Mango Lover

Happy 2012!

2012-01-04T10:23:00.002+08:00

Been meaning to upload new pics of my dog from my camera but kept forgetting or got occupied by other stuffs.

Anyway, we have crossed over to 2012. Happy New Year everyone! Hope everything will go smoothly and well. I'm looking forward to my first pay this year (higher cos no more 13th mth already).

Next week is gonna be a short week. Next wed afternoon will be working from home for our BCP exercise. Thurs afternoon will be paying CS a visit at their Changi office (damn far for me though!). Taking leave Fri and the following Mon. Shiok!

Then it will be CNY soon. Not looking fwd much to tat cos not tat close to my relatives alr lei. Been missing the gatherings etc. They'd better not ask me when I'm getting married or I wanna kill ppl alr!

No time to Blog!

2011-12-07T16:38:00.008+08:00

Been so busy lately. No time to sleep, let alone blog. Actually each week is abt the same activities so been repeating: mahjong, bringing Cookie out, some catch up with frenz. I'm enjoying thus far so no complains.

Attended JJ's wedding at Conrad in Nov. First time having a wedding dinner there. Food is quite nice.

Met up with Uni frenz for our very early Xmas gathering this year. We had the usual gift exchange but this time we picked numbers to choose the person we buying for. We gathered at Amara Hotel cos Angeline got a free room.

I'm into clothes for Cookie lately. I think he looks so cute wearing them. Imagine how I will doll up my kids in future. Haha...

Oh yes and I have finally bought a smartphone. Samsung Galaxy S II in white. I noe abit slow but still better late than never. Haha... Anyway, going Port Dickson this weekend for a short getaway. Can't wait. I need a break from work desperately...

26th Birthday

2011-10-31T13:15:00.002+08:00

Genting wasn't tat fantastic. Didn't win at all. But it was my first trip without lens or specs. Feel so good. No more hassle!

We miss Cookie so much during our trip. My cute little boy. Gave him my office cushion which I have used for 3 years alr. Glad he loves it so much :)

Anyway, it's my 26th birthday today. Feels so old alr. I wish bdays dun come anymore. I'm dreading it each year...

30th Anniversary D&D

2011-10-26T15:26:00.003+08:00

Last Fri was our company's D&D held at MBS. Such a rare event can't be missed. Our co dun usually hold D&D annually. It's like once in a blue moon. We were entitled to half day off too so those who really want to dress up have time to do their hair.

The theme was 80's which explained our dressing. Quite a fun dinner. If only I had won something at the lucky draw and gotten the complimentary car park ticket, all would have been perfect. Hmmm...

Happy Deepavali today! It's a rainy and lazy day. I'm heading to Genting tomorrow. Huat ah!

Cute Cookie

2011-10-18T09:31:00.004+08:00

I thought Lasik shall be my only birthday present to myself this year. Then, along came this cute little puppy. Haha... Not cheap lor. I blew close to 5k in 2 mths alr. Need to earn it back badly.

Anyway, some ppl might noe tat I used to have a dog which I sold it away when it has been with me for less than 3 mths. I'm determined to make it work this time round cos I paid for this dog fully. I think it's a good training for me too as it will require almost a lifetime commitment...

Home Alone!

2011-10-08T23:25:00.003+08:00

Will be home alone from tomorrow. Parents going to Hainan island and my bro is going along too. Leaving me with the house and car. Yippie! But I will need to wash my clothes and water the plants. Need to settle my own breakfast and dinner too. Hmmm... Time to experience living on my own...

Lasik Surgery Done

2011-09-18T12:10:00.002+08:00

Finally got my lasik done on Fri. Will not go into details cos it could be quite gore to some. I could really smell some burning when the laser went into my eyes. But I feel that the creation of the flap on the cornea for this lasik is more scary cos it felt as though it's gorging my eyes out.

Am still recovering. Vision is not perfect yet because there seeems to be a layer of fog on top of my eye. Also the whites of my left eye ball is slightly red, bruises from the ops. Doc said it will go away with time. But I'm glad I dun have to rely on specs or contact lens anymore! Like many of my frenz who have done it and said that it's definitely a good investment that I will not regret.

Since I have been trying to stay indoor, it's been MJ for me whole wkend. 4 rounds just yest alone. Gonna continue again later. Will be on leave tmr to rest fully before returning to work on Tue...

Half Day

2011-09-12T20:52:00.003+08:00

Am on half day today for my final review before Lasik this Fri. Doc said the 2 white spots are still there. Initially he tot it was some infection but they are still there after I used eye drops for past 2 weeks. Hence, he concluded that it could be something chronic i.e. scar tissues from the past. No issue and going ahead with the lasik this Fri.

Went shopping by myself after the appointment. Finally paid H&M a visit since it opened. I tot the things will be sold at a higher price when they bring it to S'pore. But amazingly they are comparable or some even cheaper. I didn't get anything though cos the queue was super duper long even on a Mon! I really wonder where the crowds come from. Can imagine how many times worse it gets on wkend. Am a little sian with H&M here though. These are little things that I look fwd to when I go overseas. Now that they have it in S'pore, it somehow lost the novelty alr. Sian... I need something else to look fwd to...

Claire's farewell

2011-08-28T13:20:00.005+08:00

Had lunch at Royal China of Raffles Hotel on Fri for one of our coll's farewell. There was some promotional package at $68++ for 4 pax which includes 7-8 course of chinese food dishes. We ordered 2 sets as we had 8 ppl.

Lotus soup...

Roast meat and Chicken

Some noodle with prawn

A very different dessert - Salted egg cake

Team photo. Gotta admit I was expecting alot more for the food cos initially I thought it was $68++ per pax. Guess it is reasonable then since it is for 4.

Met up with Uni frenz at Ivan's house yesterday. He juz moved to a new house in Admiralty. Didn't take any pic from my phone though. Gotta wait for Carisse to upload since her camera is more pro. Really down on my luck for MJ lately. I lost close to $100 on MJ this wkend already. Can't wait for Tue PH so I can catch up on my rest again...

Zookeeper

2011-08-19T15:31:00.002+08:00

Watched the movie - Zookeeper yesterday after work. All thanks to Alvin's boss, Jimmy. UBS gave him 6 movie ticks which he didn't want cos he brought his kids to watch tat show alr. So the few of us went for the show instead. It's the standard animal show where animals can talk lor. Quite funny for some parts. Can go catch it U need a laugh...

Retreat'11

2011-08-16T21:29:00.007+08:00

This year's retreat has just passed last wkend.

Kite making in the morn at Marina Barrage.

The completed kite and grp photo.

It was food and cultural trail in the afternoon.

It was a fun experience. I was actually contemplating whether to go or not as I had rashes on Fri. Not a bad decision to go afterall. Anyway, I enjoyed being part of the retreat comm this year. It was fun making things difficult for others while they played the games. Haha... Gotta admit I was ranting throughout the whole retreat planning to my colls. At least the hours that we spent in countless meetings, lunch hours and after work hours were worth the effort. Glad tat it was a success and over now. Time for me to concentrate on my work again...

Motivation

2011-08-06T13:56:00.002+08:00

I wish I am my own motivation as well. Seeing my frenz changing cars, buying house and all. Prob I'm not at tat kind of stage yet. All I want is the promotion next year. Is tat so hard?

HK Trip 2011

2011-07-28T20:56:00.010+08:00

Juz got bk from our HK trip this week. Shopping wasn't as fruitful as what I have expected. But then again it should be considered pretty good already since I have no shopping list to begin with. Had alot of good food and dropped by Macau and Shenzhen as well.
Queued for the famous dim sum Tim Ho Wan. It is said to be the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in Asia or something.

As you can see, the food served was really good. Can't complain at all. But we were greedy and ordered a tad too much. End up we had to da bao the char siew bun cos we simply could not eat any further then...

The night scenary in HK is always so beautiful. However, the laser harmony show at TST wasn't so fantastic afterall. We went to the Peak via tram for the nice scenary too.

Sumptous breakfast at Aust Dairy Co. of Jordon. I love the scrambled egg!! Simply delicious...

Had many cups of Gong Cha in HK too. Bigger cup at lower price. Somehow they taste even better too. Hmmm wat else can I ask for?

Did acrylic nails while I was at Shenzhen. Yeah these were mainly the highlights of my trip. Not easy to type now with my long nails. I'm going to try the clothes tat I bought in HK so I can pick one to wear for tmr as it's dress-down Fri...

Retreat Recce

2011-07-17T12:17:00.010+08:00

Did a recce for our upcoming retreat at Chinatown and Queenstown area.

Got to eat my nice lil desserts at Flor Patisserie again. We ordered the Mango (must-have) and Earl Grey Choco this time round to share. Yummy! Goes perfectly well with my KOI bubble tea. I noe: Sugar rush!

Didn't noe such a nice garden existed. Haha... We stumbled upon this pub around Duxton area and it had this really nice backyard. I think the decor is unique in S'pore. It looks more Irish or something. Prob will incorporate this in our trail for the rest to find...

HK next week! Yippie... Back again with more updates the following week. Crossing my fingers that the damage won't be very huge...

Review of Youmenya Goemon

2011-07-10T11:48:00.008+08:00

Had dinner with my colls at a Jap restaurant called Youmenya Goemon which is located at Marina Bay Link Mall. The specialty was eating spaghetti with chopsticks which I find abit "duh". I'm used to fork and spoon lah. They didn't even provide spoon initially. Have to request for it...

Assortment of pasta ordered by my colls. Included Carbonara, squid ink etc. Some came in half-half different pasta set, others came with desserts. Can't say much for theirs.

As for me, I had Crab, Shrimp and Scallop spaghetti in cream sauce. The seafood were really fresh but the pasta was too dry for my liking. Probably a little more sauce would have made the whole thing better. I must mention the portion is quite big too. It gets slightly jelat but being the big-eater that I am, I managed to finish off the whole plate! Anyway, I wouldn't go back specially for the pasta unless frenz wanna try it...

Fri Dinner & Kate Spade

2011-07-04T10:47:00.008+08:00

Met Carisse, Daniel and Caitlin for dinner last Fri evening. Reminded me tat I gotta look up on Lasik soon. We wanna go for the talk together and I need to go for lasik very soon as my contact lens are finishing alr...
The food at The Asian Kitchen is good. Tasted like homecook but even better. My coll has been wanting to try but we haven't managed to make a trip down. Will definitely go bk again but not in the near future as I dun want to get sick of the food so quickly.
Went Bukit Batok CSC over the wkend for Kate Spade/Coach sale. My intention was juz to look-see but I ended up with a Kate Spade Pebble Dot Stevie. They are selling it at a lower price because they bought it from the States. Die man... 2 bags in the span of a week. I really need to curb my spending, at least till my HK trip!

Biggest Purchase for 2011 and Batam

2011-06-28T22:17:00.004+08:00

Presenting the bag which I have longed for so long. Have mentioned to some frenz that I wanted to get a Miu Miu bag since last year. But in the end, I got the purple ribbon Gucci bag instead because I just dun fancy paying more than 2k for a bag.

Happened to chance upon this Miu Miu bag at Reebonz. They have this mobile truck/lorry that goes around S'pore showcasing the branded bags that they are selling. It is said that they are able to sell the bags at a cheaper price than retail shops as those are past season. It doesn't really matter to me cos this design is pretty classic. Furthermore, I like this color which I am unable to get at the store currently cos it's off the shelf alr. Best of all, I was able to save more than $400 and my most exp bag still does not exceed 2k.

It will save me a trip to the Prada outlet in HK next month too. I actually intend to go there scout for this bag but heard alot of unfavorable stuffs. My colls told me they couldn't find anything nice for the times that they have gone there and always ended up with disappointment.

Anyway, Batam trip was so-so. This was the one and only pic tat I took there. Our first stop at Guan Yin temple which is facing S'pore. Imagine we could see MBS from that angle! Nothing interesting subsequently. The tour guide took us to some shops selling dry food products and kueh lapis. We had seafood lunch at 933 which we have already gone there on our own previously. We also dropped by some factory outlet selling alot of branded polo tees. Alot of ppl went for Ralph Lauren which I tot was still abit pricey for outlet stores and too common. Hence, we bought ourselves Burberry polo tee instead. I like the checks on the collar and down the buttons row.

Didn't feel like going back to work on Mon after coming bk frm Batam. Lack of sleep and such... I think the more obvious thing is U can see how much I "love" my current work. So the answer was to fake MC. Haha... We went for hi-tea buffet at Zhou Kitchen. Ate to the brim. I was still feeling super full when I went to sleep last nite. And we watched 'Mr Popper's Penguins'. Changed my perception of this funny bird species which cannot fly. I nv knew that they could be this cute. Ok I noe it's only in the show. But still...

Mid June Update

2011-06-23T16:56:00.003+08:00

So fast, I juz realised that almost half a year is gone again. Made up my mind and decided that I shall strive to work hard till next year. If no promotion next year, then I shall say Sayonara to my comp and look elsewhere for AVP position.

Going Batam for a short wkend getaway. Looking fwd to the massage alr. But we only changed $50 each. Hope the $$ is sufficient since seafood lunch and massage are already included in the tour package...

Sweet Little Treats

2011-06-11T11:31:00.007+08:00

Must blog about these sweet little treats from my colls cos I got sweet tooth.

Customised cookies from Yoke bakery. U can find it online. I tot it was a case of look nice but doesn't taste good pastry. But I really like the choc chips cookies and butter cookie.

A little something from Flor Patisserie below...

Some mango tart/pie. I dunno how to describe but the crust and filling was extremely nice. Tasted like a piece of heaven. It's a really nice creation by the chef and one of the best sellers. I wouldn't have normally bought myself such pastry cos I dun bear to pay so much for such a small pastry. Ppl who noe me, noe tat I rather spend on tangible items rather than food. Thanks to my coll who treated us, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to try...

