

***__贫穷贵公子

UC___Starry Starry Night 雪地里的星星

HS___Sweet Relationship 美味关系

**___The Legend Of Star Apple 新苹果乐园

*****The Magicians Of Love 爱情魔法师

*____The Pawnshop No. 8 第8号当铺

*****The Prince Who Turns Into A Frog 王子变青蛙

*****The Rose 蔷薇之恋

HS___The X-Family 终极一家

***__Why Why Love 换换爱

*****You're My Destiny 命中注定我爱你 [loan out-VC]

Japanese Drama
*____A Sleeping Forest 沉睡的森林
UC___爱犬灾难
***__Beautiful Life 美丽人生
*****Death Note 1 死亡笔记1
*****Death Note 2 死亡笔记2
***__Die Sterntaler 1 星星的金货
**___Die Sterntaler 2
*____Die Sterntaler 3
*____奉子成婚
*____Fighting Girl
****_First Love 魔女的条件
*____Friends 朋友
*____Gift 礼物
**___God, Give me more time 神啊, 给我多点时间
UC___I'll Be Back
*____快婿殿下
**___Love Revolution
*____Love with Super Star 爱上大明新
*____To Heart
**___Takako Tokiwa

I will update this list from time to time. Frens, if u wish to borrow any of the above shows, let me know k. ^^

Horoscope

2009-03-26T13:30:00.002+08:00

Something to read regarding some basic characteristics and personalities of various horoscopes. I copied it off some email which was forwarded to me by a fren but am unable to quote the source coz it was not available in the email. Have fun reading...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIRGO - The Perfectionist Dominant in relationships.. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative.. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to. Hard to please. Ha rsh.. Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic.

SCORPIO - The Intense One Very energetic. Intelligent. Can be jealous and/or possessive. Hardworking. Great kisser. Can become obsessive or secretive. Holds grudges. Attractive. Determined. Loves being in long relationships. Talkative. Romantic. Can be self-centered at times. Passionate and Emotional.

LIBRA - The Harmonizer Nice to everyone they meet. Can't make up their mind. Have own unique appeal. Creative, energetic, and very social. Hates to be alone. Peaceful, generous. Very loving and beautiful. Flirtatious. Give in too easily. Procrastinators. Very gullible.

ARIES - The Daredevil Energetic. Adventurous and spontaneous. Confident and enthusiastic. Fun. Loves a challenge... EXTREMELY impatient. Sometimes selfish. Short fuse. (Easily angered.) Lively, passionate, and sharp wit. Outgoing. Lose interest quickly - easily bored. Egotistical.. Courageous and assertive. Tends to be physical and athletic.

AQUARIUS - The Sweetheart Optimistic and honest. Sweet personality. Very independent. Inventive and intelligent. Friendly and loyal. Can seem unemotional. Can be a bit rebellious. Very stubborn, but original and unique Attractive on the inside and out. Eccentric personality.

GEMINI - The Chatterbox Smart and witty. Outgoing, very chatty. Lively, energetic. Adaptable but needs to express themselves.. Argumentative and outspoken. Likes change. Versatile. Busy, sometimes nervous and tense. Gossips. May seem superficial or inconsistent, but is only changeable. Beautiful physically and mentally.

LEO - The Boss Very organized. Need order in their lives - like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Like to help others. Social and outgoing. Extroverted. Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of themselves. Loving. D oing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive.

CANCER - The Protector Moody, emotional. May be shy. Very loving and caring. Pretty/handsome. Excellent partners for life. Protective. Inventive and imaginative. Cautious. Touchy-feely kind of person. Needs love from others.. Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

PISCES - The Dreamer Generous, kind, and thoughtful. Very creative and imaginative. May become secretive and vague. Sensitive. Don't like details Dreamy and unrealistic. Sympathetic and loving. Kind. Unselfish. Good kisser. Beautiful.

CAPRICORN - The Go-Getter Patient and wise. Practical and rigid. Ambitious. Tends to be good-looking. Humorous and funny. Can be a bit shy and reserved. Often pessimists. Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be unfriendly y at times. Hold grudges.. Like competition. Get what they want.

TAURUS - The Enduring One Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings who are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard - passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

SAGITTARIUS - The Happy-Go-Lucky One Good-natured optimist. Doesn't want to grow up (Peter Pan Syndrome). Indulges self. Boastful. Likes luxuries and gambling. Social and outgoing. Doesn't like responsibilities. Often fantasizes. Impatient. Fun to be around. Having lots of friends. Flirtatious. Doesn't like rules. Sometimes hypocritical. Dislikes being confined - tight spaces or even tight clothes. Doesn't like being doubted. Beautiful inside and out.

