Gatherings...Meet-ups...

Is it just the simple allure of June?

Or the fact that people are sub-consciously giving themselves a pat on the back for a good half a year gone by?Gatherings are suddenly pouring in.

Uni. Sec sch. Ex-colleagues. Classmates. Another batch of ex-colleagues. Family. Colleagues.

It is nice in a way. Catching up.
Yeah, always nice. If it's with peeps close to your heart. :)

Downside is that, sometimes you seem to run on stretched time.

Le Travail Dur

~Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not mean anything.~

Drew Carey Show - Whose Line Is It Anyway?

For those who have seen this before, watch it again...
It's hilarious and well worth a second laugh...;p

Let's Walk

La route est tres loin mais ...

Nous marcherons ensemble toujours....

Oui? Mon bebe?

Over the last 5 days...

bacon rolls, tofu, broccoli, baby corn, soba, prawns, eggs, croissants...

enoki, buna shimeiji, button mushroom, french toast, minced meat, asparagus, scallops...

prawn paste chicken, stingray, kang kong, satay, roast duck, red algae jelly, atap chee...

==========

'nuff said.

I wish I am

In bed right now or..
Having an eggs and hashbrown breakfast in Paris right now or...
Traversing the streets of Barcelona right now or...

Hiking next to a little forest stream in Malaysia now or...
Kayaking in Thailand now or...
Having a body scrub and massage now or...

Wrapped up in winter clothes and crossing the Swiss Alps now or...
Munching on fresh sashimi in Hokkaido now or...
Sitting on a camel in Egypt right now or...

Frolicking and tanning on the beach in Bali now or...
Sitting in a gondola in Venice now or...
Learning to be a passador in Brazil now or...

With k now.

Of Food and Experimentation :)

Dinner Yesterday
- Seared Scallops on a Bed of Sauteed Buna Shimeiji Mushrooms
- Pan-fried Fillet of Cod
- Enoki and Asparagus Wrapped with Bacon Strips
- Watercress in Pork-Ribs and Red Dates Soup

Dinner Today
- Tofu Soup with Minced Meat and Sprigs of Spring Onions
- Egg Omelette with Red Onions and Prawns
- Stir-fried Dou Miao with Fresh Button Mushrooms



Woot Woot!

That Warm Fuzzy Feeling When....

...You go about doing marketing and buying groceries…with someone in mind.
Someone special and dear to you.

...You are doing something with that someone, for that someone.

...You go to sleep with someone as your last thought in mind and wake with that same special someone as your first thought in mind.

...After a hard day’s work, you meet up and go home together.

...You think about him during the day and a silly grin plasters your face thereafter.

i am simply not a morning person.

Woke on the wrong side of bed today.

Perhaps it's also cos I had interrupted sleep.
Was woken at 515am cos the folks were leaving for their Hokkaido trip.
Tried to doze for a while more before getting up at 545am again to bid them a safe trip and bonne voyage.

Tried to nap again and subsequently woke again at 7am feeling darn lethargic, tired and a tad grumpy.

I did what I told myself not to do.
I caught a cab to work. And the amount I spent could probably feed me lunch for at least 3-4 days.

Zombified dumbo.

Listening to K's compilation of songs now...soothes me somewhat a little.
But it's making me miss him much much more as well.

Come back to SG quickly baby...

Kudos to this blog!

I've always had a short attention span.
I'd move from one small project to another one.
I'd hop around from a liking to another.

It's amazing how this blog has managed to stay on.
For so long.
4 years is a long time to me.

==========

Went through some of my old posts that day.

I'm pretty much the same emo self.
Older in some ways. And hopefully wiser in other ways.

There's a marked difference in the way I write though.
The standard of English seems to have dipped in a constant downward curve.
And I seem to still not be able to express myself clearly.

Hmm mm. Ah Well.

Have I been immersing myself in too much Mandarin and dialect for the last few years lol.
Perchance it's time to get re-acquainted with English?

Haha. :)

Mister 4401

It's almost confirmed.

The car will most likely be sold.

Parents got into an accident this morning.

Nothing too serious. No one was hurt.

But it left Dad shaken and upset enough.

And it left Mum with a rather adamant thought of selling the car.

Good in a way. Bad in a way.

But if it buys them a peace of mind in the future.

And if it buys them less expenses.

Then I guess, it's more good than bad to sell the car off.

Plus, Dad's getting on with age.

Reflexes and concentration getting slower.

Perhaps it's for the best that the car is sold.