Anyway, it's pay day today!! My bank account has hit 6 digits with the recent bonus payout. Yippie! Another goal achieved this year...

2 Great movie reviews

2011-06-06T15:25:00.010+08:00

Before I forget, I think I better blog about the 2 great movies that I have watched recently.

Kung Fu Panda in 3D. Some ppl told me not to catch it in 3D so as not to be bashed so up close and personal. Haha silly comment I tot. It was shiok watching in 3D once again. This time the story goes back to Po's history of how he came about. And he continues to defeat the evil/enemy along with the Furious 5.

Hangover Part 2. Another buddy is getting married and the same scenario happened with the wolfpack drunk and totally forgotten about wat happened the previous night. This time, the movie was filmed in Thailand. Surfice to say, it was another humorous show. Oh and I'm proud to mention that I have been to Lebuar, the posh hotel where 1 of the scenes was filmed :)

GSS'11

2011-06-04T11:41:00.006+08:00

Dropped by Orchard yesterday for the GSS. I prefer shopping on wkdays cos it's super packed during wkends and I dun fancy having to snatch good bargains with so many other ppl.

Guess heels at 30% off. The crazy heels fetish continues. Is this a good or bad thing that I have "upgraded"and no longer look at brands like Charles and Keith? I used to say that I dun spend alot on shoes cos I prefer varieties and will juz wear for awhile then throw away. More importantly, I dun like the idea of literally stepping on ur own money (I noe of some ppl spending hundreds and thousand plus on shoes). But now I feel these slightly more branded heels are more comfortable and the designs are nicer. Haha... Anyway, I have alot more meetings these days, both internal and external. It doesn't hurt to dress up a little more. That said, I think I better limit my spending on shoes to nothing more than 200. It's definitely taking a toll on my wallet buying so many pairs these 2 mths...
I like the exquisite details and Guess logo around the side of the heels. Attention-grabbing but not too loud. But still a head-turner... (at least for me cos I knew I had to have it after setting my eyes on it)

m)phosis heels at 50% off. Ok I admit this was an impulse purchase. I tot it was such a good buy which I totally cannot resist. I also bought a m)phosis bag at 70% for my mom. Got her a MAC lipstick too. Since I can provide a better standard of living now, I dun mind buying her higher end stuffs once in awhile. But stupid me, I could have used my gift vouchers for a number of the purchases which I didn't. Realised later and can only regret...

I like how my leave was well-spent yesterday. Jap brunch/lunch at Itacho, shopped for entire afternoon then we leave town before the peak hour. Had dinner and I went for a run after coming back in the evening. Rested and did mask while I read my book. Then mahjong session followed by supper in JB late into the nite. Been hooked to MJ recently. It's my 3rd consecutive nite playing alr. I need to drop by the library today and catch up on my sleep badly. Enjoy my long wkend while I can!

A dozen roses to brighten the day!

2011-05-29T13:07:00.003+08:00

Another bouquet of flowers sent to office :)

Can't say enough about how sickening things are at work now, after I changed team. Can no longer go for long lunches and I have been working till 9+ these days. Wat's worse is not the longer working hours. But I feel I dun even enjoy the nature of the work. I dun understand why I'm doing certain things sometimes. Somehow it's juz not within my grasp. Ppl tell me tat this is the initial stage and I will come to terms with it eventually. I really hope so. Otherwise, I think I can scout for a new job alr.

Juz received this year's bonus. It's lower than last year so cannot even provide me with any incentive or motivation at all. *Sigh* Things are not looking good. Alot of ppl have asked me whether I regret the decision to change team. I keep telling them tat I cannot ans cos there are pros and cons. But deep down I really miss my old comfort zone where I noe everything inside out. I'm the sort of person who totally resist change. Only god knows why I ever made the request to rotate. Haaa...

Dun look fwd to work these days alr. I wish I can take MC tmr so I dun have to go in. I have already applied leave for next Fri. Only 2 mths and I'm so tired alr. Need and want a break so badly. I'm gonna watch Kung Fu Panda 2 and Hangover 2!

Guess Watch & Movie @ JB

2011-05-17T11:41:00.003+08:00

Bought myself a Guess watch last week from Tanjong Pagar MRT exchange. The shop was having closing down sale. I think it's a steal to get it at 30% off. This is the simplest with thinnest strap that I could find. My wrist is too small for the other big and bling-bling Guess watches though I like those designs with some diamontes. Nevertheless, I think this is understated enough for work. Cool and sleek... (Time to update my wishlist!)

Caught Fast & Furious 5 over last wkend at JB. Was "con-vinced" to watch this movie even though I have never liked it nor watched previous sequels before. No choice cos majority wins mah. It's not bad, totally unlike wat I expected. I tot the entire show will juz be about cars racing with no plot at all. But it turns out to be quite exciting. I really like the new movie theatre at KSL City. Seats super comfy with plenty of leg space and tickets at half price. But air con was super duper cold. Must rem to bring a thick jacket next time and try to avoid wearing shorts...

More Heels & Such

2011-05-07T11:41:00.004+08:00

I sure can shop. No doubt about it. Just during yesterday lunch alone, I blew $160. Desmond and I had a quick lunch then we walked over to Raffles Place to shop around.

Can't help but drop by GG<5 for a short while. A fatal move. They have some new arrivals. Purple instead of the pink/nude copper heels which I bought the other time. Also this black bow lace heels which I simply cannot resist and sucumb to buying. I think it's rather unique cos of the material used to make this heels. Another $100 gone...

First saw this bag the other time when I lunched with Dian. I seldom buy low-end bags already cos I can't even finish carrying all my branded bags. But this bag has been on my mind for few weeks so I decided to get it. I like the design with all the fake pockets, clasp and tag on the outside. It's from this line called Rootote from Japan. I figured since we cannot go to Jap anytime soon, I might as well pay a little more and buy it from S'pore instead...

Went for dinner, shopping and movie after work. We caught "Source Code". Heard ppl recommending the show and said it's not bad. I tot it was so-so only lei. Somehow, I feel it's not very realistic. How can we connect to a brain of the dead to help avert a disaster by going back in time even with very advanced technology? Crapz to me. Dead is dead...

Inevitably, I bought another pair of heels in between dinner and movie. We had so many hours to kill and I chanced upon this pair at Substance. I saw it at the first Substance shop in 313 but I didn't ask for my size. Saw it again at the next Substance of Cineleisure. Tot I will juz try my luck to see if they have my size. They do and I ended up buying. Haha... Ilike to coin this as fated. I juz have to own it.

That's how I spent more than 200 bucks in a single day. Surprisingly, I still think it's reasonable cos I haven't been buying any branded goods lately. The total of all these purchases dun even add up to the cost of 1 bag tat I normally buy. Justified right? Hahaha... I noe I'm only deceiving myself. Bleah! Still waiting for my parents to be back with brunch so we can go down to vote for GE 2011. My first time voting cos I wasn't 21 yet the last round. Cool!

Malacca Trip

2011-05-02T12:28:00.011+08:00

Started off with a bad morn. We were supposed to meet 8.30am at the Tuas checkpoint. But Don's side was delayed and we finally managed to meet up only around 10am past M'sia checkpoint. Doesn't help that there was some miscommunication and we had to U-turn to look for them.

Reached Malacca around 2pm as there was a huge jam on the road leading into the central area. All of us were famished and we had lunch at a Nonya restaurant sharing the above dishes. Missed out on a pic of the curry chicken as we immediately dug in after it was placed on our table.

After lunch, we walked around at the shopping centres - Makota Parade and the one across the road (dunno wat's the name). Basically, we didn't buy anything at all. Somehow the styles are very different or we already have them in S'pore like Mango. The shoes at Vincci are having sale but the designs this season were disappointing as well...

We passed by a couple of ship models. Think they were from the WWII era where there's canon and forts as well to defend the Straits of Malacca? Haha... My history is super lousy lah. Juz my guess, couldn't be bothered to read up on it.

I think this is the highlight of the trip. Jonker Walk - it's like a night flea market. See how crowded it was. We had to jostle and squeeze through the crowd on the way out. We bought loads of food stuffs including the famous 三叔公.

Then, we settled for dinner at one of the famous chicken rice restaurants along the main road. The balls-like thingy in the pic are not fishballs but rice balls! Nv seen this in S'pore before. My first time eating it but it does indeed taste abit like fishball though. Lol... This completes our Malacca trip. Our feet were so tired from walking all day. Hence, we embarked on the 3-hour drive home straight after dinner. The highway was so scary, no lamp posts and the cars were all driving at an average of 150km/hr. I was clutching the cushion so tightly and on high alert. Dun even dare to sleep even though the weather was so cosy with light drizzle. Ok dun think this will be a frequent trip. I shall go enjoy my Melacca snacks alr...

Labor Day Wkend

2011-04-30T12:03:00.001+08:00

2 consecutive long wkends. A roadtrip up to M'sia Malacca tmr. Excited!!

Neo Garden and Heels craze

2011-04-22T13:03:00.019+08:00

It was my bro's and mom's birthday this week. We had a feast at Neo Garden. Yummy!

Dishes anti-clockwise from top left: Tofu with mushrooms, curry fishhead, Golden Oat crab, crispy fried sotong and veggies.

Their famous chilli crab. The food was really good and they were having 50% off their seafood menu. We ordered so much and the total bill was around $100 only...

Black zippy twist from Gripz. Dunno why I'm crazily into heels recently. Bought 2 pairs of high heels just this week alone. Probably I really have nothing much to buy anymore. Nowhere else to spend my $$ on and thus anyhow splurge alr. Most of my heels are light-colored. So I figured I could do with a dark pair. Anyway, I tot these heels go nicely with the many dresses that I have bought online.
This sweet pair of high heels is from GG<5. Notice that I really like peep-toed heels. Cannot let my pedicure goes to waste mah. Lol... It's nude but I tot it looks more like light pink.
Love the ribbon details on the front and absolutely hearts the copper heels at the back. It gives me the princessy vibe and I knew I had to own it no matter what. Bugis outlet had no more new pair for size 36. I was so worried that I would not be able to find any new pair cos the staff told me tat their shoes only came in 1 or 2 pairs per size. Feels like limited edition alr! Luckily, Carisse managed to help me reserve a pair of size 36 at Golden Shoe outlet. The box says the heels are made of lamb leather and pig lining.

These 2 pairs of heels cost me around $200 alr. Somehow, I have no qualms abt spending these days. Prob cos my credit card bill was only 200+ last mth. Felt I could spend even more, wat's with the increment in my pay. Eyeing another pair of the same ribbon design but lined with mesh metal on the outside. Should try wearing if this is really comfy before I sank down on my next purchase...

Completed JPM Corp Challenge yest. I rem registering for it. But somehow I could not find the confirmation and no name tag for me. Hence, I ran under the name of a coll who has left the comp. 43 mins for 5.6km. Deteriorate from last year alr. But I stopped to walk more times this year cos it seems more crowded and thus more bottlenecks. Can't run through the throngs of ppl at all. Anyhow, I'm going off to enjoy this long Gd Fri wkend. Update again~

Movie Hits

2011-04-11T21:47:00.020+08:00

Totally forgot to mention that my comp treated us to free movie + popcorn combo during the last day of the FY. See the ticket stub printed with "Free Seating". How special! We booked the entire theatre so we are free to sit anywhere we like. Anyway, "Morning Glory" is about how a lady picked herself up and succeed as a TV producer after she has been retrenched from the previous job. I guess our comp wanna encourage us to be as determined in watever things that we embark on doing...

Long time didn't get to eat these dishes in JB alr - famous De Xing restaurant where many Singaporeans frequent. Finally went to eat with Don and Dian over last wkend. Hmmm... Wondering if we will be going Batam for massage this coming Sat...

We caught Rio in 3D at the new shopping centre, KSL City in JB, after dinner. My first time watching a 3D show! Nice experience. I'm not a big fan of cartoons or anime but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Theatre was new and seats were super comfy. U have to catch it on your own to understand wat I mean. Furthermore, it only costs 17 Ringgit per pax compared to SGD 14 for a 3D movie in S'pore during the wkends. Strongly recommended!

Seafood Wkend & More Flowers!

2011-04-07T21:02:00.008+08:00

My flowers have bloomed beautifully since last Fri. It's a really nice and cheerful bunch of flowers mixed together. The yellow flower which I tot was sunflower, was corrected by my coll to be Geberra. Not sure if I spelt it correctly. It was seafood indulgence over the last weekend. Went Mellben Toa Payoh branch on Sat nite to try their butter crab which was highly recommended. I had chilli pepper the last time. It's delicious. My first time eating non-spicy crab. I tot crabs have to be cooked spicy to remove the fishy smell or something cos they are seafood afterall. Apparently not... Then, we went JB on Sun for some shopping. Had dinner at Manhattan Fish Mkt. We ordered mussels for appetizer. The serving was really pathetic but the main course of Platter for 2 was just nice. Shit... I think my cholesterol is going to be sky-high at this rate.

Another bouquet of flowers delivered to the office! =) Colls exclaiming I got 2 flower deliveries less than a week after I shifted there. Hahaha...

April's Fool 2011

2011-04-02T13:34:00.010+08:00

A beautiful vase of flowers delivered to office from Far East Flora. It's from my former boss and mentor as I have moved on to a new team. Really sweet of them!! Totally didn't expect this gesture at all. They wanna thank me for the hard work put in over last few years and wish that I continue to bloom as beautifully in my new team as the flowers. Reminds me of my 1st bday in the co when they bought me a bouquet of sunflowers as well. They told me initially they wanna play an Apr's fool prank on me by putting "Secret Admirer" on the card. My 2 former staffs also treated me to lunch yest. *Touched* So my presence will indeed be felt!

