Wondergirls - Nobody

Celia sent me this to perk up my Friday.
And it did, in its own little way haha..:)

Enjoy the vid! Quite comical in certain areas.

Kym & XL

I'm happy for Kym & XL...:)
The first baby within our closer clique will pop into this world sometime in early December! :) :) :)

I felt happy for Rohlin & YS when I found out about them having a baby due in Sept.
I somehow feel even happier for Kym & XL hahaa...

It's always nice to grow up with a bunch of people and seeing them about to become parents themselves now just feels like a big momentous milestone. I don't know it's almost like as if having a kid marks a huge transition into another stage in life.

Anyway, they've always been good with each other. I'm sure Kym will make a great Dad. XL will be a good mum too...though she might be abit blur at times hahaha...;p

Of Sponges

We were talking the other day about how a colleague erroneously used the word “shrivelled” to describe me. K made a joke about me being like a shrivelled sponge needing to be soaked in water again before becoming more filled out again.

Me: I don’t want to be a sponge!
K: But if I’m SpongeBob, then you have to be Mrs SpongeBob!
Me: Hmm. Actually, what’s the female equivalent of “Bob”?
K: Bob is actually the short form for “Robert”
Me: Roberta? Hmm, Mrs SpongeBoba?
K: No dear!!! I know already! You can be Mrs SpongeBoob!
Me: .................
K: Hehehehe

730

I'm happy for K. He called me a few minutes ago.
He's gotten a very good score for his GMAT! :) :) :)

Applications for Masters underway!
Go Baby!

pensee

Thoughts.
Ebbing.
Flowing.
Thoughts.
Jumbled.
Distorted.
Thoughts.
Floating.
Clouding.
Thoughts.
Everything.
Nothing.
Thoughts.
Permeating.
Meandering.
Thoughts.

snippets

Extremely emo week last week, especially towards the end of the week.
Woke this morning feeling emo again.

Hope this week'll be less emo.

I hate it when I get this way. Because I cannot concentrate on things. And then I get frustrated.
And then all the more I cannot concentrate and then I get more frustrated and you get the drift.....

==========
Caught "Sing Dollar: The Musical Comedy About Money" on Friday night with K, Dan & YL.
Any Dream Academy musical with Selena Tan at the helm has not let me down yet.

Sing Dollar didn't as well. I laughed so much during the 2.5hours I felt light-headed like a giggly schoolgirl.
The set was done up quite well in a witty manner. The performances by most of the cast were good. And Singaporeans definitely could relate to the show.

I was wondering what the ang mohs who attended the musical thought of it. Was wondering too if they could understand some of the colloquial language used, the local jokes given, and the tons of dialects used ha.

=========
Watched "Public Enemies" on Saturday night with K.
Anything with Johnny Depp in it will not fail.

The show was good. The soundtrack was good. Johnny Depp was good.

Enough said. :)

=========
Went blading yesterday afternoon. And started the session with a grand slam.
Lol, there was a slope before the tracks. K went down it first and sorta landed on his bum on the grass patch next to the slope...
And when I went down it later, he was waiting at the bottom of the slope trying to catch me...I slammed into him and both of us went down to the ground haha....

Interesting way to start the blading session hha...;p

I think we hit 11-12km in all...
I was a slowpoke though and K had to slow down so I could keep up...

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Michael Jackson Impressions

I absolutely love these guys hahaha...such talent and humour.
I spent the last 10mins laughing away at my desk.
Silently of course *sneaks a quick look around*
*ahem* Heng it's a Friday. haahhahha

Enjoy the vid!

Dino-bee

As you can tell. Friday's aren't exactly very productive days hahaha...

Came across this pic while surfing the net.

Ain't exactly anything particularly interesting. I just like the colours on the dino. ;p

And the fact that it's a cross-breed between a bee and a dino. Hehe..

Musings

It's a cheerier morning today.
By the simple fact that it's Friday.
By the simple fact that I had an hour's more sleep than the previous night.
And by the simple fact that I had a ham sandwich with 12-grain bread for breakfast.

Lovely.

Hope to be able to go for a run tomorrow morning.
And then settle French homework before setting off for Gran's place and then to class and then back home for family dinner and then out again for a movie.