They can join the crowds and start cabbing.

Hmm.

One of my goals for this year has hit a snag.

It's rethink time.

:(

Why is everyone going overseas to live/study? :(

Parwin is leaving for Brisbane on the 8th of June.

Evangeline is leaving for Brisbane too on the 15th of June.

Adel is leaving for Plymouth, London in Septemer.

1 of K's excolleague is studying in the States now.

Another of his ex-colleagus will be heading to Aussie land next year as well.

Andrew is going to Monash next year after his Army ends.

Lester is in Melbourne now.

Kenneth is in Sydney now.

Fariz is in New York now.

Gurmit has been in Perth for the longest time.

:( :( :(

I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters

For when it's a dowdy drowsy dreary afternoon.
Makes for a good quick perk-up! :)

Listening to it now while trying to sort out some work stuff hehe.

Bitter Heart - Zee Avi

Zee Avi - up and coming.
Malaysian singer whose expanding her career in the States.

This song is worming its way into my heart.
Lovely tune.
Somewhat sad lyrics.

Lovely.

"My bitter heart (of mine) is getting a little fragile"

people...

~~~

We always take people for granted. We do.

We need to make a conscious effort not to.

~~~

We all drop into a routine after a while.

Its always a comforting thing to have some semblance of order or structure in your life.

And then we start taking others for granted as well.

That they'll always be there.

That they'll always be the same.

That they'll never change.

That they'll be around for you if and when you need them.

I guess.

It's a constant and conscious effort not to slip into such a mode.

Easier said than done.

I find it hard to practice this.

I lapse into autopilot mode more often than not.

I'm trying though.

To improve on this.

Are you?

Books, Les Livres

page by page
a book
thin and threadbare
unfolds

inked
blotched
a tad yellowed
a tad frayed at the edges

read
reading
read
between the lines

pondered on
sieved through
thought on
picked through

page by page
a book
thick and voluminous
births

clean and clear
crisp and new
pristine white
fresh and ready

ink
inking
inked
will ink

lines
paragraphs
chapters
volumes

dream

~~~

I don't want to wake from the dream

I want to make it mine

~~~

n-o-n-s-e-n-s-e

It was a 12-hour workday yesterday again.

Dinner was at 1015pm.

Will I get fat from late dinners?

Hmmmm.

I'm running on adrenalin. :)

Getting a little woozy and high from it.

Fell asleep last night with hair dripping wet, lights on, and my towel still held in my hand.

Woke with a shock an hour later.

With a damp pillow and a groggy head.

The boss sms-ed at 1am.

Tamade.

Might start spouting nonsense soon enough.

I. Just. Might.

Woot!

Dinner with K and my folks tonight.

Then its down to find a cosy corner to chill and get some alcohol in my system.

Chill sista chill.

It's a beautiful world!

It's a beautiful day!

Ok, need. to. get. back. to. work.

need. to. clear. more. stuff.

Of Laughter and Bondings

Dinner on Wednesday evening was a lovely affair…:)

Can’t say the food was great but the company was mighty fine haha. 5 of us.
PQ, Ally, Klive, K and of cos, yours truly.

And what can I say, the desserts we had at Secret Recipe after dinner gave me a sugar high about an hour after that…I was “hyper-ing” around in my room late at night lol.

Thoroughly enjoyed the night…lots of laughter, munching, nonsense…
Pity there was not much guzzling though hehe.

One main gripe of the night. The green tea we had at Manpuku turned out to be $3.80 per bottle. Fucking expensive. Daylight robbery!!!

We should do this again, with the full strength this time round.
Eug, YH, TH weren’t there that night…wasted haha. TH would have added to the dose of nonsense spewed around…;p

Transport Etiquette

Ran for the bus this morning as usual.

I've been doing that for the last 3 days as well.

The bus uncle was nice enough to wait for me.

Squeezed onboard.

I was standing on the steps at the entrance of the bus.

Together with an Indian man.

Bus stopped at a bus-stop. (Why does this sound like a dumb sentence?)

7 or 8 people got off.

And then. NOBODY moved in.

NO ONE.

7 or 8 people got off.

And yet I was still stuck on the front steps thereafter.

TMD.

Early morning make me dulan.

On a side note.

SMRT has recently launched a campaign to encourage people to move in to the center of the train, give up seats, let others go out first and well, generally be nice on public transport.

I'd say.

It's money not well spent.

Might as well hire a person(s) to do crowd control during peak hours.