The sian thing was that I left office close to 8pm on the first day I'm at new team. Supposed to meet Daniel and Carisse for dinner at 7pm one lor. I was sooooo late. And the food was so slow to be served.
Thankfully, these sumptous dishes were worth the wait. We ordered some cray fish meat stir fried, veggies and tofu with seafood. Didn't noe hawker food could taste so nice! And it was cheap. Only $20.20 in total including 3 bowls of rice.

After that, we chilled out at Indochine of Ann Siang Hill. I really like the shophouses concept along Ann Siang Hill. It has that vintage feeling like super old-school S'pore.

Cheers to a New FY! Hope everything goes great and smoothly...

End of Leave

2011-03-29T22:28:00.013+08:00

Finally met up with Cheng Wei yesterday after such a long time. Both of us were clearing leave so juz nice, we could meet on a weekday. Shopped around abit then sat down for tea at Marmalade Pantry to catch up with each other. Iced Summer Peach Tea. It was so-so only. My boss told me today their pastries are much better... Me and Cheng Wei :) Taken using CW's polaroid camera.

Gotten my increment letter today. A tad disappointed to be honest. Prob cos last yr was too good to be true and caused me to have high expectations these days. Hmmm... Anyhow, I'm rotating to a new team this Fri, 1 Apr. New FY, new challenges and new stuffs for me to learn. Whether it is a good or bad thing remains to be unknown...

Things that I like

2011-03-20T13:09:00.006+08:00

My Katy Perry Teenage Dream nail polish with Black Shatter coat. Both from OPI... Love experimenting with my own nails. Will I ever open my own manicure shop? Hmmm... It will remain in my dream for now...

Lok Lok in JB! See below...

It's some lorry which randomly stops along the streets. They have varieties of small bites on satay sticks. U take ur pick and pass to the uncle who will cook it for U. Something which we do not see in S'pore. It's quite nice for supper I think. My fav are the cheese hotdog and bacon-wrapped golden mushroom...

Got to go for badminton at my uncle's place alr. Gonna squeeze in some running or swimming too. Looking forward to my next long weekend the following week alr...

Ramen again and Meetup

2011-03-14T12:14:00.005+08:00

It's gotta be the most filling and expensive ramen I had so far. Coll and frenz strongly recommend that I try this Pork Cheek ramen at Santouka. It's around $20++. So many pieces of meat. Ate until I had stitches in my tummy after tat. The meat is supposed to be soft and tender, melt-in-your-mouth kind. The ones I got were lean meat and pretty hard to chew actually. But it wasn't such a bad thing cos it meant I didn't get those with lots of fats. Doesn't rank high on my list of ramen. I won't be going bk to eat so often. Prob only when I'm real hungry...

After that, we headed to Summer Frost for desserts. Jac was craving for some and I vaguely rem there was this small dessert shop at *Escape near Cineleisure. We ordered this Mango Mania. I only had 1 spoonful cos I was super duper full alr. It was good!

Us... Meet up soon again k!

Been to JB both Sat and Sun. Die man... When can I ever start on my diet?? Kept eating and I haven't ran nor attended pilates last week. I think I really can get used to short work week and long weekends too. This is a sure recipe for getting fat lor but it feels really shiok. 3 days work week for me again this week :) Going to color my hair. Ciao!

Food Post

2011-03-09T11:33:00.006+08:00

Finally, the pics of my family buffet are out.

The special Braised duck which I mentioned in my previous entry.

My family can nv go w/o fruits for a meal. The korean strawberries are uber sweet...

Had Jap buffet last Sat nite for dinner. It's $33++ for wkend dinner. Food is quite nice but service was extremely slow. We ordered so many dishes but only like half of it came. We already complained to the Lady boss but to no avail. There was no dessert in the menu as well. Not value for $$. Given a chance, I wouldn't go back there again...

Italian food for Sun dinner @ Amici. I had some clams spaghetti in white wine sauce. It's supposed to be one of their award winning dishes. Not nice at all. I can still taste the sand from the shells and the sauce had some fishy/sea smell and taste. He had black squid spaghetti. Both of us having diarrhea over Mon and Tue. We wonder if it's from the salmon on Sat or clams/squids on Sun. Hmmm...

Luv March

2011-03-01T20:43:00.003+08:00

First day of March and I'm juz feeling happy generally. Prob cos I'm on leave every Fri of the mth. And this week, I got leave on both Thurs and Fri which means tmr is my last work day of the week! Also, we normally get our increment letter by end of Mar. Ok, better not raise my expectation too high but I think it should be good lah. My comp is having a movie night at Vivo end Mar too to thank us for the hard work that we have put in for the Financial Year. Yippie so much stuffs to look fwd to...

Our family held the annual buffet for our relatives over the last weekend. But this time the venue is at my Uncle's condo as the lifts at my block are closed off for upgrade and it will be inconvenient for many. Food is good with the special dish of Braised duck which I have never seen at other buffets before. Waiting for the pics from my bro's gf cos silly me forgot to bring my new camera. I went swimming for the first time in many many years. Thank god I haven't lost the skills yet but stamina wasn't as good alr. 1 lap got me panting like mad...

Met another C/P yesterday morning. Come to think of it, I actually like such meetings now. Even though I am possibly the smallest fry at the meeting, I got to meet all these big shots, shook their hands and even pass them my namecard. Prob if I get to bump into them at future interviews, they might have slight impression of me. Sian thing is the minutes which I have to write after that. There's always trade-off for everything I guess...

"No Strings Attached"

2011-02-19T12:44:00.003+08:00

Movie wasn't as good as "Just Go with It". So much for the hype and expectation. Hmmm... It's abt how the 2 people, who had sexual r/s for a long time, got together in the end. Obviously there's gotta be some love to begin with right? Anyway, bought Toto for the first time yest. No such luck even for beginner :(

CNY Lunch with Custodian

2011-02-16T13:13:00.006+08:00

The lunch at Peony Jade was good. Even better than Noble House according to my colls who had been to the latter numerous times. Shall not name the custodian bank. FYI, this lunch was already declared so I have nothing to hide.

I was fortunate to be sitting beside the boss of this client svc team. She asked if this is my first job and mentioned she's currently interviewing ppl as they are hiring. So tempted to ask for a referral etc. I tot of trying client service next. But after the lunch with them, totally changed my mind. Hate all the socializing (be it fake or genuine). Dun like having to bow down to ppl and even having to serve us food. I can't rem any other times I have served anyone other than those days when I did some waitressing jobs.

I always tot meeting new people is great. It's networking and helps U to get to places or get things done fast. I guess it is true under most circumstances except when U are in a client svc team. When you are serving clients, you need to be jovial at all times, keep temperament in check and always placing clients first. I think I will suck at this job if I really do it. Anyhow, it felt really good being the client!

Contradicting. Hmmm...

Zoo and Valentine

2011-02-15T20:58:00.008+08:00

Welcoming us right after the entrance of the zoo were alligators look-alike. Called False something. I can't rem the exact name. But of cos they are for real. Try dropping some food for them...

Abit exaggerated I noe. But the weather was really sweltering hot. I didn't wanna perspire much nor get uneven tan so my brolly and fan were super handy. I was all packed for the excursion along with bottled drink and snacks. Feels like a primary kid all over. Haha...

White Tigers - I think it was the most popular attraction with many people taking pics and watching the tiger prowling back and forth...

Loads of monkies around too. Can't rem this is a Chimpanzee or watever breed. But it's really cute. Sat there by itself as though pondering abt its life in the zoo...

Squirrels look-alike and giraffes.

Elephants on the loose!

They are actually on their way to the scheduled perfomance. Enjoyed the show time. These giant jumbos totally kept us entertained and amused with their antics. It started to rain halfway through the show. Thankfully, we were intending to head back already anyway. Aren't the above pics super clear? Taken with my new camera :) But the files sizes are huge. Have just adjusted the image property. Hope my future pics will not turn out to be so big otherwise it will always take this slow to upload...

Pampered myself with manicure on Valentine then caught the movie "Just Go with It". Seems abit predictable where the 2 most impossible people get together. Funny plot along the way as the guy was actually trying to woo some other gal. I wanna catch "No strings attached" next. This romantic comedy should be equally funny if not better.

Will blog abt my custodian lunch today in my next entry. Coll took a grp pic of our table...

My Valentine's Present

2011-02-10T21:29:00.005+08:00

After much urging from my frenz to get a new camera, I finally got one Sony Cybershot! And it comes in the form of a Valentine's present. Yippie! THANK U!! So happy... I got it charged and all ready to capture pics at the zoo this Sat. Confirmed no more blurry shots and poor lighting :) Another item to be striked off from my wishlist. The headache now is where can I sell my old Casio camera? Anybody noe of any 2nd-hand shops which will take in old cameras? Pls let me noe...

Looking forward to my long weekend already. And I will not dread going bk to work next Tue cos Custodian is treating us to lunch at Peony Jade. I'm expecting the food to be as good as their mooncakes. A pity I wouldn't be able to take pics of the food cos it will appear unprofessional in front of them. Oh yeah and my comp had Lo Hei yest. Managed to shake hands with Tony Tan and take a photo with him. Still waiting for the pic to be uploaded by my coll...

CNY 2011

2011-02-08T21:42:00.005+08:00

I think if I still dun blog, CNY will be over in no time. Had to work on the 1st day of the Rabbit Lunar New Year and there were loads of urgent stuffs and problems with fundings. Thankfully I still managed to finish on time for gym. This is to ensure that I will always have work to do for the rest of this year and exercises to keep me healthy. Anyway, the nieces and nephews whom I used to play with are all grown ups already. Ang Bao collection is the main thing I look fwd to now. $$ more than enough for my food and transport allowance this mth :)

Something different this year: We dropped by Angeline's house for visiting. It was fun - Lou Hei with own grp of frenz, some rounds of MJ/Monopoly Deal/Dai Dee, pizza for dinner and playing with Xbox Kinect (which was unfortunately hanged by me several times).

Looking fwd to my Zoo pass this weekend and Valentine's Day next Mon which I'm claiming my off in lieu...

Nicole's Wedding = A fun nite of Joy & Laughter

2011-01-24T01:26:00.009+08:00

It's Nicole and Adrian's wedding held at Mandarin Orchard tonight. The very first among us to get married. I expect to see more weddings coming up soon...

The newly wed. Congrats once again Nic and Adrian!

I love this gown of Nicole's. My camera totally didn't do justice to her gown. It's a lovely shade of emerald blue and royal purple.

And for myself, I finally got to wear this Mango bare-back dress which I bought a year ago. Damn, bare-back dress is a hassle...

My personal fav pics for the night:

We had so much fun to the extent tat we were the last few to leave. I shall let the pics do the talking...

Ending with the group shot. Looking fwd to our CNY gathering alr!

Fatal weaknesses

2011-01-12T21:10:00.008+08:00

Dunno wat's up with me lately. Addicted to online shopping which is something I really dun like in the past. Bought 3 items online in a span of 4 days. 2 dresses have arrived. Still pending a biker jacket which is expected to arrive next week.

M-shaped workdress from Bonito

Fresh with Mints dress from MDS

They are pretty cheap so I didn't think much and juz ordered. But sometimes will regret cos either the material or cutting might not be very good. Shit man... Keep spending and I couldn't clear my old clothes fast enough to accomodate so many new pieces. Juz brought a bag of old clothes and even my Guess bag to Salvation Army last week but still didn't clear up much space. Spring cleaning for CNY is a big headache.

Another fatal addiction is Bubble Tea! I dun understand how come the bubble tea craze is back again these days. I drank 4 cups in a week. I managed to gather colls frm various depts to order a total of 16 cups from Eskimo last week. They do free delivery for 10 cups and above. Drank Gong Cha at PS during my movie Saw VII last Fri. Specially drove down to buy Koi on Sun and tried another new one called Woobbee at TP mkt today. OMG... Even though I increase my workout, it's still not sufficient to burn all the additional fats coming from the pearls of the bubble tea. I'm close to having a mid life crisis!! Looking fwd to my new pilates class tmr but fear of the whole body aching on Fri. It's a love-hate relationship. Sigh...

Saw VII

2011-01-08T11:31:00.002+08:00

This final chapter of Saw wasn't as good as wat I expected. Or prob I had anticipated too much as this is gonna be the last Saw. Did not experience any 3D as stated either. Nevertheless, the storyline was still not too bad. A number of Jigsaw survivors came back together for this final episode. Can't say too much as some of you might be intending to watch it but has not done so. Anyway, this is rated R21 and gore to the max. I think I will always rem a scene vividly where a guy was trying to pull a key attached by string out from a lady's stomach through her mouth. I can practically feel it in my throat and I was coughing and gagging while watching it. So just to let you know and prepare U for the show if you are going to watch it...

Short Week

2011-01-07T10:08:00.004+08:00

Too used to having Fri early off for last 2 weeks due to Xmas and New Year. Hence, I applied for half day again today. Argh still in holi mood and dun feel like working. I still have 5 more days of leave to clear after taking 24th of this mth and the Mon after CNY. Prob I should really consider taking half day off for all the Fridays. Haha...

Anyway, the long-awaited last Saw VII is out and it's 3D this time! I think this is the only movie that I have been following since 2003. Ppl think I'm crazy to like such a gore show. But I really like the simple setting yet twisted and powerful plots. Amazing how it managed to go on even after Jigsaw has died in the 3rd movie. Promise, will definitely blog abt the show after I have watched it. Tickets booked for tonite's slot. Gonna catch up on loads of sleep later to enjoy my show to the max!