Chinese New Year 2009

2009-03-22T11:21:00.001+08:00

BELATED HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

Yes yes, I am very late with this greetings...in fact, I am 2 months late...lol.

Hmm...forgotten wat I had initially wanted to write on this post abt CNY (memory failing due to the fact tat I hit the big 3)...so here are just the photos taken k.

DAY ONE

Three Generations

Family Photo with the Golden Kids

Setting off for visiting

In the Lift

Smiling Charmaine & Sulking Ray

Innocent Ray (Now...I love this photo...saw a side of him tat is innocent and pure)

Counting Ang Baos and eating sweets

Now, my bro showed me an interesting function tat comes with my new digital camera. I am able to add certain "add-ons" and background to photos taken. Here is a trial: CUTE!

Bribery at work...sweets!

Playing the Flute???

Happily Munching

Counting the Rocher?

Getting ready to sing

Testing testing one, two, three...

DAY TWO

Sis-in-law with the kids

Me with Charmaine

Mimicking an old photo taken of the duo at the doorway (this one failed coz I took a potrait instead of landscape layout)

A different duo in the correct layout

Trio??? Haha...cute

Making faces, mother and son

Hug hug?

Wrong! Wrestling!

I want Piggyback too!

Candid Shot

Hehe...tats all folks! Till next CNY...

貴人 = valuable person = benefactor?

2009-03-16T19:41:00.006+08:00

What is a 貴人? How is it translated in English?

Here are 2 definitions I found from the internet which I find quite close to the meaning:

"你生命中的貴人是在你生命中(曾)在任何一個時間或某個事情上面幫助妳的人，只要你認定他幫助(過)你他就是你的貴人。在中文裡頭，貴人有可能只是有一面之緣的清潔工，在跟你聊天的過程當中，不經意地講了一句你正需要的話，點醒了你對某件事情的疑惑，讓你突然領悟該怎麼解決某個難題，他就算是你的貴人了。"

"Chinese believe that 貴人 = valuable person who helps/enlightens us at a crucial time, who are very often seen as part of the divine plan. Therefore, these answer providers are, in a Chinese way, kind of like your 貴人."

I personally think a more suitable word for 貴人 in english is "benefactor", though not in the total sense.

How many times in ur life have u met someone like tat? And how many times have we ourselves been someone else's 貴人?

I have lost count on the number of 貴人 I have met in my life (hmm...sounds rather ungrateful but I really cant recall at the moment), but I would like to think I have been other people's 貴人 and gave them a helping hand along the tough times in their lives.

Been told recently that I am a person's 貴人. Was a little embarrassed at first when I heard that, kept thinking that I din really do much to help except talking and advising. However, as I cheer my friend up bit by bit, I realised that maybe I really did make a difference.

Thinking back, I believe I have also at other points in my past chanced on opportunities to help other friends.

Simple words of encouragement, comforting of a tired soul, "wake up call" for the lost/confused and empathy for another's fate.....these are some really valuable offers of help rather than the usual monetary assistance than most pple need in the present world (lots of pple are facing financial difficulties).

It is actually great to be someone's 貴人...not for the possibility of benefitting from them but for the pure joy of giving someone a hand to stand up bravely through their troubled times. Who knows? We may be in need of a 貴人 ourselves at some point in future and it will be comforting to know that maybe someone out there will be more than willing to help us too. ^_^

Mind Throbbing Week

2009-03-07T20:45:00.002+08:00

Headache for a week...the longest ever and dun even know if it will continue.

Sickening thing is tat the thought of seeing a doc render me helpless...they will likely give me panadol or some medicine akin to panadol to cure the headache. Useless!

So, trying my luck to see if the pain will just go away...now its better than the past 5 days but felt some pain this morning too...comes and go now...unlike the start of the week when my head keeps feeling heavy and the pain persist for long periods.

Then in addition to tat, my boss suddenly had something to rush on Tuesday and deadline was yesterday (Friday). Had to do some OT in order to complete it and its really not helping the headache tat I am not having enuff rest.

Hope next week will be a better week. With my boss on leave, maybe I will have more time to clear my work and send the "mountain" behind me to the warehouse. LOL.

But overall, I feel revived. Lots of stimulation this week which broke me out of my usual boring routine.