One, a nagging auntie/uncle unafraid to point out people's rude behaviour makes for more effectiveness than a running ad of Phua Chua Kang singing a Singlish jingle and ridiculously prancing about in a reenactment of a train ride.

Admonishment in public works. I think.

Besides, the running ad is on a little TV screen high above the heads of the commuters.

Who would watch?

Two, job creation.

The ones in white are always encouraging employers to hire the older folks.

And they are always encouraging the older folks to continue contributing to society and the economy at large.

So SMRT, hire away. Get those uncles and aunties moving their butts!

Ok, morning ramblings.

I'd best get to work.

Intensity

All I really want is to love you
All I really want from you is to feel me
As the feeling inside keeps building
And I will find a way to you if it kills me

I Love This ;p

I go where I please,

And I please where I go

Liberation of the Soul

"liberation of the soul...敢爱敢恨， 敢做敢当"

This was my Facebook nick for the day.

Last week was not entirely rosy. Bright spots there were but most were overshadowed by dark, fat, heavy clouds.

I'd have to admit the intensity of things were at times cloying and I felt like running away. But I guess I've come to learn and realise also that running isn't always an option. Whatever it is, or how tough the going gets, I'd have to learn how to face it.

I was glad I didn't have to go to work too. Most of the week was spent in KL actually. The least was that I didn't have to grapple with too many things at a time.

I'm not one who is able to handle confrontations and heart-to-heart talks with finesse. This many would know and many would equally agree with. But still, I'm glad for those sessions with K.

Sure I was scared to bits and my chest felt like it was about to explode into smithereens. It was not easy to have gone through those hours with K. But things happen for a reason and it was all for the better. :)

I'd have to say I feel strangely liberated these two to three days. Maybe an old lock was picked open. Maybe the heart and mind said it was time to open up.

Yeah, we'll walk together. :)

*hic*

It's confession time. Ahem.

I confess to have gone on a rampage...a wine-buying rampage.
I've just bought 6 more bottles to add to my collection. Heh.

The list now stands at:

(1) Wolf Blass Gold Label - Cabernet Sauvignon
(2) Wynham Estate - Cabernet Merlot
(3) Jacob's Creek - Shiraz cabernet
(4) Strada D'Or - Moscato D'Asti
(5) Brown Brothers - Moscato
(6) Brown Brothers - Orange Muscat & Flora X 2
(7) Gerano - Riesling
(8) South Crossing - Ice Wine Riesling

Hmm, majority are dessert wines lol..I've seemingly developed a partiality for them. Hehe...:)

Cheers to an *hic* alcoholic time ahead! ;D

9 and 12

It felt strangely surreal.

I arrived in office at 9 yesterday...

Stayed 12 hours till 9-plus.

Slept at 12am.

And then within 12 hours after leaving office the night before....

I was back in office at 9am again this morning...

Hmm...9 seems like a lovely number for me these days...

Speaking of which...K's mobile number has sets of numbers adding to 9 as well...Lol...

Sheer coincidences & uncanniness have been happening way too much these past few weeks...

Is my ruling planet Venus getting cheeky on me? Haha...

Will You Still Love Me Tomrrow?

Tonight you're mine completely

You give your love so sweetly

Tonight the light of love is in your eyes

Will you still love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure

Or just a moment's pleasure?

Can I believe the magic of your sighs?

Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight with words unspoken

And you say that I'm the only one, the only one, yeah

But will my heart be broken

When the night meets the morning star?

I'd like to know that your love

Is love I can be sure of

So tell me now, cause I won't ask again

Will you still love me tomorrow?

Will you still love me tomorrow?

Yeah

=============

Anmy Winehouse's version is accompanying me right now...

Good music to be with you during a late night in the office...

:)

3 piece jazz band
white lilies
long tables
glasses clinking
silverware
ana caram singing “fly me to the moon”
louis armstrong singing “la vie en rose”
jason mraz singing “i’m yours”
white and grey
crystals
bay windows
natural light
fusion cuisine
warmth and cosiness

Of Rollercoasters and Eating What Life Throws To You

Twisting winding up down left right centre fast slow very fast very slow.

How many times can one ride a rollercoaster?
How many times can one hitch a spin on it?

I've never been on an actual one in my entire life. And I don't think I will in the future either.

Nevertheless, numerous rollercoaster rides I have been on. Figuratively that is.

And I seem to have been inadvertenetly pushed to taking many of these rides over the last couple of months.

Never a good feeling. To swing like a pendulum.