2011 seems to be a damn happening year. Barely a week and I heard so much abt the ppl around me. Some getting married, some juz gave birth, some juz got pregnant. Some got bonus, resigned and found new job. Some ppl's loved ones just passed away. Suddenly I felt as though my life is a standstill. I feel so stagnant, I'm not moving but others are revolving around me instead. 1 consolation is tat I know I'm in full control of my own life. The key word is CHOICE. I believe I can achieve things tat I want so long as I choose to put in the effort. For those which are beyond my reach, it's cos I choose to let them go ;) Positive thinking - Wat a great way to start the New Year!

Difference between Old and New Friend

2011-01-03T16:07:00.001+08:00

A brand New Year

2011-01-01T21:46:00.010+08:00

Comes in the form of a heartwarming sms from someone who used to be my Counterparty. I still rem he was the first person who called me when I just started work about 3 years back and caused me some panic as I was still unsure abt some stuff. After much teleconversations and emails, we (my comp and his) finally met up for lunch this year. It's amazing how friendships are formed. He has since left MS and moved on to DB.

I'm meeting 1 of his ex coll for lunch next week before she goes on maternity leave. I believe these are contacts which are important in networking cos U nv noe when U might need their help again, be it for work or when U wanna jump ship. To put it crudely, U may see it as I'm using them. But I believe it's mutual. I like helping others who could in turn help me as well. Makes things alot easier to accomplish. *Note: This applies purely for work*

Boss noe this is one of my forte. They actually think I'm very sociable as mentioned in the recent appraisal. Wat a joke! I juz can't be bothered to spend time with my own team members. I would rather mingle with colls frm other teams and depts cos I noe I will need their assistance in one way or another and also cos there's no conflict of interest, I could talk to them more freely. More importantly, my name will be casually thrown up when my boss attends internal or external meetings. Doesn't hurt to be remembered once in awhile ;)

For some reasons, I have become very practical. I need to weigh the risks and benefits in most cases. Ppl who mean nothing to me ain't worthy to be mentioned on my blog anymore. I dun even understand why they still bother to read at all. Must have nothing better to do. Even if they are getting on my nerve through some random sms, I refuse to write it down here. In the past, I would be hurling profanity and showing U the middle finger. Now I simply ignore though I might have said it out loud in real life. Haha...

Anyway, thanks for sending me this Maroon 5 album, Yufen! I've been listening to it entire day and completely hooked on it alr. Their songs are really nice...

A great way to start this new year is that I have rejoined the Pilates class. Determined to get my body more toned so I can strut around in my new heels and dresses. A few other plans in the pipeline. Shall talk abt it only when they have been finalised.

I REFUSE TO LET ANYTHING OR ANYONE GET ME DOWN...

Ushering a New Year 2011

2010-12-31T09:29:00.010+08:00

Juz wanted to blog on the last day of 2010. Haha... It's been a rather good year for career wise. Crossing fingers for increment and bonus next year.

As usual, share with U some pics of the good food that I had. Dim Sum @ Swee Choon:

Super nice Portugese egg tart

Trip to Batam on Mon was severely overpriced I think. Ferry costs close to 50 bucks alr. Tried aromatherapy massage this time round. Dun really like the oily feeling and rubbing. I prefer Thai massage with cracking of the bones cos I will feel all relaxed after tat.

Not much shopping to be done at Batam. I only managed to get a Hello Kitty casing for my sunglass. But total expenditure was close to $100 including the food and cab fares.

Applied and got the company pass for the Singapore Flyer. Went with my family yest. I think the ride was so-so. Definitely will not pay $30 to go there on my own.

Kept repeating Maroon 5 rendition of "If I ain't got U" in office now and feeling abit emo. Nice song and meaningful lyrics. Some ppl live for the fortune, some ppl live for the fame. Some ppl live for the power, some ppl live just to play the game... Some ppl want a dozen roses and that's the only way to prove U love them... Some ppl want it all but I dun wan nothing at all if it ain't U baby, if I ain't got U baby... Some ppl want diamond rings, some just want everything. But everything means nothing, if I ain't got U...

Totally not in the mood to countdown this year. Think age is really catching up. Dun like to be sandwiched in crowds. Juz gonna grab lunch with Dian and see see at the Zara sale later. We wanna get out of town before it gets too crowded...

Xmas Post

2010-12-26T13:05:00.007+08:00

Met up with my Uni frenz for dinner at Zhou's Kitchen on Tue.

Highlights of the dinner were Peking Duck, shark's fin and chilli crab with man tou. I think their food and service standard have dropped drastically.

The whole grp with our gifts exchange.

Nicole also took the opportunity to hand out her wedding invitation. Red bomb comes in white these days. Haha...

Oh yeah before I forget, should blog abt my most exp pair of shoes thus far. Been eyeing this pair of flats from Nine West. It costs over 100 even after 30% discount. But I couldn't care less alr. Been thinking abt it and since there was sale, I juz bought it lor...

Fri Xmas eve -Worked half day in the morn and received loads of prezzies from my colls. Met Dian and we went JP Mos Burger for lunch. Dinner with KW and Alvin at a Laksa Steamboat restaurant around Harbourfront. Then, we headed to Vivo for the movie "Meet the Parents - Little Fockers". A light-hearted show for Christmas. Grabbed a beer at some German bar then we drive thru Mac for some fries before we went over to Alvin's place and played PS3 till late. I really suck at such gaming man. Haha... They had to keep rescuing me...

Sat Xmas - Almost nua the entire day. Jio Dian for dinner with us @ Taman Jurong stingray. After that we went over to JP and shopped abit. I love threesomes and spending festive seasons with my closed ones ;)

On leave tmr and heading to Batam for some shopping, eating and massage. Juz applied for half day on Thurs too. Will update again on the happenings...

Signs of Addiction to FB

2010-12-16T10:15:00.003+08:00

I had sent out a meeting reminder via our company's Lotus Notes and...

Damn... Does anybody noe how to stop the spam on the tagboard??

Movies and Food again

2010-12-12T20:18:00.006+08:00

Watched this movie last Sun. It's abt 2 strangers who got together while they were on a trip to Korea. A heart-warming romance comedy.

Lunch @ Handburger on Tue with our ex coll, Ben.

Korean set lunch with coll Allan on Fri. He quit last yr and came back recently. Guess our comp is still the best...

Sapporo Ramen @ Triple 1 for dinner on Fri nite. Highly recommended by Kevin but I dun find anything special lor :(

Caught "Let me in" after dinner. Totally boring man, please dun watch it...

AWS is here and so it's 'splurge' time. Hahaha... Was contemplating a Miu Miu bag then I saw this Gucci bag yest. Like this more so I bought it. It's a new arrival which just came in this week. The small ribbon with the gucci logo caught my eye and I like the color. Blew abt 2k alr. Time to curb my spending until Mango sale...

Jerry's VS TGIF

2010-12-05T17:52:00.008+08:00

Been to 2 Western eateries this week...

Jerry's @ Ann Siang Hill with my colls during lunch...

Deep-fried button mushrooms. Yummy...

Along with half slab of pork ribs and...

Fried chicken wings instead of the usual smoking wings.

My fav section: Desserts! Me and my sweet tooth. Haha... Brownie on the left and fondant chocolate cake on the right, each with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Dropped by TGIF for dinner yest with Jac and Josh. This meet up was long overdue. Jay couldn't make it cos he was at Batam...

I like the ambience and decor. Right smack in the middle of Orchard but still able to give a chill out feel...

Boneless chicken breast meat with a few sticks of celeries

Their mushrooms are not bad too. With a sprinkle of some cheese bits...

Forgot the name of this dish. But it tastes good, like crepes wrapped with some fillings.

We had these mini desserts - Oreo, Strawberry and Snickers.

Final Verdict - My vote goes to Jerry's. I think their food is more appetizing overall. TGIF seems more like a place for drinking...

Thanks for the prezzie, gal! Love ya and Enjoy yourself in France/Paris!!

Dun get burnt playing with fire, Joshie!

New discovery @ Raffles City

2010-11-27T10:58:00.005+08:00

Tried different foods at the basement of Raffles City this week. It's been some time since I have been there. Seems like there are a number of new restaurants sprouting there.

Squid Ink thin crust pizza highly recommended by a coll so we decided to drop by during lunch to try. It's really good! A definite must-try... But I must warn U the wait is rather long around 45 mins. So it's better to go there when U have the luxury of time...

American breakfast pizza complete with an egg on top of it. We ordered these 2 pizzas to share...

Sweet lil dessert from Mei Ling yesterday just when I needed something to perk me up. So many ppl juz enjoy incurring the wrath of me. I shall just write them off as PMS. Grrrrrr...

Met up with my poly frenz for dinner last nite. Ramen @ 大黑屋. I think this is so-so. Nothing out of extraordinary...

Me and Li Sze. She juz got ROM recently. Happily married but having in-laws problems alr. Haha marriage is scary...

Kok Hong and Kian Seng.

After dinner, I went for some drinks at Wala with Des and Kelv. Both of them juz finished their papers yesterday. Great chill-out last night, exactly what I needed after a long day of pissed-off incidents...

Random pic of my hair bands :)

3 more weeks, Pighead!

Random chat

2010-11-23T16:25:00.003+08:00

Was chatting with boss then she mentioned abt this coll whom I was quite close with during the 1st half of this year. As some of you might have known, my boss went away to NY for half a year on biz trip.

Hmmm felt so weird, I almost forgotten abt this person's existence alr. We used go home together on some days and sms off work, even during wkend. Boss used to tease that those "butterflies" will float down to look for me cos we are on diff floors. So some of the colls got the wrong idea and boss even thought we fell out cos he expressed interest and I rejected. Haha... No such thing and I'm not interested in an office r/s lah. All I can say is it's complicated and we didn't really talk anymore cos of some other issue...

Food Paradise

2010-11-22T22:16:00.006+08:00

Didn't really feel like blogging but I figured I'd better do so before I become too lazy to upload the many pics of food which I had recently.

Tried the unique Xiao Long Baos @ Paradise Dynasty. They have 8 diff flavors - Original, Ginseng, Foie Gras, Black Truffle, Cheesy, Crab Roe, Garlic and Sze Chuan. It's really good I tell U. The taste just seems to explode in your mouth. It felt like paradise seriously...

Personally, I still like the original best. Boring me likes conventional stuffs :)

Sliced pork La Mian. This is not bad too. Only downside is the noodles is too soft, dun have the QQ feel to it.

I had ramen @ Parco Millenia again yest (left pic above). I learnt tat the shop name is Nantsuttei. Tried the right pic ramen @ Ippudo of Mandarin Gallery few months back while shopping with Dianna during my 3pm off. Good thing it was off-peak hours cos we ate around 5pm so there was no queue. Think these 2 are the best ramens I have tried so far. Soup base is delicious and their meats simply melt in your mouth...

Boss treated us to team lunch at this new noodle restaurant which is juz beneath our office.

The diff types of noodles... I think so-so only. Not worth the price U are paying for.

Some fried mushrooms in crispy Vietnamese nest cost $16 just like that!

This is nice. Short cakes with blueberry and coconut coating...

I like this as well. Avocado with walnut ice-cream and aloe vera. See see see I can really eat lor. So stop saying I'm thin cos I think my fats will be piling on soon! Scary... I need to workout more...

Ending off with a pic of the Christmas tree at our building. I like the feeling of festive season creeping close ;)

Relaxing Week

2010-11-19T16:03:00.008+08:00

It's been a rather relaxing week with a mid-wk public holiday. Caught 2 movies this week.

Unstoppable during the Hari Raya PH. An exciting show about how to stop a train which had nobody on board to control it due to some mistake. Better than wat I expected. I thought it was some violent action movie.

Movie screening at our office - "Marley and Me". I noe I noe, I'm so fortunate to be working in this comp. Lunch time screening at our auditorium complete with Subway set lunch all packed nicely for us - F.O.C. Storyline is more or less expected when you have an animal in the show, esp a dog. From when U get it as a puppy to when it's going to die. As usual, touching when it is going to be put to sleep...

It's meetup with Daniel, Carisse and Yufen for dinner at night. Erm can't really name of the restaurant at Esplanade. It's right opposite Harry's. Think tat place is more suitable for drinks rather than food. The servings were mainly so small except for my Fish & Chips...

It was a great catch-up session where we talked about things close to our hearts. We should have more of such sessions, guy and gals!

Anyway, I have decided to set aside 1k from my AWS next mth to spend. Some ppl tot I'm setting aside that 1k to save. Lol... I'm saving the rest of course. Since I didn't see any big ticket item which I like, I shall juz spend it on clothes, shoes, Mango sale and anything. Oh yeah am thinking of perming my hair. Can't wait for Dec to come. It's the mth of giving and I have already finished wrapping the presents for my colls. All 10 of them...

Hair Band Craze

2010-11-18T11:48:00.004+08:00

As you can see, I'm running out of ideas to blog these days. So I'm taking chats frm office as topics. Haha... Actually, there are certain things that I thought of blogging about lah. Emotions and feelings from deep within my heart. But......... Am aware that there are more people reading my blog even though I might not noe who exactly. Guess it's better to play safe bah...

Yes, am so into hair band craze at work lately. All my colls are asking me abt it. I bought a couple of similar ones with the small ribbon in a corner. Got time then I'll take a pic of them. Boss even asked if mine was the real Ferragamo. Someone got me the imitation from Bangkok lah :)

Am in happy mood today cos tmr is Fri!! We got something special during lunch and I can't wait to meet Carisse, Yufen and Daniel for dinner tmr. Been waiting so long for a chill out session. Will elaborate more in my next post...