Il est tres long temps que mes samedis sont libre...Il y a au moins deux annees et plus?
Il est un peu fatiguee quelquefois mais je pense qu'il est "worth it".

Animal Zodiac

So which animal sign are you?

I love how the chicky...opps...I mean the rooster looks like here. ;p

The monkey looks sadly like a jaundiced mouse though. :(

'Nuff Said

Je n'aime pas le matin

I feel unladylike today.

Couldn’t wake in the morning. Grabbed an old pair of pants and an off shoulder black top. Am in total black today again. The handbag doesn’t match the outfit but oh well.
Seriously, I’d much rather be in jeans, flipflops and a T-shirt or tank top everyday.

Hope I’ll be awake for the 4pm meeting later on.

Zoning…I mean…Signing out.
More Zee Avi, The Verve and emo songs for me today perhaps.

See Me No Up

5 of us went out for lunch today. We were having a conversation during the kopi session after lunch, talking about whipping and lashes. HC was talking about lashing Kelvin with a Valentino belt. And so I added my little input to the exchange.

Me: Eh, Kelvin, not bad what! Then your weals will be branded weals leh…
Kel & the rest at the table: Huh? What? “Wheels”?
Me: No lah. Weals as in W-E-A-L-S.
The rest: There’s no such word lah. Dumbo. It should be “welts”.
Me: No, there IS such a word!! You guys don’t believe me!! There’s really such a word!! *pout*
The rest: Hmm mm…*unconvinced faces*

Minutes later…on the way back to office.

Kel: *Fiddling with his IPhone”
Kel: Eh guys, there’s really such a word leh. I just checked the dictionary. So she’s right.
Me: YAH LAH!!! Then all of you didn’t believe me!!! See me no up!
Me: *wails*
Me: Although my level of English is not extremely high, and I speak Singlish, but it’s still considered quite good ok!
The rest: Orh ya yah..okok. *Continues with their other conversations*
Me: .......*sulks*.........

幸福小女人

I’m a 幸福小女人. :)
Went over to K’s place yesterday evening after work. And dinner was prepared by him already. And what was on the menu? Yum Yum.

Beef Steak seasoned with sea salt and herbs
Mashed Potatoes with salted butter, Italian herbs and pepper
Salad with Italian dressing

Every now and then, it sure feels good to not be the one who is doing the cooking. Hahaa. ;p

And to give credit to my dear Mr K...
Hehe, here's a pic of his thumb. With a big blister on it.
Gotten from mashing the potatoes too vigorously.
Orh lalalalala...sayang you ok...:)

Even Singa is Down With Flu???

Gosh. I didn't know they made masks for Singa the courtesy lion too!
Saw this at the Suntec foodcourt and laughed my head off.

Life

This was taken in November 2008.
Moody moody period for me. Lots of things were going on then.
It's interesting how your mood affects what pictures you take. :)
This was along the Singapore River.

I was waiting for Daniel & YL to arrive at Timbre, Empress Place.

They were rather late and I took a stroll by myself along the river.

Soon enough I found myself a nice corner under a shady tree and just sat there.

A slight breeze was blowing and I felt rather alone then.

Dusk came.

I thought the landscape to be extremely pretty and I took this picture.

Pity it was with my mobile.

A digicam would have captured the colour nuances much much better.

Eight of Spades

This was taken awhile back.

More than 6 months ago, on the 2nd last day of 2008.

At a time when I wasn't feeling good about things.

I remember it was a dreary morning, when I was waiting for my bus to arrive.

I noticed a little poker card. It was left stranded on the roadside.

Sitting atop the yellow line bordering the side of the road.

It looked like it felt darn lonely to be there. And so I took a pic of it.

Eight of Spades.

I thought it to be a nice omen cos there was a nice ring to it.

s-t-r-e-t-c-h

I think I need to do more stretching again.
I've stopped for about two months and for the last 2-3 sessions of jogs I had, the back of my right knee would ache. :(

The ache travelled all the way to my right ankle yesterday. Bleah.

Ok, time to start stretches at home again..