From highs to lows. And vice versa.

As K puts it "From one end of the spectrum to the other end."
I add now. "And then back again."

Yeah. I think it's tiring too.
Physically. Emotionally. Mentally.

Draining at times.

But well. Trudge on.

Ain't got no choice. You eat what life throws to you.

I have come to realize that there are a lot of bad speakers around. Even in the professional world. I’m not saying I’m a good speaker. I suck at it. Totally.

But sitting here during this 3 day seminar is making me cringe at how some of the presentations are going. Some pointers to getting a presentation being better than some of those I have seen here.

1. If English is not your 1st language and you don’t feel comfy speaking in English, then go slower else you’ll just end up falling all over your words.

2. Please make your slides less cluttered. Not all of us have 6/6 vision. And a room can be 50m long. Those of us sitting at the back of the room can’t see nuts at all. All we see is a patch of blur on the screen.

3. Vary your speech tone. Dull drones maketh many sleepy people, especially after lunch. Many sleepy people maketh a room full of boredom. A room full of boredom maketh a failed presentation.
4. Don’t mumble and eat your words. Speak with clear diction and speak INTO the mike, not over it. And definitely NOT around it. See 3.

5. If you're a natural joker, go for it. Make the crowd laugh. If you're not. Hmm, then don't try too hard. Move on if the joke falls flat, there's no need to tell another joke to cover up. It's a downward cycle if you don't know when to stop.

KL

Am in KL for a seminar. Not too happy about it though.

One, I’m away from K.

Two, it’s kinda technical.

I’m already sinking deep down into an abysmal abyss of “lostness”.
Look at me right now and you’ll just see a blank stoned face. I’ve tried reading up ont he topic but all it churns up are more questions marks.

Damn it.

And I’m overwhelmed by the number of abbreviations and technical jargons being used.

I have till Thursday here.

Crap.

There’s still work which needs to be done.

Crap.

I've been trying to do my crunches. And I've been good, I have not been overeating here.
Just taking moderate amounts and not over-stuffing myself.

Till here...zzz.

Chill Sista Chill....

A xiaodi of mine initiated a converstion with me on MSN yesterday.
Was kind of pleasantly surprised. Since the last he contacted me was like almost 2 years ago when I left LHUB.

The usual pleasantries. How are you? Where are you now?
Still got cheong or not? Still got go Dragonfly or not?
Blah blah.

And then came the perennial question: When are you (i.e. me) getting married?

I said "Wait long long. That one no more."

The usual "Oh Sorry."

And the usual whys, hows, how comes.

I don't mind sharing some surface knowledge with people.
But I hate it when people start getting judgemental and assumptious and start acting like a psychologist.

He said "I don't think you are feeling ok."
And this was after just 2 or 3 sentences of conversation.

In my heart, I went ballistic.
WTF? I don't know how I myself am feeling meh???

I appreciate your concerns yes...but I don't need you to analyse me.
Or act like a shrink and try to dig deep. Sheesh.

But of course I couldn't start screaming at him over MSN.
Cool cucumber. Cool cucumber.

He's just showing his concerns. Albeit in a manner not so suitable.
Nvm.

He's a xiao di anyway. 4 years younger.
I'll be the nice dajie and forgive him. :)

Too much anger in the world for me to add more to it.
This sista shall chill........

stretch - stretched - stretching

so many things
so little time

work
family
k
friends needing listening ears
colleagues needing listening ears
french
self

other things i want to embark on but still have not

and i need my sleep and rest
i've not been able to sit down and clear my mind to think about some things also...

getting a little stretched again

The Fear - Lily Allen & Human - The Killers

I've always liked songs with the big European feel to it...:)

The Fear - Lily Allen


Human - The Killers

Barrack Obama - White House Correspondents' Dinner

All smiles. Oozing charm.
What can we say? When Barrack speaks, people listen. Great Orator.

Part One


Part Two

My Lover Boy - His name is Jason

As in Jason Mraz.

I'm upset. I can't believe I missed his concert cos of a work trip.
Darn. Comparing the Mexico/LA trip & Jason Mraz..
I think I'd be more fulfilled going to Jason's concert...

Check this vid out.
God this guy is damn damn damn talented.....
*swoons*

Voraciousness

I've developed a voracious appetite for learning.
I don't know. Anything. Everything.

From little bits of trivia to food to psychotheraphy to greek mythology to systemic constellations.

I'm lapping up things. I'd google things. I'd wiki things.