Thin thin thin

2010-11-16T17:28:00.004+08:00

OMG will ppl stop saying that I'm thin? It's not like I'm stick-thin or wat lor. My fats are just well-hidden tat's all...

We were talking abt another coll whom I think is really thin lor. Can nv understand why they think I'm thinner instead. WTH... I rest my case man...

Thank You

2010-11-13T21:20:00.006+08:00

Wonder how I should start this. Hmmm...

Juz wanna say a BIG thank you to U. U noe who U are. The one who spoilt me silly and always wanting to do better than wat others have done for me.

Listening to my rants and grumbles daily, be it nitty gritty stuffs. I noe I could always count on U to be there for me. Going out of your way to please me. Many apologies that I wasn't able to do the same.

Tolerating all my nonsense and "sotness". U didn't even mind tat I call U a PIG HEAD. It makes me wonder how a person can be so nice to others. Of cos there were a few times when U flared up and walked away cos I seriously dun deserve such goodness. U noe when I'm picking a fight and U will squabble with me. But U have nv given up on me...

Sending me home on most days even though the walk from Chinese Garden is not very far. And even picking me up occasionally from work. I said U didn't have to do tat and U will make up excuse that U happened to be paying ur bills at the AXS of Chi Garden. It makes me dread going home now cos I hate the walk. Look wat U have done to me...

I'm not writing this to spite anyone. This is meant as a genuine THANK YOU! And get ur ass back in Singapore soon, Pig Head!

Due Date

2010-11-10T22:14:00.002+08:00

Before I forget, I think I ought to blog abt the movie I watched over the last long wkend.

Due date is mainly about the "forced" road trip of 2 guys. 1 was rushing back home for his wife's delivery of their first baby but his wallet was stolen (unknown to him) by this other guy. So they had to travel all the way together. And many comical stuffs happened along the way. Simple setting but a really hilarious show worth catching...

Not feeling good this week. Sickening cough juz wouldn't go away even though I have paid Doc a visit on Mon. I even woke up with a sore throat this morning. Need plenty of rest. Can't wait for this wkend and next wed PH to come alr...

Daily Trivia (LOL)

2010-11-03T17:25:00.005+08:00

We were talking abt bags today. Men can be extremely brand conscious too!

How many of us are so willing to bring a branded bag to gym??

Colleagues

2010-11-02T17:07:00.004+08:00

Wonderful colleagues I have at work who keep me entertained. Haha... Here's an example:

They are in the same dept but I dunno they weren't on the same team. And of cos he said I can't post this on my blog but nobody in my comp noe abt my blog address. So keep it hush! Lol...

Birthday'10

2010-11-01T12:37:00.007+08:00

Somehow I dun really feel like celebrating my birthday anymore once the age hits mid 20s. Haiz so sad... But it still warms my heart to receive all the well wishes from my frenz. This year is slightly more special with a number of messages coming from overseas as some frenz are on holiday.

Here's a recap of what I have done over the long wkend. Played badminton on Sat.

Watched "You Again" yesterday. Quite a funny and nice show which I will recommend. Esp good if U used to have an archnemesis whom you could connect with on that show...

Then it was Halloween @ Night Safari after dinner. First time I was there for such event. It was quite fun I must say. I got a real scare the first few times when we were on the tram ride. I was hiding so low in my seat and using my bag to hide my face.

Then I grew bolder and was trying to scare those ghouls back instead. Lol... It was pretty hilarious. They screamed at me and I screamed back as well. Wanted to paw them with my "claws" too. Hahaha... Had quite a late nite cos we queued close to 2 hrs for the Haunted Village which is basically a haunted house with all the ghosts, spirits and what-nots. Well-worth the experience I think. Wouldn't mind going back again next year...

Got woken up by the stupid loud drilling at my block this morning. They are doing some lift upgrading. Decided to jio my dad for bowling since I can't sleep with all that noise. Now that we are back from bowling, the drilling still hasn't stopped! My god, it's giving me a headache soon. Seems like a wrong day to take leave man...

Compliments

2010-10-30T11:44:00.003+08:00

Been receiving a number of compliments lately. It's as though I'm glowing and radiant. Firstly, I have had a number of colls coming up to me regarding my nails. Did glitter French manicure for my cousin's wedding tat time. They said that it was very pretty and some thought it must be very costly to do such nails. Then, they got really surprised when I told them that I did it myself. Well, some noe that I'm into nails and I do my own nails at times. Said I should open a manicure shop. Haha... I did entertain the thought before but this market is really saturated now. Anyway, I said I was looking for guinea pigs first but my gal frenz were staying too far away for the experiment. So my colls offered to book a meeting room for me to do their nails during Xmas and CNY. Lol... Told them my standard not that high yet lah, see how it goes bah...

Secondly, I have received compliments on my smooth complexion. I guess I haven't had much problem with my face so far. They will ask me what products I'm using. And I told them I have actually just started on my skin care regime with oil cleanser, toner, moisturizer and masks. 1 coll told me to splurge on more atas brand instead of my Fancl and Neutrogena for now. But I dunno which brand is good for me so let me slowly try first...

Last but not least, this is the compliment which I detest. People have been complimenting on how slim I am and ask me to share my beauty secrets. I'm actually growing wider but people just can't see my fats that's all. Argh... Neither do they see me so disciplined working out and watching my diet now. It's not like the past when I'm juz skinny and can eat watever I want. I'm not the naturally slim type anymore. I'm really working hard to maintain and keep the fats off. Sad case... Hit the gym and ran close to an hour for 8km yest. There's no secret really. Just exercise and watch the diet lor. Simple as that...

Anyway, been really sick and tired of work. Since I didn't noe which bank to go next, I decided to request for a transfer internally first. There's high resistance to change but I noe I need to do this. I have to push myself out of my comfort zone and try to learn more while I'm still in the drive mode. I wanna be a highly motivated individual =)

IOD Retreat 2010

2010-10-24T12:26:00.003+08:00

Finally, this year's retreat is over! Tiring but more fun this year compared to all the brainstorming last year. We played some games like Treasure hunt and Charade around RWS in the morn. Had buffet lunch then divided into 2 groups to watch 2 movies - Kungfu Panda and Invictus. Discussed on the quotes and learning points from the movie. Had a brief sharing on IQ (Innovation and Quality) as well. It's some ongoing project.

Dressing up or rather down for our dinner. The theme was "East vs West". We kanna East so our team decided to don some Malay costumes. Ours was the simplest cos we did not spend a dime. We borrowed the costumes from our fellow Malay colls.

The entire Malay family. They say we really look like one. Lol... Papa and Pregnant Mama in the middle with the many daughters and my supposedly "husband". Good thing I'm good frenz with "hubby" aka Ah Beng cos he and I were sabo-ed to rep our table on stage. There were various reasons. Some say it's asthetics, some say our costumes very compatible and stand out from the rest. Watever, we juz got it over and done with...

I think the Indian costumes are quite nice. They even had all these bling-bling accessory stickers to stick on their hands and forehead.

Me and Cindy. I think our color combi is quite nice. Pastel green and sweet pink. Didn't take too many pics last nite. That's all I have. There were other groups who dressed up as SIA crew, cowboys, glam Oscar winners and some from Venice with the accompanying masks.

On course tmr and Tue - "Think on your feet". 3pm off on Fri. I have decided to head to the gym since I can't really run outside with the haze. It's going to be another short week followed by the following Mon off again. Hahaha... I have taken Xmas' and CNY's Mons off too and I still have 7 days of leave to clear ah! Notice that I have been taking alot of Mons off. Prob will consider taking leave on a Friday soon...

Teck Hong's Wedding

2010-10-18T17:17:00.005+08:00

Did recept for my cousin's wedding last night. As usual, I'm the front desk gal and it was my pleasure. Was the only one sitting there for the groom's side until this other cousin came along.

It's her wedding coming up next in Dec 2011... Times really flies. I still rem us playing at her house when we were young. Now she's going to get married soon! It's damn sickening though when the other relatives kept asking me when's my turn -_-"

Groom and the Bride...

I didn't manage to get a nice shot of them in real life. So took a pic of their wedding photo instead.

With our nieces...

And their sisters...

My youngest niece aka my new plaything now. Haha kidding... She's real cute.

Took today off to rest. Since I had a stack of complimentry parking tickets at Marina Sq from the wedding, went down to catch a movie and shop a bit. Bought yet another pair of flats this time from Pazzion. Dunno why I'm crazily into flats these days. Ballet flats, pumps etc you name it. It's my current love ♥

Argh it's back to work tmr. Boss is gonna be back from US this week and it's our dept retreat at RWS this Sat. Totally not looking fwd to that. Need to dress up in Malay costume for the dinner and my coll wanna sabo me to rep our table...

Miscellaneous abt Work

2010-09-30T16:48:00.005+08:00

Was chatting with my coll who has been looking for another job.

Me: Is it really so bad here?
S: Too comfortable already...

Hmmm got me thinking. I'm pretty comfy with my post as well. I noe it's not a good thing to be too comfortable. U will get complacent and start to slack. But I'm actually very curious abt how outside banks operate as this is my first perm job since graduation. But scared that I might not be able to come back again once I left. I'm content with the pay, environment and colls here. Juz hoping to learn and experience more. Oh well... Not going to make any silly decision in the meantime.

From my Executive Director: “Our comp started to selectively take on more risk from the second quarter of 2009, amidst growing confidence in the economic recovery. I am pleased that the 20-year return of the portfolio has improved. While the global economy is experiencing a rebound, the recovery path beyond this year is subject to significant uncertainties. But with vigilance and foresight, I am confident that we will continue to achieve superior and sustainable performance in the coming years.”

We have been in the headlines very often these days. Our Logistic Unit is going to be listed soon. A pity we couldn't participate in the IPO and restricted to buy the shares. Personally, I think it really has long-term value for investment. The paper also wrote that we have recovered most of the loss from the financial crisis. Looks like bonus is looking good next year =)

Marriott Mooncake - Choc Praline with Whisky

2010-09-23T14:47:00.002+08:00

Mid-autumn festival is officially over but I'm still enjoying my snowskin mooncake - Chocolate praline with Whisky from Marriott. It's nice, comparable to the signature champagne truffles from Raffles I think. I need all the sweet little treats that I can get. Stressful period for me. Massive trade volume and transition next week. Boss still in NY so ask me to look after the shop front. I hope Sep and Oct end soon...

Bangkok + Universal Studios

2010-09-18T13:51:00.004+08:00

My long break since the Hari Raya is coming to an end. It's my longest break since I started working. Trip to Bangkok was good as we had 6 days there so it was not very rushed. The food was great, so were the purchases. They were well-thought through and considered, unlike previous times when I anyhow buy simply cos the stuffs were cheap. Ok long story cut short, here are the highlights of the trip:

We went to watch Muay Thai live at one of the stadiums. Did some research online and found this only stadium which was offering free entrance. It was not as violent as I have expected. I thought there would be blood streaming from nostrils etc. Nope, their bodies and face only got red from the punches and kicks.

Went to Lebua Sky Bar, highly recommended by my coll, Samuel. Really nice ambience, sipping my Strawberry smoothie with a fantastic night view of Bangkok. Lebua is the 2nd tallest building in Bangkok at 64th storey.

The food which I really miss now are Kaya roti and Tom Yam mee. Trust me, they taste really good. The thick kaya melts in ur mouth while the Tom Yam is spicy enough to tickle your throat yet at the same time makes you yearn for more.

Can't miss out on the cheap yet totally satisfying manicure and massage in Thailand. I'm still amazed at their skills and handiwork after all these years. They do it so much better than Singaporeans but charge a lower rate.

Bought loads of stuffs from Naraya. Couldn't resist the girly and frilly bags & pouches that they carry. Oh and I bought the Black limited edition Longchamp bag at the airport. It is relatively cheaper and they are having some further discount so I got it around $170+.

Went Universal Studios Singapore yest. We got there pretty late as I had dental appt and we were contemplating whether to go or not as it was raining. Decided to go ahead with it as it's very hard for us to take leave for the rest of Sep and Oct. Reached there close to 4pm and we were rushing to take as many rides as possible. Hence, we didn't manage to squeeze out a pic at all. Only bought a Betty Boop cushion and some chocs from the Hershey store. And I miss the Churros sooo much. Had a choc one at USS yest. Last ate one in Jap Disneyland. Tot S'pore doesn't sell. I suppose such theme parks would have...

Just finished checking my work emails. 1000+ emails in a week. Totally dreading going back to work on Mon. My senior will be on leave for 2 weeks so I have to resume my post immediately. Sigh...

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

2010-08-28T13:43:00.004+08:00

Genting was great. Had loads of fun eating, bowling, playing in the theme park and casino.

I find that I'm so into food lately. Even willing to wake early on a Sat to have breakfast at Cafe Cartel. Initial plan was to eat at Coffee Club but Cafe Cartel's seem more appetizing. This pic would have been nicer if my other egg york was still full. The sausages, bacons, french toast and pancakes with honey all taste so good.

Had lunch with my colls at Qun Zhong on Neil Road yesterday. It's this famous chinese eatery near Maxwell which sells juicy xiao long baos and some other stuffs.

My favorite red bean pancake. It's crispy on the outside with warm red bean oozing out. Finally satisfied my cravings...

Organised this lunch for Farewell of Limey. His last day with the co is next Tue.

Later at night, had buffet dinner @ Sakura Dhoby Ghaut Green.

I think the best dish for the buffet was Crayfish Laksa.

For those with sweet tooth :)

2nd Farewell of the day for Jie Ying this time round. She's leaving our team to join the Custody and Control grp. There's another coll who is going to get transferred to MOF in Oct. So cool right... My co is offering this opportunity but they say it's very hard to get in. He had to went through rounds of grilling interview, complete with essay writing on tough unfamiliar topics. Oh well, all the best to all these colls for their future endeavours!