Younglings

I’ve been conducting several interviews yesterday and today to look for someone to replace my current admin staff who’s leaving to further her studies.

Looking at the young fresh-faced girls and speaking to them, I thought of how much I was like them all those years ago. 22, 23 years of age. Some only 19 or 20. Fresh out of school, hesitant, raw, eager to please and just ready to accept any job coming their way, whether perm or temp. Some of them are good, and speak well and confidently enough. Some are still very much in their shells. Others were nice girls but lacked any punch.

For those whom we have not short-listed, I truly wish them the best of luck on their forays into the working world….where monsters lurk in hidden nooks and serpents hiss in other crannies…;p
And I hope these younglings will cross paths with worthy mentors who will guide and teach them well on their way forward.

In time to come, they will be like me. Looking at interviewees and thinking about the time when they were once too young eager beavers.

Another Something to Brighten Our Tuesday

After Dinner Activities

It was after dinner. And there we were. The two of us.
Seated on my bed and staring into space.

Brows knitted in concentration and furrowed with effort.
You could almost see droplets of sweat dribbling down our temples.

There was total silence. Except for the low humming from my air-con.
There was no movement. Except for the constant gnawing of our jaws.

We were on a mission.
A quest.

To knot cherry stems with our tongues. :)

Just Something To Brighten Our Monday

Good Weekend

It was a good fulfilling weekend.

Friday Night
Dinner with the Duckie ladies. And for once in a very long long time, we had full attendance. Actually, not only full attendance, we had partners in attendance as well. :)

K was there and the poor lad had to undergo a grilling session by the ladies & Sasi.
How did you guys know each other? Since when did things start? How did things start? Yada yada…;p

Loads of laughter, loads of stories and loads of round-table updates yet again.
Next gathering is scheduled to be in September perhaps. :)

Saturday
Stewed chicken soup, mustard leaf fried with dried scallops, steamed fish.
Simple lovely dinner and wonderful company makes for a great evening…:)

Sunday
SHAPE run! :)

I waited for a year for the run to arrive and it’s gone in a jiffy. Completed the 5km and it felt good to be able to do it. A year ago, I’d only have managed to run 10% of it? Hahahahaha…

Am wondering if I should try the 10km SCM at the end of this year…5 more months to go. Hmm.
Timeline abit tight to try to train myself for it. haha..

Had a nice light macaroni lunch at K’s place before heading out to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The show was good at times. But extremely slow-moving and a little draggy at times. Butt and shoulders were aching at the end of the show haha.

Dinner was at The Garden Slug (Telok Kurau Lorong L, Bright Centre). I’m in love with that place. Everytime we’re there, 95% of the stuff we order turns out excellent. :)
Cosy, quiet, idyllic and nicely tucked away from the hustle and bustle of town.
Many many thumbs up.

More Jai Ho!!

I realised something strange.

Haha. Jai Ho in the original version motivates me to work!!

Lol, I was looping the song over and over again yesterday. And it gave me the much-needed boost to work work work.

:)

More Jai Ho for today! Woot!

Chords, Trebles, Rhythms

It always feels great to start the day with good songs.

Glenn, Vernetta and the Flying Dutchman consistently churn out good stuff on Class 95's Morning Express. I love them for that hahaa..
These 2 songs were the first 2 songs I heard this morning.
Have I mentioned before I rather like UK singers? Enjoy.

Music maketh moods :)

Valerie - Amy Winehouse


Go West - Pet Shop Boys
Classic classic song from 1993.

Jai Ho - Pussycat Dolls

This was the first song I heard this morning. The Pussycat Dolls version.
A pity I couldn’t get the official video for this.

Great song to get you grooving for the day ahead.
I spent 3-4 minutes just dancing in the room and feeling great about it. :)



Here's the original version from Slumdog Milionaire.

Me no heart mornings

I’ve all along known I’m not a morning person.

But I never realized I was that much not a morning person till I….

Slapped eye cream on my cheeks this morning.

And oh yes.

I put my spectacle case into my bag this morning.

Without my specs inside.

Ugh.

I hate mornings.

Someone You Used To Know - Zee Avi

As a follow-up to the vid posted yesterday.