I'm reading a book called "Anyway - The Paradoxical Commandments" which is very simple yet extremely profound.
I'll share more on the commandments next time.

I like how K's parents stay relevant despite their age. I like how they have this quest for learning and how they keep their minds active.

Was talking to K's mum last night during dinner and she's still learning and going for courses at her age...
Wonderful. I think it's absolutely wonderful.

And it's good they have encouraged openness in thought and a similar buzz for learning in their children.

I did not get that in my own home environment as much and looking back, it might have been a pity that I did not learn as much in my younger days.

Nevertheless, the human brain is still a sponge.
And I'll make sure I soak it with good stuff for the rest of my days on Planet Earth.

My taste in books has shifted since mid last year. I used to only read fiction. Now I find it a tad boring.

Cham. I have at least 4-5 more unread fiction books at home.
Hmm mm...how ah?

zzzzz

It's a little irritating.

You're the Technical Manager.

Why the hell are you asking me how to write your paper? And how to solve your issues?

You're supposed to know the system leh. Why are you asking me???

You've been here for 6 months already......!!!!! You should know all these things???!!

Argh.

$$$

Got my bonus letter and performance rating this morning.

*GRINS*

*GRINS*

*GRINS*

Rollercoaster

It's been a rollercoaster ride over the last 6 months.

I've been on highs and then brought to the lowest of depths.
I've been on lows and then brought to unimaginable highs.

It's wreaking havoc on my mind. I can't concentrate. I can't focus.
I'm functioning. But only at the barest level.
It's affecting my personal life and my work.

I need to get out of this rut. But I don't know how.

My mind's churning and yet it still draws a blank.
Am I making sense?
Things are floating in my head. But yet I can't put a finger on them.
A myriad of thoughts occupy my mind but yet, I feel only a dull drone. Nothing concrete comes out of my mind.

I don't know how many times I've had arguments with the folks at home.
I don't know how many times I've had to rely on the listening ears of friends.
I don't know how many times I've escaped into the musical world only to emerge still feeling unsated.

Oh god. Get me out of this please.

La Vie En Rose - Louis Armstrong

One of the best cover versions I've heard of Edith Piaf's La Vie En Rose.
Love the trumpets...:)

zzz

Kinda tired.

Stuffed nose.

Slightly scratchy throat.

Hang in there Michelle

Mind Over Body.

To the Moon and Back

Fly me to the moon
And let me play amongst the stars

Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars

In other words

Hold my hand

In other words

Darling, kiss me

Fill my heart with song

And let me sing forever more

You are all I long for

All I worship and adore

In other words

Please be true

In other words

I love you

Sound of Music!!!

A lovely lovely video which perked up my dreary afternoon...
Abit dumb lah but just hearing the music actually made me smile and get teary...
Seeing those dancers jump around made me wanna jump around toooo!!!

I've been feeling hyper & loopy since last night haha...so being in the office feels so much of a chore right now haha...

Enjoy the vid!

Lari Lari

I don't know how far I ran today.

It was a short one. Either a 2km or 2.2km.
13mins haha...

Kinda slow hor? Hmm mm.

Britain's Got Talent - Shaheen Jafargholi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVU4IkzMNIo

Move over Susan Boyle.

Life Right Now

Some aspects of life is just going great right now compared to a few months ago.
It's going mighty fantastic actually haha.

Running is proving to be a little addictive...Blading is going fine, not fantastic but good enough haha. Health is fine except for a prone-ness to sore throats and cough.

And K is just wonderful...

Work is however a big question mark to me.
The humdrum of it.
I don't like doing things which I don't believe in. And I don't like doing things I don't really understand. The technicalities of it all stumps me all the time.

I'm miffed at myself and my lack of motivation sometimes during workdays.
But I'm equally miffed at the complexities of it all.
Policies, technical issues.

Ugh.
Someone hand me a new job please.

Majestic Bar - Nos Diner a Samedi Soir

Dinner on Saturday was a lovely affair.

We had the whole restaurant to ourselves for the most part of it.
4-course degustation over at Majestic Bar at Bukit Pasoh Road

The ceilings were adorned with little white lights...the walls were blue and green...with little animals painted on them...

There were round white lamps hanging from the ceiling...
Very very high ceiling that is haha.

Lovely lovely meal.
Lovely lovely company.
Lovely lovely jazz accompaniement.
Lovely lovely drinks.

We should do this only once in a awhile though.
I'm afraid I'll get used to it. Haha..:)

Check it out.
http://www.majesticbar.com/edm/exquisiteSat.htm

blading

I'm proud to say...