Chain of Good News

2010-08-19T16:33:00.003+08:00

Overwhelmed with good news today. Came in first thing this morn and coll told me to look at our intranet. We are finally implementing casual/dress-down Fridays after much discussion. Glad that we are able to wear jeans every Fri from tomorrow onwards. My jeans have been hanging in the wardrobe for the longest time. Also, I now have the excuse to buy the pretty white/pink jeans I saw the other time ;p

Next up, Boss called us from New York. 3pm initiative is back for Sep-Nov! This means that each of us can go off at 3pm on your selected day each month. Whoopeedoo!! I have selected to go off early on 9 Sep since 10 Sep is Hari Raya and I got block leave all the way till 20 Sep. This is going to be the longest break I have since I started working in 2008.

I'm a happy girl lah. Best of all, I'm going on leave tmr and the following Mon. Hurray!!! Genting here I come...

Food and more food

2010-07-24T13:46:00.004+08:00

Had Korean food at the Kim's Family Korean Restaurant over last wkend. It's around Bukit Timah area. As U can see they have plates of side dishes. Quite cheap for a korean cuisine I must say. Rather authentic as well...

I ordered Spicy Pork Ramen. Anyway, korean ramen is always like instant noodles one lah. I still like it though. Grew up with maggie mee :)

Met up with Daniel and Carisse during mid week. Still on with the ramen craze. We had ramen at Kyo Nichi of Far East Sq.

Good thing Carisse is changing back to Apac hours again. We can lunch soon in Aug!

Caught "Inception" last night. It's such a popular show that most slots are sold out or close to fully booked. Some say that it's a complicated movie which is hard to understand. I finally know why after watching it last night. All I can say is it's dream within dream...

Ramen Craze

2010-07-18T00:46:00.003+08:00

Ramen @ Parco of Millenia. Soup is unique and thick. Shiok! Been trying out loads of ramen lately. Had Hokkaido ramen at Santouka of Central Mall last week. Yest had ramen at a Jap place near my office, along the Uncle Sam stretch. Next Wed gonna have ramen for dinner with Carisse and Daniel as well. I noe it's crazy. Haha... But I'm not sick of it. Noodles are my favorite!

Jac was late for the meetup today cos she was having her hair cut. It's quite short now. But definitely fresh looking. Accompanied her to dinner at Cafe Cartel while we had drinks and catch up with one another. Anyway, service at Cafe Cartel was damn bad. Most of the staffs are young Malays. They can't be bothered to provide good service.

Jay and his gal. They went to club at the new Dbl O after tat. No idea where it is. They mentioned that it's somewhere in Bugis. Doesn't matter since I have quit the clubbing scene.

Shit... Coughing away this wkend. I wanna get well soon........

Disgusted

2010-07-10T12:23:00.004+08:00

Thought for very long on how I should start this entry. Fuming inside so I feel it would be good to let it all out on my blog. Some guys' behaviour is really beyond words. I dun think I'm even shocked anymore. Prob cos I have seen my fair share of things. But it has seriously rendered me speechless.

Ok let's start by analysing what these guys have in common. They hold good jobs with well-known corporations. They look perfectly well-groomed and seem like perfect gentlemen sort. But beneath these profiles, they are just wolves hiding in sheep's wool. They can do all kind of stuffs behind their gf's backs, act like nothing has happened then go bk acting all lovey-dovey with their gfs again. It disgusts me to the point of puking. ALMOST...

Cos I got to witness all these first-hand. The guys have been telling me so much sweet-nothings. Tat I always hold a "special" place in their heart. Tat I am the world to them outside their gf. Awww.... Haa I dunno whether to laugh or wat. I juz treat them as jokes which I share with others. I can nv understand wat they hope to achieve out of this. Do they really think that I would be so stupid to fall for it?

I even noe some of their gfs. Worse thing is I had to be the one who kept reminding them that "Hello, you are attached lor". Dun they have a conscience anymore? Wonder how their gfs would react if they saw what their bfs had said to me. Pity those gals yet a part of me think it would be amusing to see their reactions. *Sigh* Gals, you can nv trust a guy 100% cos it's just in the male's instinct to wanna cheat. Notice I didn't say cheat. He might want to cheat but somehow didn't manage to get through with that act for various reasons...

Meanwhile, I'm resisting my urge to blow things up cos I dun wanna turn them ugly as 1 of them is my coll afterall. Yes coll, can U believe it? Actually, I would think such thing is common in the corporate world. Anyway, told some other colls abt it too. Told U, I would share private jokes like tat. These guys will juz end up making a fool of themselves. One commented that I was the "men's lady". U noe the inverse of a ladies' man. U can see the taskbar on my office's desktop. So many chats blinking with messages and most of them are, you guessed it, male. Those raging hormones...

But of cos some of them are my gd frenz. They are happily attached to their gfs. 1 has just proposed to the gf and they are hunting for house and hotel for the wedding alr. I have even lunched together with the gf b4. I have plenty of respect for guys like this and that is why we are so close. We can talk abt almost anything under the sun. Cars, COE, housing, sports, soccer, stocks, r/s and even to the point of comparing our pay & bonus w/o the competition factor.

I hope more guys can be like tat and lesser with those baddies. But sometimes, it's just my wishful thinking. Haha... Ok I feel so much better after letting it out here :)

Rejuvenating

2010-07-03T13:23:00.005+08:00

Went for manicure session with Dian yest after work at Vedure of Wheelock. Dian found some promo on Cozycot. $8 only for a full set of classic manicure instead of the usual $30. Wat a great deal!

After that we had dinner at Itacho Sushi @ Ion. Again, another strong recommendation from my colls. They say the sushi are nice and cheap. I think they are quite fresh, price-wise is so-so. I like relaxing girly sessions like this :)

Sometimes, I'm really like shooting myself in the head when it comes to work. I always feel that things can be improved or done in a better way/method so I will drop an email to my boss since she's still in NY. Boss will review and come bk saying great idea then ask me to implement. Another arrow aimed straight at myself. Voila, I have created more work for myself. Gd job, Linda! Well, I'm certainly sustaining my employability. Lol... Geez....

Eating and Shopping

2010-06-25T11:22:00.008+08:00

I figured I'd better blog before June ends. Too many pics and too much stuffs. What with World Cup and GSS going on. Had a gathering the other day. We ate at a restaurant called Hong Kong Street at Novena.

Food was good, felt almost like we were attending some wedding cos of the many dish courses...

After that, we proceeded to Ying Qi's place for the World Cup. Got to admit I'm not a big soccer fan. Juz went along for the heck of it...

Tried Mellben Crab the next day. The much-raved about delicious crabs that my colleagues have been talking about. They have arranged a session previously to go after work. I gave it a miss as it was too far for me at Ang Mo Kio. It was quite nice. But colls said I ordered the wrong one. Should have ordered butter crab which is like their signature dish. Oh well will try it next time when I'm there again...

Some of the nice shows that I caught recently and are worth mentioning here. "Karate Kid" and "She's out of my League" are good. I was laughing my head off for both shows. Esp for the latter show, I was laughing all the way even after the movie ended, till I got home. (It's a private joke here that I share with someone. LOL...). Go catch them. Oh and Twilight part 3 is coming out next week. Forgot wat's the title though. Is it New Moon?

Spent alot lately. Mainly on Mango sale and that alone is a few hundreds alr. Like 400+. Ppl think I'm crazy but well I'm a MNG fanatic lah. Managed to get a number of dresses, tops and a cardigan this time. Alright, that should be sufficient for my year's of supply already. Need to curb my spending for now. Income tax is here as well. Hmph...

Back to Pilates and my most EXP shoes

2010-06-10T13:52:00.002+08:00

Juz got bk frm pilates class. Yup signed up for the gruelling sessions again. Sometimes I wonder how come I simply enjoy torturing myself. Haha...

Anyway, met up with Carisse and Daniel for dinner last night. We talked about going to Bali/Krabi for a short getaway. Hence, they were researching on the iPhone. We shall try to psycho the rest this Sat when the grp gets together. Hope this trip will materialize. I'm so tired from working again. And I need to clear my leave desperately...

And here's presenting my most exp shoes thus far. Ok granted, it does not cost alot lah. Like around 60 bucks only. But I think it's the highest cost for my collection. I have never believed in spending loads of $$ on footwear cos it has been "used and throw" for me. Most of my heels are frm Charles and Keith, costing around $30 only. But I was shopping around during lunchtime and I feel in love with this pair of shoes at Gripz. Since my coll is a member with Gripz, there was 10% off so I juz bought it without 2nd thoughts... Lovely, was just looking for more flats lately...

Sweet Bonus

2010-06-05T20:03:00.006+08:00

Following the increment mentioned in a couple of entries ago, my sweet bonus is here as well. Had the luxury of time to shop yesterday while the rest of the world was slogging away. Felt almost like one of those tai-tai in Orchard. Haha... It was my off in lieu for working last week's Vesak day. Dian was free to shop as well cos she hasn't found a job, hence I had company. GSS has started and there was sale everywhere, including all the branded stores.

Got myself a Prada wallet :) Not surprising to splurge again, is it? Funny how I always buy items which are not on sale during sales period. I had enough of bags and so is moving on to other stuffs now. Looking for a diamond ring too but not easy to find one that I really fancy. Anyway, the wallet was less than 5% of my bonus. Plenty to save for rainy day which is a good thing. I can invest another few k more for my own trading as well. My next aim shall be to hit 6-digits in my bank account...

Money aside, I think I'm in one of my foul mood swings again. Seem bent on driving away ppl who care abt me. (Sorry for hurting U on purpose this time round). I juz felt that I dun deserve the attention and concern. They should find someone who is able to reciprocate. I'm really the worst of the lot. I almost felt like screaming out loud "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!". But no, I'm not happy after driving ppl away. In fact, I'm feeling depressed and lonely but I guess this is for the better for both myself and them. I really need some time out. Just me alone and getting used to it...

So much things have happened recently around me. Life is really a cruel joke.......

Coll's Wedding Dinner

2010-05-18T17:10:00.002+08:00

Attended my coll, Sin Han's, wedding on Sun @ Shangri La. Too many tables alr. He had 64 tables in total and I left before the whole course was finished as the dinner started really late like 8.30pm. The bridal couple took a long time to walk around and take pics too so I gave up.

It feels like some grand Gala premiere where all dressed up elegantly for the event. Guys were decked out in branded attire while the gals wore different beautiful dresses. See how well the LV bag frm my previous entry complements this dress. Love~

LV Wilshire

2010-05-13T23:05:00.003+08:00

I have always been proud of the fact that I dun need a guy to buy me branded and/or luxury item. Simply cos I'm not the materialistic sort and I can afford them myself. And here you are, destroying my statistic. Haha... Thank you so much! Presenting the classy LV Wilshire, specially from Germany :)

Love it loads. Been contemplating wat color to buy for some time already. Like the Rose Pink but I think it will be dirtied easily. Finally settled on this Amarante color as I think it's the easiest to match and versatile. Gonna use it for my coll's wedding this Sun at Shangri La...

My 2 new Best Friends

2010-05-02T21:56:00.004+08:00

Meet my 2 new friends who have been keeping me company these days. Hello Kitty and My Melody. 1 from Japan and the other from Singapore :) Been feeling so lethargic lately. Juz like to lie in bed, hug my beloved cushion and read. Oh and JPM challenge is here again this coming Thurs. I should be geard up for it this year...

Yingqi's Birthday

2010-04-09T15:07:00.004+08:00

It's the time of the year again. Still rem we met up a year ago around this period at Mad Jack. This time, we met at Somerset 313 to celebrate Ying Qi's birthday.

Nice grp pic taken in front of the restaurant where we dine - The Hamburger. I didn't eat cos I was too full from my lunch and Don chicken pie during tea break. Will become super fat if I continue eating at this rate.

The gals :)

Time to open presents...

We got her some tops from Joop, a black bag from M)phosis (for her to bring out to lunch) and also a Mango sling bag. Think we know her taste too well. She just bought the exact bag in the same color a few weeks ago. Bummer... It would have been a perfect gift if she hasn't bought it. Anyhow, we gave her the receipt to exchange for something else instead.

Happy Birthday in advance, Ying Qi!

Japan trip and Big Fat Increment

2010-04-01T21:05:00.006+08:00

Was in Japan from 19-28 Mar 10. First time I've been to a country where the temperature is below 10 degrees. It was freaking 6 degree! Teeth was chattering and I was close to freezing. Nevertheless, it has been quite an experience.

Think this is the best pic that Carisse and I have taken together at Himeji Castle.

Fushimi Temple, as seen in "Memoirs of a Geisha"

Golden Pavilion. Wonder if it is really made of gold or just sprayed gold color.

Can't rem the name of this other temple. Caught a bit of the cherry blossom as well...

We bought tickets to Sumo wrestling tournaments as well. It's actually quite interesting after you learnt the rules etc.

Tokyo Disney Resort. I think this was such a letdown. We only managed to take 3 of the rides and they are those kiddy merry-go-round, pinnochio and the Mark Twain ship. We got the Fast Pass for 1 of the more exciting rides but it was scheduled at 5.30pm. It started raining close to 5pm and too cold for us to bear. So we left. Such a bummer and waste of money for the entrance fee as it was close to $100...

Absolutely miss the pan-fried noodles in Osaka so much. It was so delicious. Sorry for the lack of description for the entire trip. Basically, we have been to Osaka, spent a day at Kyoto and also travelled to Tokyo. Shopped a fair share as well. Bought mostly Jap snacks...

Limited edition snacks and some packaging like this Jagabee is only sold in Jap. Alot of the Meiji snacks are also like half price cheaper. So I bought quite a bit back to Singapore. Got some more snacks like Royce chocs at Narita airport too...