Interesting to see it from the other viewpoint.
Songs are usually about the person who was dumped.
This song is about the person doing the dumping. i.e the dumper and not the dumpee.

Enjoy the lyrics. I like the mellowness of it all...:)

==========
Someone You Used To Know - Zee Avi

It was helpless anyway
There's nothing much we could do or say
Darling don't you think it's a shame?
That it had to end this way

So here's to say goodbye,
Olove is lost, and we cant figure why
Maybe it really is about time
That we finally made up our minds

So Darling, here's to you
I hope that when you find someone new
That she would always be true to you
To love and understand you

Soon you'll build new memories
Then slowly you'd forget about me
Then i would slowly be
A distant memory

Soon i'll just be
That someone you used to know
But darling you will thank me
For letting you go
Time is not for wasting
I hope you'll find your intended
But i'm sorry that your intended isn't me

It's not an easy thing
To shake off our history
I know that's what you want from me
But they will always stay with me

I admit i made mistakes
But darling with you it's just the same
If we stay there will be more to make
I dont know how much more we can take

Darling, it would be unfair
To stay with something no longer there
But it doesn't mean i no longer care
But i'd feel like a burden you can't bear

No Christmas for Me - Zee Avi

What can I say...I like this girl. I'm on a Zee Avi rampage now...
Enjoy this one. Mellow and soothing.

Suddenly wish I could sing and strum like her. :)

Someone You Used To Know - Zee Avi

This is by the same singer who sang Bitter Heart.
Lovely airy vocals...Lovely slow tune...Lovely guitar accompaniement...
I am very partial towards emo, angsty or jazzy songs...'nuff said.

I need a hug now...

I want I want I want...more time

There are many things I want to do in Singapore...

• blade at ECP
• explore tanjong chek jawa
• visit changi boardwalk
• run at ECP
• indoor-climbing
• visit all the museums
• visit all the Nature Parks
• visit all the beaches
• kayaking
• search for the best and nicest place to watch the sun set
• explore the Arab Street area
• explore the Katong/Joo Chiat area
• and the list goes on and on and on...

Oh...I hope I make good on some of these things...

Granny Updates

She's out of CGH. Back to the nursing home.
With a permanent catheter in her.
And more bags of medication. New pills on top of the old ones she's already taking everyday.

No strength to walk on her own now.
At least, we need not worry about her getting up and about on her own and risking a fall.

Hope the nurses over at Econ takes good care of her.

So far, no mention of extra monthly fees by the home director.
But given the amount of extra care needed for Gran now, I won't be surprised if the director pulls us in for a re-negotiation soon.

Friendships

Sometimes, you wonder if it pays to be the proactive one who organises gatherings and all.

There are groups of friends whom you know will appreciate it definitely.

Then there are others who don't seem to appreciate it and take things for granted.
Or those who assume it should be you doing it since you've been doing it all this while.

Sometimes, you wonder if it's worthwhile to go through the hassle.

Perhaps it's time to stop trying. And just focus your efforts on those who matter and those who appreciate.

Hmm.

Countdown

Voila.

One more day to go.

And then I'll be in Phnom Penh.

Visiting temples, ancient shrines, the Killing Fields, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the Cambodian National Museum, the Royal Palace, Sisowath Quay, Oudong, Russian Market, Central Market, etc...

Woot woot! :) :) :)

Neck-breaking?

I was doing warm-downs at my void deck. Pacing around one of the tables there.
Was leaning against it for support when I noticed that the table surface was bare, save for 2 lines of scribbles in black ink.

I walked round the table to read it.

"You break your neck trying to keep your chin up"

Hahahha, it was definitely amusing.

*pant pant*

Just got back from a run.
Did good today...3.5km at a very slow but relatively steady pace.

Only thing is that the back of my right knee is sorta aching now. Couldn't walk with my full weight on it hmm. It's happened once before already...hope its nothing serious. Hmm.

En route to SHAPE run.. haha.
I won't be able to finish 5km at one shot...but oh well...I'll do better the next time round ;p
At least I've fulfilled one of my targets for this year...:)

Or rather, I've been wanting to do it since a year ago!