Sleepless Night

2009-03-03T03:52:00.002+08:00

Gosh, its only 3.52am! I woke up like abt 20 mins ago after going to bed at 1am plus...slept less than 2 hrs and I am already up....zzzzzzzz

Head feels heavy now...had headache last night so popped panadol before trying to sleep. The medicine seems to work at first but think w/o enuff sleep, going to have headache when day breaks...just like yesterday... ^&#(%^&($^&%^#$

Wonder wats wrong with me lately...constitution went a bit haywire. Had headaches for 2 nights last week...now this....getting old..... -_

Brisbane - 7 to 15 Feb 2009

2009-02-22T19:50:00.016+08:00

This will likely be a brief post (in terms of words) on my recent trip to Brisbane.

Its not that there isnt much to talk abt Brisbane, but just tat my recent trip there was more of a Rest & Relax nature so we din have much on our list of "to-dos" and basically let each day overflow to the next.

Photo of the Clock Tower of the City Hall in Brisbane City

City Hall in Brisbane City

I just absolutely love the architectural building in Australia, though I only found a few in Brisbane. One of them is a Casino, of which the building glows in varying coloured (pink, purple, red, green, blue) lights at night. Personally I think the lights spoilt the magnificent image of the building and some of the coloured lights made the building looked kind of eerie.

A Casino in Brisbane City

Bank of New South Wales' Building

There were also some interesting shopping arcades and pretty shopping malls but I was too shy to take out my camera and shoot in the middle of the street.

An interesting fact I note while shopping in Brisbane is that I actually recognize a lot of brands and shops which are also found in Singapore. Eg. Starbucks, Ajisen, 7-Eleven, Body Shop (not sure if I recall wrongly but I thought I saw it there), Crabtree & Evelyn, etc.....

Seems like a lot of F&B and retail shops have made their way international. Same thing I noticed in Hongkong when I went over last October. So there is tat sense of familiarity wherever u go.

Anyway, I sort of managed to curb myself and not go on a crazy shopping spree this time coz I spent like nearly AS$500.00+ within a 3 hours shopping session (ok, almost half of tat went into my 2 new set of swimsuits which is hard to buy in Singapore...see, I got reasons one...). Had to stop myself after tat...so I am glad to say that most of my expenses on this trip were on food and lodgings.

We also took a walk down the bridge connecting from Brisbane City to South Brisbane where the Old Library, Musuem, Cultural Centre and their big Ferris Wheel are.

Way down to South Brisbane

View of the City from the South end of the bridge

The first interesting thing we saw after crossing the bridge is this piece of art "tied" in mid-air. It looks like just strings and wires suspended in the air but it actually forms an image from a certain angle that resembles an archway with 4 openings. Smart!

Archway suspended in mid-air

An artistic statue which I find quite pretty

A look back at the City from South Brisbane

The bridge from afar

We went to take a look at the "Game On 2009" exhibition at the Old Library where some "old" arcade games were displayed and available for playing and other newer games as well. The exhibition was rather disappointing as it was rather small and there were not as much varierty and games as we anticipated.

At South Brisbane, opposite the side where the Old Library, Museum and Cultural Centre are, is where a big park and a "man-made" beach are. The place is just beautiful but as it was rather late when we reached there, I was unable to take photos. I did not revisit the park/beach although I did think about going there to swim but rumours/hearsay of floating brown objects at the man-made beach totally killed the idea.

We had also wanted to take the Ferris Wheel but I decided against it as it was too late and I dun think we can see much scenery in the dark night.

A fantastic photo of the Ferris Wheel (*I think its one of the BEST photo I have ever taken)

Entrance to the Park

A look at our room at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane where we spent 4 nights. The room is not that big but it was neat and clean and the furnishings looks modern. Some FoxTel channels were available but not the cartoon channels, luckily they have the comedy channel which I enjoyed. The roof top pool and spa was a really good place to hang out at night and especially if u are in for night dip (not skinny dip mind u...it is still a hotel pool)~(Pics on the pool below)

Night Scenery from Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane

Day Scenery from Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane

The only complaint I have abt the hotel is the location. It is located at the top of a hill - Spring Hill (the whole Brisbane city is built on sloping land...so we generally have to walk up and down hill all the time). As I was only armed with 2 "really high" heels and a not so glamourous slipper, my feet were practically killed from all the walking I had to do for the first few days.

Cool Roof Top Pool & Spa

See the clouds above? Aww....