Not forgetting my Burberry Blue Label. Tat's almost like my mission there. Haha...

Bought a blue label and another Agnes B bag :)

Received good news when I'm bk at work this week. Got our increment letter just in time before the new financial year starts today. Wasn't expecting much cos my last increment/promotion was back in Nov if you recall. I tot the most I would get is $200 more per mth. But no! It was a few times the amt. Got a kick out of my manager's reaction. She doesn't know how much we get as the director gives out the letter herself. She was asking me single or double digit in %. I said double and she started guessing 15 or 20%. Haha... I said no, higher. She gave up and asked me to tell her the range instead. I juz told her it's more than 30% lah. She almost wanna faint alr.

Although my appraisal was done by her, I guess the final decision still lies with director bah. Director told me I'm in the upper band so they made quite a big adjustment to my pay. Ppl often ask me are my bosses male? I'm proud to say both my direct manager and director are female. So is the manager who first interviewed me back then. This increment is based purely on merit (& a tad of sheer good luck) and I have earned wat I deserved.

Surely there are some ppl who get red-eyed though. Some might think that I'm not working as hard cos I dun knock off extremely late like to the extent of taking cab home daily. I believe in the notion of efficiency. Work late does not equate to good quality of work. I guess sometimes we just need to work smart. And I just have to continue to strive forward and maintain my upper band!

Long Working Hours

2010-03-13T23:56:00.003+08:00

No longer the 6pm gal which my boss used to call me. Unable to knock off on the dot anymore. Trade volumes surge this month. Had to stay back to help my colls. Nowadays got to attend meetings and take minutes some more. Haiz... All cos my boss is flying off next mth to NY for half a year.

So tired frm work. Am jetting off to Japan next Fri for my well-deserved break. Busy packing luggage and trying to gather more warm clothings cos the temperature is 4-14 degree. I hope I won't freeze to death there.

*Looking forward to increment next mth and bonus in June* Hope they won't give out the letter while I'm in Japan...

Anyway, some ppl have asked "Are my expectations too high?" Hmmm... Food for thought...

CNY period

2010-02-26T16:11:00.003+08:00

So glad it's Friday. Having drinks with Jason and Patrick after work. Gathering at Carisse's house tmr. Looking forward to an evening of fun with Blackjack, Wii and mahjong. And more importantly, it's the last day of my bloody shift! Back to the normal 8.30 to 6pm next week onwards :)

Batam & Cupcakes

2010-02-08T19:44:00.008+08:00

Batam on 30 Jan 10. A 1-day trip which tires all of us out. We were all knocked out on the ferry ride back. But first, let me briefly run through the day's activities.

We reached Batam around 1pm and went ballistics upon seeing A&W. Now that it's even going to be extinct in M'sia, it is a must-have for us!

Ice-cream root beer float :) Fattening yes, but I like :p

After that, we (more like the boys) shopped like crazy in the dept store and we went for a full body massage. Forgot to take pic of this... Was too engrossed in the enjoyment. The guys were complaining that their masseurs were very rough with them though (such as standing and stepping on their backs. I dunno how true this is). Haha...

Dinner at 933. This pic doesn't do justice to all the food that we actually ate. Missed out on the crab and groupa which arrived later. Those are the more expensive dishes. We ate till we almost puked. Had to play games and those who lose gotta forfeit by eating the leftovers. Ok, that's the end of Batam cos we cabbed back to the ferry terminal to catch the last ferry home.

Random pic of his cousin's guinea pig. It's so tame and the fur is so nice. Cute!

We were supposed to go his cousin's place and learn baking. But shifted back to his house instead due to some unforeseen circumstances. So interesting, our first attempt at baking. The making of cupcakes:

First, we need to prepare the flour, sugar, butter, egg and a little milk in the right proportions. Mix them well together in the same direction otherwise there'll tend to be air trapped in the mixture.

Then, it's ready to be piped into the beautiful paper mould for baking.
The result from the oven. Hmmm, smells and looks so nice...

But we are not quite done yet. Still need some toppings and icings on top of the cupcakes to beautify them.

Tadah! Our finished piece of masterart! 36 cute little cupcakes in a box. We made 2 boxes - 1 for Cheng Wei's place and another box for Alvin's house. Many thanks to his cousin, Hui Xin! We would not have been able to succeed without your guidance and assistance :)

And the post-cupcakes review. We got loads of thumbs-up from our frenz. Yeah, it was really a sweet success!

Am blogging from the office right now. Have a conference call with New York at 9pm. Boring~ Yawn...

Samsung Omnia Pro 7330

2010-01-29T11:17:00.003+08:00

Been so lazy to blog. Recent updates: Bought a new phone and boots from GoJane for my Japan trip. Will blog abt my boots when they arrive in S'pore. New phone just got delivered to office. Seriously, I hate the new phones these days. All either touch screen or keyboard styles instead of my usual number key pad. And the recent craze with iPhone. It's crazy! I dun understand why everyone is getting it. I see ppl holding it on the MRT, office, everywhere. I know I'm so outdated but I'm just not the techie type of person. I only need a phone to call and sms. Basic functions will do, no need too complicated.

Anyway, there's no such simple phones available at the moment. If there is, it's those ugly ones which I will rather die than be seen with. Since I re-contract my plan with Starhub under Corporate plan, it's such a waste not to get a new phone at the same time cos I can get it at a cheaper price. Hence, I bought this Samsung Omnia Pro 7330 at only $88. Wanted 7320 cos the espresso brown was nicer but it went out of stock. I was thinking if I really can't stand using such phones, I'll just sell it away at a higher price lor. No loss for me and I checked the price of my current Nokia phone already. 2nd hand shops willing to buy at $80 so my new phone will cost $8 only.

Am still trying to figure out how to use this new handphone. It's so foreign to me. Oh and at work, I'll be moving out of Cash bonds team and doing Futures & Options next. Gotta learn new things as well. All the in-the-money and out-of-money are driving me nuts. I need to know when we can exercise the options and when we are being assigned. There's the executing broker and clearer too. So chim... What I studied back in school are really all in theory only. Now I need to bring these to reality.

Anyway, am heading to Batam tmr. So excited and looking fwd to it!

Ushering in the New Year 2010

2010-01-03T14:17:00.005+08:00

Ate so much over the past few days, it's horrifying. Did not take any pic at my cousin's wedding on 29th cos I forgot to bring my camera. Her wedding was held at the exact ballroom where I had my company retreat dinner. So coincidental... Anyway, the following food pics are taken at the buffet - Carousel of Royal Plaza on 30 Dec 09.

FYI, these are all the food that I ate (except for desserts which I shared with a coll to avoid overdose of sugar). Would have taken more salmon if they were more fresh. The chef didn't cut away the skin and it tasted fishy. Dun like...

Then, I rushed off for my graduation photo shoot at Broadway of Serangoon. Yes, it's long overdue. As most of you would have known, I snipped off my long hair last year immediately after my convocation ceremony. Hence, was waiting for my hair to grow back before taking this family portrait. My family preparing for the shoot. Daddy combing his hair in the background. First time seeing him and my bro wear blazers, so formal. Haha...

Only managed to snap a pic of my bro and the person forbade me from taking anymore pic. She said can only use phone camera so I didn't take any. Need to go back for photo selection in 10 days. I hope the photos will turn out great. The photographer made me laugh so hard that I burst out laughing and he snapped already in a few of the shots...

Steamboat on New Year's eve with his frenz at some Imperial place of China Sq. Food's not too bad with handfuls of seafood and meat at only $15 per pax.

We headed to Esplanade after dinner. Got there about 10pm and found a good location on the grass patch. Lucky thing that we were armed with ground sheet, red wine and some tidbits. Time passed quickly and it was the countdown for the New Year! Not that I hear people counting down though. We only bothered about the fireworks which followed as the clock struck 12am. It lasted for approximately 10 mins. We had such an awesome view, right smack in front of the fireworks display. Traffic back home was a killer though. We were stuck in the jam for close to an hour. Guess that's the price to pay for a New Year countdown in town.

Yesterday, met my Uni frenz at Marina Sq Waraku. We booked the Tatami room for Jap style of seating and dining.

Our presents for belated X'mas gift exchange. I got a mini portable speaker from Angeline. Sorry forgot to take a pic of it...

After that, we went over to Yingqi's place. Played a few rounds of charade and Bluff. My first time playing these games. They were quite fun. Hope we will have more of such gatherings to come. Oh yeah nearly forgot to mention, she has a really cute doggie called Happy. I was scared at first but this dog is really friendly. Forgot to take a pic of her dog as well. Haiz...

My Xmas presents

2009-12-29T11:56:00.011+08:00

Been procrastinating but I figured I'd better blog before the New Year. We had an event 'Bring your kids to work' on Christmas eve. Hence, our office was filled with fun and laughter last Thursday. Some were damn noisy though, screeching away for mummies and daddies.

These rascals belong to the guy manager who always walk over to disturb us. They are really notti, just like the father. Anyway, my boss got this manager a Grumpy carebear (I helped her buy it from JB). It's an inside joke. They say he always have this grumpy face during meeting and a big tummy juz like the bear. So we were telling his little gal tat the bear represents her Daddy. She got really pissed, covered her ears and said 'I can't stand it anymore!' while shaking her head. And she also know how to roll her eye and say 'Oh man!'. Very adult and lady-like lor. Haha so funny...

Received alot of presents from my colls. Pic only shows some of them. I felt so paiseh taking their presents. They were so sweet to get everyone something different and gift-wrapped individually. I simply bought a box of cookies for all to share. Haiz... Still feeling so bad. Shall shop early for Christmas next year...

And my very special Christmas present from a special someone:

iPod Nano! This is 8GB thus, I dun have to delete old songs so as to add new ones. Love it!

Going for my cousin's wedding dinner later tonite. On leave tmr, will be headed for buffet lunch at Carousel @ Royal Plaza on Scotts (Boss's treat) then my graduation photo shoot. Looking forward to meeting my uni bunch of frenz this coming Sat. Oh yeah belated Merry Christmas and have fun ppl!

Flu Bug

2009-12-21T20:43:00.006+08:00

Been meaning to blog but couldn't seem to find time for it. Had dinner with Geoffrey and his gf last Mon. My cousin (he's coll with Geoff's gf) was supposed to join us but things cock up last min and he couldn't make it.

Caught New Moon after the dinner. I think the show was very draggy. Dunno whether it's because I have read the book and knew the story. Was waiting for the scenes to slowly unfold. No element of surprise or anticipation at all. The show lasted for abt 2 hours. I was close to falling asleep.

Anyway, have went JB over the weekend. Jac and I bought all our xmas presents for colls and friends already. Finally, everything is settled. We got our contact lens too. They are really cheap. I went to check out how much they are sold here in S'pore. It's abt twice as expensive. I bought a camisole and dress (which I have aimed for very long and think it is limited edition) as well from the Mango sale. Now, I just need an occasion to wear this pretty little black dress. Tot of wearing it for my cousin's wedding next Tue. But it's a bit too low-cut to wear to work in the day. Haiz... If only, my cousin's wedding was on a weekend. Oh well, shall wait for the next occasion.

Caught the flu bug over the weekend. Have been sneezing away. A bit of sore throat too. Think I had too many dark bitter chocolates last Friday. Still haven't recover today, hence was on MC. Okie, I shall go watch tv and rest alr. So excited this is X'mas week! Will blog abt my Christmas present next...

My 1st Kate Spade

2009-12-14T12:53:00.006+08:00

Friend didn't manage to get the Kate Spade bag from US. But my manager did! Boss emailed me last week to ask if I have gotten the bag and I said nope. Hence, she offered to help me buy and here it is! She just passed it to me this morning. She even got a 20% discount. This bag is selling for S$730 in S'pore. She bought it for slightly less than S$500. That's like more than S$200 savings for me.

Bag looks nicer in picture than in realilty though. The prints are not as dark as seen in this pic and the material actually feels a bit like denim. Good thing is S'pore does not sell it. S'pore only carries red and black. I wanted red initially but found out that there is no white in S'pore. Thus, I prefer something unique where few ppl will be carrying.

Notice my title, I said this is my 1st Kate Spade. Haha... Pretty sure there will be more to come. But I swear tat's it for now. No more splurging on bags for me. This is my one big fatal weakness. Was at the airport yest (Yup somebody is back *Smiles*). Bought some Xmas gifts for my gal frenz. Left with 2 more presents to buy - colls' and friends' gathering gift exchange. Shall see whether there's anything interesting to buy in JB when I go in this Sat... Oh did I mention that the 3 OPI nail polishes I ordered through some online spree have arrived? Totally enjoy doing my own manicure/pedicure with OPI. It is really good. And new colors for this Xmas :)

Loads of Shopping

2009-11-29T01:03:00.006+08:00

Xmas comes early for me this year. I already started shopping on my Xmas list (some are not within the list actually. Haha as usual...). Met Jac in town today. Came back with so many shopping bags. My arms are aching from the weight of all these bags.

Thank god I bumped into my bro at the MRT station and he carried some of the bags for me. There's more bags within the paper bags.

Burberry Bag. Dunno whether this is considered an impulse purchase. Saw the price tag and I was surprised that Burberry is priced at 600. I thought they are supposed to cost abt 1+k to 2k. Like the shape and compartments. Think the price is reasonable so I bought it. Another bag added to my collection. Sigh... I really think I got some problem. Juz cannot stop buying stuffs... I still got another Kate Spade bag coming soon. Got a fren to buy from US, should get it next week. That's like 2 bags in a span of a week. OMG!!! I seriously need to stop and save up for Japan trip instead cos I noe I will be getting a Burberry blue label from there...