19th July 2009.
Akan datang. :) :) :)

p/s: michelle running. who would have thought? heeee....

Hooked On

• Fish
• Coldplay's "Viva La Vida". I've heard the song at least 7 times since this morning.
• My mum's cooking
• K
• Day-dreaming
• Doing any other thing except working
• My bed
• HL Milk
• The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony". Heard this at least 4 times since this morning.
• Lily Allen's "The Fear" Heard this maybe 4 times as well since this morning??

Hmm.
Am getting to be a bore. I can't write interesting stuff anymore. Lol.

Hmm.

Hmm. No good.

Don't really feel excited going to work.
A dull dread looms each night before I sleep.
And I suspect I don't want to sleep early because when I open my eyes, I'll need to get my butt to office.

Hmm.

But the $$'s good though.
Am I just working for the $$ and the other perks?
Sounds a little pathetic but I'm beginning to believe it might be the case.

Hmm. No good.

Gnocchi Gnocchi

K & I made potato gnocchi for dinner last night.
With clam chowder as the accompanying sauce.

A little bland but still a good first effort...:)

For those wondering what the hell gnocchi is, check out this link..haha..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnocchi

Cheers to more cooking and more experiments!

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Fantastic song to start the day with.
Heard it on Class 95's Morning Express and it's ringing in my head till now.
One of those songs which will still be an absolute favourite 20 years down the road.

I heart, I heart!!

Coincidences, Surprises, Life Ahead

Life is all about coincidences and surprises ain’t it?

When you close your eyes for a second, something uncanny clicks into place.

When you least expect it, things happen.

When you round the corner, something greets you there.

When you open the box, something pops up in your face.

When you pull out the drawer, yet more things unfurl.

As Mr Gump puts it, "Life is like a box of chocs, you never know what you're gonna get."

I wonder what life brings for me tomorrow and the day after and the day after the day after and yada yada…. :)

More Musings

Taking a 10min break from work.
=============

Can't help but notice how many of my peers have become parents or are en route to becoming parents.

I take a look at my facebook and MSN and it's evident.
Avatar pics are now thumbnail photos of their newborns or of their little toddlers.

And then I start to wonder.
About myself. About whatever "shelf life" people seem to have imposed on me. About how nowalso I seem to be slowly wondering about my own shelf life too (and those of my eggs haha ;p).

And also, about how I'd be as a mum. How I'd bring up my kid(s). How I'd influence them and shape their lives.

I don't know how I'd be as a mum. Hmm.

My guess is, I'd know how to care for their physiological needs more than adequately enough.
In terms of emotional needs, hmmm...I don't really know how I'd fare in that department...

Way to go Girl~!

I just received a piece of news from an ex-colleague which warrants me to go online to blog a small entry. ;p

She is moving on to a new endeavour!

Leaving LHUB after so many years is no small feat.
But I'm happy for you babe that you finally took the first step...:)

The going might be tough initially, but wahey, you're young, you're dandy!
You'll never know till you try and I'm glad you're giving things a shot!

Jiayou yah....and pls, KEEP IN TOUCH! hahaaahha

*hugs*

p/s: you know who you are hahha....

morning musings

It wasn't exactly a good day yesterday.

Hope today will be better.

========
It's official.

The first half of the year is over.

We're in the second half of the year already.

Supposed to be a good year for Monkeys.

If I were to take stock now.

Life hasn't exactly been all rosy this year but I shan't complain too much perhaps.

Wonderful things have happened amidst various sprinklings of not so good stuff.

Hope things get cheerier and perkier as the year moves forward...

I've been a little pensive these few days.

A little emotional, a little sentimental, a little distracted.

Oh darn, it's too early in the day to be feeling like this again.

Ok, logging off.

I need to. w-o-r-k.

Granny

When you have a gran who's 93 and has a whole host of health problems.
When you have a father and an aunt.
When you have a situation where the nursing home might start charging exorbitant rates.

When you have a gran who's 93 and whose major organs are failing.
When you have a strained relationship between mother and gran.
When you have a frustrated father who is aging himself.

I forsee more family discussion sessions.
I forsee more dollars and cents flowing out of my pockets.