Jacuzzi Spa Pool

We checked out from the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 to move on to Coolum, Sunshine Coast where we spent the next 4 nights. It was a blessing that we decided to rent a car (from ABEL car hire...check it out...quite reasonably priced) coz Hotel Hyatt Regency Coolum, where we spent the next 4 nights, was actually like a resort hotel at the bottom of Mt. Coolum. Definitely need a car to get out of the resort to anywhere along the Coast.

Wonder if its coz we arrived 2 hrs late, but we were upgraded from their King's Room to their Presidential Suite Room. I was really WOWed by how spacious our room turned out!

Living Room with the Flat Screen TV, mini Bar and Study Table

Living Room - Sofa Area

Dining Area and the Entrance

Separate Bathtub and Shower Room

Gorgeous Bathroom

Guest Room

Master Bedroom

A look out from our unit (lots of greens...)

Looks more like a villa, but we only occupy the ground floor

Hmm...wonder how the 2nd floor rooms look like?

Lovely view of the Villa (abt 4 units per villa)

In the resort compound

Lots of walking in the resort to get to the restaurants, spa and other areas

Shutter service is available within the resort

Beautiful pond behind the villas

^_^ Pretty right?

Golf Pro Shop and Restaurant, Golf Course to the right

The resort compound is rather big so they offer shuttle service around the resort to bring u to the village center, spa house, main admin building, carpark area and the various villa units.

Maybe its another blessing that our resort hotel turned out so nice coz we encounter rather nasty weather at the Coast - RAIN! So, we spent quite a lot of time indoors watching movies and surfing the internet. Guess I would have enjoyed the facilities at the resort more if I am a person who likes Golf, Tennis or Spa (Spa was just unfortunate coz the treatments there were fully booked when we wanted to try them!)

Kangaroos at the door step

I probably will try out a lot more things if I return to Brisbane and Sunshine Coast again...felt that I din get to do much this trip. But R&R is wat I got...rejuvenized!

Five HOT Days After A Week of Merry

2009-02-21T12:56:00.003+08:00

Its been 2 weeks since I blogged and the last time I did, I was getting all excited abt traveling to Brisbane for a week's holiday.

Anyway, I was going to take a flight back from Brisbane on Sunday (15 Feb 2009) when I started feeling unwell. First was the immense cold felt, then shockwaves of shivers emerged from within, overtook and my body started trembling. Then I din know I was running a temperature, just felt really unwell. Think at some point I felt so helpless from the shivering that tears tore their way down my face (must have scared u, I am so sorry, P!). Also much thanks to my fren P for trying to help me find the First Aid Centre though unfortunately was not opened and I had to rely on Panadol for my flight back.

Estimated 7 hours flight:- 3 movies (hmm, I watched "The Duchess", a weird Korean movie which I forgotten the name and "Pretty Woman"), 5 to 6 glasses of warm water, 1 lunch and a rejected refreshment, a period of shivering while watching the movie, 2 visits to the Loo where I vomitted on 2nd visit.

I pulled through.

Kudos to Kim for being such a great fren to pick me up from the airport tat night!

Anyway, my health just went downhill after I got home. The period from Sunday 15 Feb night to Thursday 19 Feb night was a flash blur (I probably have recollections of wat happened but wouldnt wana bore u with the gore details of the high temp 38.5 degrees & above, the shiverings, the vomits, the hospital visits, etc.) and when I woke up yesterday, I just felt tat I have concussed in bed for the past days.

Now, my temperature is finally down and I hope remains down. I am still on Antibiotics. The A&E doc at East Shore hospital said my case was coz of Bacterial Infection and did some blood tests for me to see wat kind of bacteria it is, results are still not out yet and god knows wat the results can be good for when they call to tell me...coz I have recovered right, havent I...

Ok, will try to put up the pics for my Brisbane trip soon, which aint many....so till then...bye!

Counting Down To Brisbane

2009-02-06T08:28:00.004+08:00

16 Hours to Flight...

24 Hours to Clear Blue Sky...

My dear friends, dun be jealous k, we all get to travel overseas at some point/s of our life, be it whether its for work or play.

Am looking forward to time for relaxation and enjoying life...giving myself a break basically.

Will see if I can access the internet in the hotel, if so, MAYBE I will drop in a few lines in this blog now and then during my trip.

Bye for now...

Petites Gaufres

2009-01-30T19:27:00.004+08:00

I just had to feature this lovely biscuit after eating 3 pieces in 1 shot a while ago.

It is called "Petites Gaufres"!