Before I forget, must mention that Yufen got me this wonderful Jodi Picoult book for my bday. Thank U so much, gal! This author's books always make such a good reading. But it's so nicely wrapped up. I dun bear to open it to read lei. Haha...

Jac also gave me bday present today. Sweet Raspberry mask and eye patches from Face Shop. Please do miracles to my dark circles. Haha... Thanks alot, babe! Enjoyed our girlie outing today. Treated ourselves to $1 macarons from Bakerzin, loads of shopping, dinner then drinks at Alley Bar. See U again soon in Dec!

Ok I need to keep reminding myself to stop spending even though I'm getting my 13th mth in Dec. That money needs to be set aside for Japan trip. A few things left to buy though. These are necessities I swear. Contact lens and xmas prezzies for my colls and my girl frenz. Hmmm... Ok tat should be all...

Associate Foundation Program

2009-11-22T12:54:00.003+08:00

Was on course Thurs and Fri - Some Foundation Program for Associates. Albeit a little of propaganda about how we, Gen-Y, are taking over and 'ought to be' the future leaders of the co, it was quite fun.

They played us the movie "Kungfu Panda". Even though I have watched it before, it's still nice to watch it all over again. We also did the MBTI personality test. I'm ISTJ which actually translates to Introvert, Sensing, Thinking and Judging.

Here's an extracted description of ISTJ:
Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized – their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

Researches say the highest percentage of S'pore managers fall into this category. During the course, can see that most of the colleagues there are quite ambitious and highly motivated individuals. They wanna go up the corporate ladder in the shortest time possible. This is something that I am still unable comprehend. I'm totally satisfied where I am and whatever comes my way, I'll embrace it. Otherwise, it's juz too bad lor. Why make life difficult and so stressful by getting embroiled in the rat race?

Guess this is my mentality. Used to want to top everything. Can't blame me for my competitive nature. Juz enjoy the feeling of winning and coming out top. This explains why I worked so hard in my Poly days. But when I get to Uni and see so many scholars, I know there is no chance of competing with them. Hence, I decided to be more laid back and enjoy my last schooling days in Uni. I dun need to be at the top anymore. Juz being contented will do :)

Life is short. Get the most out of it by being happy at the same time!

Going off at 3pm again tmr. Will head to the gym cos it's been raining almost everyday and I can't run after work. Then, I shall leave my shoe bag there since I'm going bk to work on Fri which is a PH. Life is good, be healthy :)

Retreat'09

2009-11-16T13:53:00.007+08:00

Finally, retreat on last Sat is over. Wanted to blog about it yesterday but I didn't have many pics so waited for others to upload on FB first then I kop. Haha...

The entire dept - Over 100 IODians. We were all wearing customised GIC/IOD T-shirts. Green, black and orange. Damn sian ah... Wake up early on Sat morn to come bk office. I was telling Boss I only wake early on Sat once a year for the annual retreat. Zzzz...

Games that we played during the day. Poison river... We have to cross the river by following the sequences of the boxes on the floor. Some positions require really awkward moves where ppl could get interwined...

I think this game was worse. All of us had different disabilities and we needed to cross over to the other side of the room. I had it worst. I had to be blindfolded, hands and legs were also tied up. Practically can't move at all so KB had to carry me. But he was also blindfolded! I was so worried that both of us will fall and topple over. Thankfully, we made it across successfully.

It wasn't just all games though. We had to use our brains as well. Had to sit down and brainstorm on some ideas then after that present to all. That's my Asst Director in the pic. He presented on behalf of FI Vertical. I kanna arrowed again to take notes and summarise. Haiz... So sad. After retreat, I still need to go back and do work while others don't have to.

Then, we proceeded over to Meritus Mandarin for dinner. Presenting our very own drag queen - Alan! That was a total surprise. Wasn't expecting that at all. And seeing the different performances by all the groups, I think our dept is actually quite a creative bunch of ppl. Thumbs up ppl!

Redesignation

2009-11-09T13:20:00.004+08:00

Forgot to mention previously that birthday also marks the end of probation for me. 1 year as a perm. Close to 2 years with the firm already. It's also end of the sickening shift (at least for 2 mths).

Title has changed to Executive Analyst. Name sounds nice only. Still doing the same old job and just getting more and more arrows. Happy thing is the increment that comes with it. Not as much as I expected. But still a few hundred is better than nothing.

Anyway, caught 2 movies over the last week. Watched My Sister's Keeper after work with Carisse last Tue. It's refreshing to be able to catch movie at 7pm on a weekday. If I'm still doing the bloody shift, it would not have been possible. This show is really a tear-jerker. Touching, nice show about how a sister was 'specifically designed' to save her sister who is suffering from cancer...

Caught Saw VI on Saturday night. This is pure gore. Amazing how he can still eat his burger while the show was flashing all the horror scenes. Haha... Have watched all the Saw movies till date. I think the director is good at being able to continue the show even after Jigsaw has long died. Wonder if there will be Saw VII next year. Hmmm...

Ok, back to work. Boss and mentor both on leave this week. Even more arrows aimed my way. Sigh... This is going to be a long 6-day work week. Company retreat on Sat which I'm totally not looking forward to...

Birthday'09

2009-11-01T13:54:00.007+08:00

Older by another year. AGAIN. Haha... Every year just passes very quickly w/o even realising. Thanks to all who remembered and all the birthday wishes!

Carisse was so sweet to get me an Apple pie/struddel. Haven't ate it though. It's still in my fridge.

Colls also got me a huge New York Cheese cake from Secret Recipe. Didn't wanna bring it home so cut everything and even gave a slice to the cleaner auntie.

Beautiful flowers. This one with doggie was given by JL whom I met for dinner on Thurs.

This is a special bouquet from someone overseas :) Come back soon... It was sent to my office late. I went off at 3pm for my dental appt. Coll called me to say there's a bouquet of flowers delivered to me. Went back to collect and at the same time put my 'Out of Office'.

After dental, it was dinner at Fish & Co. on Friday with my family. We ordered this Sea Food Feast and another plate of pasta to share.

Last but not least, I had buffet dinner at The Line of Shangri-La Hotel last night. Heard so much ravings about it. Finally tried it myself. As usual, whacked salmon the most. I think I would have eaten more if they were displayed on trays. This one has to get the chef to cut on the spot for you. I had a total of 5 servings, too paiseh to go bk for more. Scared the chef will recognise me. Haha... They say the desserts there are nice too. I think it's not bad lah...

After chilling out by the poolside with our teas, we wanted to go catch a movie and then... BAM! Got into an accident, all by ourselves. Didn't hit any other car. I'm still in a daze though. Can't rem the exact details, it juz happened too fast. I know he was trying to overtake some car at a bend and suddenly the car skidded. We were spun 1 round, the back of the car hit the railing by the road shoulder.

I wasn't wearing seat belt. Lucky thing was his instinctive to reach out to shield me from the glass. No injury, only suffering from a whiplash now. Can't imagine what would have happened if there was oncoming traffic.

Nevertheless, I'm feeling bad and guilty now. Things shouldn't have turned out this way. If only I haven't suggested watching the movie at 11.30. Sigh... I hope things will work out for you. All the best...

Grooming

2009-10-23T23:33:00.003+08:00

Loads of grooming to be done. Juz got my hair cut at Supercuts (recommended by my coll). She said the stylist is good at making your hair grow. Haha so tot I'll juz try it out. Going to rebond tmr and make new glasses. Eyesight getting poorer :(

Next fri shall fix my dental and manicure appts. Going off at 3pm again. Need a break again badly. Feel so tired again. Shall do a mask while I read now. Gd night, world!

A very different Saturday

2009-10-18T20:07:00.005+08:00

It was a very different kind of Saturday spent at the Marina Barrage yesterday. The past few times when I was there, it was always nite time. It didn't occur to me that ppl could actually still fly kites there, just like before they tear down Marina Bay to build the Barrage.

Weather was good, too good actually. Sun was so bright that we need to squint all the time. Haha... It was pretty windy too to allow the kites to soar.

We were trying to capture the Singapore Flyer in the background.

I like this pic with nice backdrop :)

This pic was taken when we were abt to leave. Though it was hot and we were perspiring like mad, it was loads of fun and a totally new experience. Nice~

Subsequently, we headed to Bugis for Steamboat. Food was so-so only. I didn't eat much so it wasn't worth the money to me.

Celebrating Sep & Oct babies. Thanks a bunch, peeps!

Yufen and Angeline only turned up for dinner.

All the gals present at yesterday's outing. Oops sorry I didn't take much pics of the guys :p Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Shall see all of you again soon, most prob another outing at year end / Christmas?

Hate that it's Mon tmr, start of another week. Something feels missing...

Catching up with my GFs

2009-10-04T15:08:00.002+08:00

This is almost like a GF's week. Met up with Cheng Wei on Tue nite for dinner, went off work at 3pm on Wed and met Dian for some shopping in town. Then, I met Jac yest for a little more shopping at Bugis & Haji Lane. Got another dress. Omg... I juz realised I got many many black and white dresses. I should start getting other colors otherwise it would look like I'm attending funerals every other day.

Laid my eyes on a DKNY bag. I wanted brown but the sales gal told me it will only be available next week. Frenz have been telling me to save up this 400 bucks for a more high end bag like Dior or Chanel but I can't make up my mind. Still thinking...

Oh and I have booked air tickets to Tokyo in March next year with Carisse. So excited! Can't wait...

And I'm so happy to finally get my hands on the new book of Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol. These books are one of my early birthday presents :) *Thank you all*

Fri nite's out with Colls

2009-09-27T13:24:00.004+08:00

Went for a drink with colls after work on Fri. They are all from other teams.

The girls - Me, Cheryl, Marilyn and Cindy...

The guys - Zhao Qiang, Song Mau, Alan, Sin Han and Zhi Hao. JJ supposed to join us too but he got tick to the F1.

The entire group :)

We went for dinner at NY NY first before heading to 'Howl at the Moon' for drinks. I didn't eat though. Have been skipping dinners for 2 consecutive days cos I'm too full from all the mooncakes and snacks at work. Seriously is eat until scared. Boss bought cream raisin bun (our fav). I really could not eat for the day alr. Saved it for breakfast the next day.

Anyway, it was a great nite out, bonding with colls. The pub was quite nice as well. Music was good, with Black and ang moh singers. Wouldn't mind going back a second time...

Power

2009-09-16T18:56:00.006+08:00

I really enjoy what I'm doing right now. It's as though I have just found my purpose in life. I like knowing many things and being responsible for my trades. I'm blessed with a photographic memory so ppl can even call me after work to ask for a particular trade and I know exactly what they are talking abt. I even had a conference call with NY once after I had gone home.

I like having the authority to instruct my NY office and another bank which we had outsourced some business to. I like the feeling of being respected and looked up to. Today, a coll from the Equities dept was chatting with me. He asked if I was busy. I said a bit as I need to cover another coll who is on leave. He said he knew it wouldn't be a problem for me cos he heard I'm quite capable. No idea where he heard it frm. It's funny though.

Contrary to what Jason said the other day, I dun think I'm such a bum. Boss used to call me the 6pm gal. So wat if I go home on the dot everyday? I have a coll who stayed late. Both of us have the same job and I would say her job is lighter, minus all the reports etc. Wat does this go to show? Why does she need more time to do lesser stuffs? Hmmm... Dun need to spell it out, everything is shown during appraisal and the amt of bonus you get. Boss was amazed, she asked how I managed to knock off promptly everyday. I was so tempted to say cos I dun go for 2 hours lunch and I'm efficient. Haha... But I simply said it can be done one lah.

Have been used to ppl coming up and asking me how I do things so fast. I think most importantly is to be alert and keep yourself abreast of things. Firstly, dun trash emails which dun concern you. Juz read it as FYI so you know when ppl start talking abt it. Hate talking to this coll who doesn't have a clue even when you ask her abt her trade. She's extremely blur and boss juz said today this coll got the highest possibility for her to flare up at.

Anyhow in this banking industry, it's extremely small. Ppl somehow tend to noe each other. Needless to say, Boss has frenz in other banks. 1 of them told her that they like to call me cos 'anything unsure, ask Linda lor. She's so nice'. I'm flattered. I like helping ppl who make my job easier at the same time. At the same time, I'm creating a back path for me in case I wan to jump ship next time.

On top of that, it doesn't hurt to put on some shows now and then. I have been so used to checking emails from home, after work and on weekends cos I dislike to be flooded with emails when I get in first thing in the morning. I will reply some urgent emails or something that I might forget if I dun reply right away. Again, ppl is amazed by this action. Other banks called me and asked how come I'm still working at 2am on a Friday night?!?! Boss sms me, asked why I'm so guai, nv go out on a Saturday afternoon.

Seriously, 'wayang' is important, Jason. Wat's the point of working hard if your effort is not recognised? I would advise you to work smart. I will bring home some reports to do if there is need for research and tight dateline. But other than that, I would like to have work-life balance. Dun have to work exceptionally hard or even ask ur boss for more work to show that you are hardworking. Taking the initiative is definitely better. Like throwing in suggestions to improve things. Seeing the big picture is good. Suggested improving some procedures in our NY office. Boss read and gave the green light. Viola~ I gave heads-up to NYO and suggestion implemented. Easy as ABC...

Juz submitted my appraisal form for the upcoming annual service award. Pleased to know that I can fill up so many more points even though it states maximum 5 bullet points. I obediently obliged. Some things you juz dun have to be so explicit. Know it in yourself will do.

Key thing is I totally enjoy being in control now. It's like I have been lost for so long. Now I finally found my place in life. U noe how ppl say U walk with a bounce when you are happy. I can feel that right now ;)