Wah-lah, below is a picture of this heavenly biscuit (though not necessarily in the same packaging):

You can read up a little abt this biscuit from the following link:

http://www.tastejapan.com/WOFI/exhibitor11.html

Yummy, can anyone tell me if u see this heavenly biscuit selling anywhere in Singapore?

My Name is Jung Yong Wook

2009-01-30T18:08:00.003+08:00

Ever wondered where the Korean Actors/Actresses got their names?

I have a Korean name too!

My Korean name is JUNG YONG WOOK

Sounds rather weird and manly huh? *Sob sob*

How is it derived? I got the following math from Su's blog (yup, I copied! hopefully no copyrights issue)....THANKS SU!!!

JUNG YONG WOOK

A. Surname: Korean Surname is the last number in your year of birth:-
0: Park - 1: Kim - 2: Shin - 3: Choi - 4: Song - 5: Kang - 6: Han - 7: Lee - 8: Sung - 9:Jung

B. Middle Name: is your month of birth:
1: Yong - 2: Ji - 3: Je - 4: Hye - 5: Dong - 6: Sang - 7: Ha - 8: Hyo - 9: Soo - 10: Eun - 11. Hyun - 12: Rae

C: Third Name: is your date of birth:
1: Hwa - 2: Woo - 3: Joon - 4: Hee - 5: Kyo - 6:Kyung - 7: Wook - 8: Jin - 9: Jae - 10: Hoon - 11. Ra - 12: Bin - 13: Sun - 14: Ri - 15: Soo - 16: Rim - 17: Ah - 18: Ae - 19: Neul - 20: Mun - 21: In - 22. Mi - 23: Ki - 24: Sang - 25: Byung - 26: Seok - 27: Gun - 28: Yoo - 29: Sup - 30: Won - 31: Sub

Anyway, Su has a cuter Korean name: Song Rae Ah (JEALOUS!!! I also wan such a cute name!)

So quick, tell me wats ur Korean name???

Life Is Wonderful - Jason Mraz

2009-01-21T15:01:00.001+08:00

Listen carefully to the lyrics of this song. It caught my attention and I sort of fell in love with this song.

Walk On Water

2009-01-08T09:50:00.003+08:00

I got a new lesson in science when I saw this video on how pple can walk on cornstarch water.

Its interesting, enjoy...

End Of Year 2008

2008-12-31T23:59:00.003+08:00

Today is the last day of 2008, marks an end and a new beginning for most pple. Seems like just another day to me except maybe I am trying to force myself to complete some stuff/tasks tat I have dragged unnecessarily throughout the year.

For work, I tried to clear my boss' old case files today. We got early dismissal at 2pm but I stayed all the way till 5pm plus, but instead of clearing all the files, I end up preparing the materials for a hearing on Friday and itemizing the outstanding work list so tat I dun forget them after the holiday.

For home, spring cleaning is still on my mind but the motion of clearing my room is put on hold since Christmas. Wat with all the gatherings and dinners, its rather hard to get back on schedule.
Now for my blog...it weighs heavily on my mind tat I got lots of pictures and some thoughts throughout the year tat I wanted to post on blog but was too lazy to do it.

Decided to accomplish a few posts today....hmm or shld I say tomorrow as well, coz its already 11.50pm! Gosh time flies...

Outstanding posts for 2008 (will do separate posts for these):
1) Vietnam trip (*failed to complete, will 'otang' until next year I guess)
2) Genting trip
3) Christmas 2008
4) Ad-hoc pics (*no loss here, though not posted can always put up these ad-doc pics when free)
5) Jokes

I am not into new year resolutions and dun really relish to thinking back on my accomplishments for the year, so I shall skip all that.

Updates on my office situation:

1) Although we did not get as much bonus as last year but we did get a bit, which is still better than nothing at all. Can tide over the new year ba.

2) New policy imposed - Staff's punctuality at work. We are given a grace timing of 15mins over 2 weeks to come into office late. Thereafter on the 16th min, the late comer is expected to work a 4-hr Saturday shift doing shit work tat the other bosses wants. BACK TO SCHOOL DAYS??? Come on...we're adults -_

3) The public enemy has toned down a little for this festive season. Either he is too happy to make other pple miserable or maybe its becoz of the time when I chided him when he interrupted my conversation with a colleague. I said to him "XXX, can u please dun interrupt...I am talking to YYY, its none of ur business" @_@! - He stopped talking to me for 2 days thereafter, 3rd day bo bian must talk to me becoz of work...but he stopped interrupting and singing for tat 2 days...LOL!

Hoping for a better 2009! Higher pay? Job advancement? More bonus?

I wish... ... ...