I can do a T-stop liao...hahaha.

Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin

Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere waiting for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailin

Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms
I'd go sailin'

It's far beyond the stars
It's near beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon

We'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again
I'll go sailin'

I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet (I know we'll meet) beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea

And never again
I'll go sailin'
No more sailin'
So long sailin'
Bye bye sailin'...
Move on out captain

==============
Gosh, this song has been playing in my mind and my disc player for the past few days liao hahaha...

My 3 songs of the moment:
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Hugh Grant & Hayley Bennett - Way Back Into Love
Bobby Darin - Beyond The Sea

lovely...:)

Oh Damnit!

Someone just told me I look thin and dry.
In Chinese it goes as 瘦瘦干干...

She asked me to eat more...

Bleah I already eat alot lor.....
People who know me can definitely vouch for me....

...But ok, I will guzzle water to hydrate myself...:(

Damnit.
The desciption of Shou Shou Gan Gan definitely did not sit well with me.

Whirlwind

It's been a whirlwind.

I'm swept.

So swept.

Of Namecards and Colours

The marketer in me is extremely irritated.

I pay alot of attention to first impressions in the working world.
And your namecard is the first physical tool (right after your firm handshake) you use to achieve a good first impression.

I printed my own namecards when I first joined the company.
Paper quality, matt lamination, colour and grammage and toning were all chosen by me.
I couldn't change the design of the namecard and so I relied on other aspects to create a nice enough namecard.

I like it.

A batch was printed a few months ago. The Admin Mgr wanted everything cheap cheap cheap.
And she killed the namecard.
What came out was a shoddy piece of namecard. Colours were wrong, no lamination, paper was flimsy. It was so so wrong and I was glad I didn't order during that batch.

We recently had another new batch printed again.
I said my piece, gave all my views. HC said his piece as well. Complained that the previous batch was really crap.

Now I'm upset again. haha...(Complain queen hor?)

Paper quality is ok after all my feedback. But the colours are horrible....
Wah lau, we have red in our namecard. What came out was maroon. And apparently she cleared the sample artwork given to us by the vendor.

Wah lau, cannot tell the diff between red & maroon meh????

Argh, how to achieve consistent corporate identity like this??

I don't know how to tell this to others.
But I'm sure other marketers would understand exactly what I am trying to say. Right Ally?

Footsteps

2
4
2
4
2
4
2
4
2
4

et puis, 4 pour toujours?

Blue Mooon - Frank Sinatra

Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold

Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked the Moon had turned to gold

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

===========
I remember listening to this song when I was a kid.
Dad would play it, Mum would hum along...
All these and more on a lazy Sunday morning...

I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra

I’ve got you under my skin.
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you’re really a part of me.
I’ve got you under my skin.

I tried so not to give in.
I said to myself:"This affair never will go so well."
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well,
I’ve got you under my skin.

I’d sacrfice anything, come what might, for the sake of having you near.
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night and repeats, repeats in my ear:
Don’t you know, little fool, you never can win.
Use your mentality, wake up to reality."
But each time that I do, just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin,
Cause I’ve got you under my skin.

I would sacrifice anything, come what might, for the sake of having you near.
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night and repeats, how it yells in my ear:
Don’t you know, little fool, you never can win.
Why not use your mentality, step up, wake up to reality.
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop just before I begin,

Cause I’ve got you under my skin.
Yes, I’ve got you under my skin.

==============
I've been listening to too much Michael Buble and Frank Sinatra recently haha...

Sisters of the World Unite

When you're down, when you're confused, when you need a hand, girlfriends and other friends are important for a listening ear and for comfort and support...

PQ & I went for a run again last night. Same thing, ran to Pasir Ris...nice achievement even though it was a shorter route compared to last week's run.

Hopefully it did us both good to clear our thoughts a little...:)

A promise to myself

I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.

*stoned*
I need to realise I am no longer 18 and as energetic as I used to be.

I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.
I promise not to chat on the phone till 2am anymore.

2 little lambs...

Shall take things slowly and go with the flow...

Dopey smiles and pua kang petals..

Spongebobs and meek lambs

两只小绵羊...

myriads of feelings

happy

pensive

apprehensive

scared

touched

amused

*sob*

Bleah wtf..

BKK trip no more!!!!!

*bawls*

Stupid protests!!!

*BAWLS*

Wednesday Night

I did something I was proud of.

But I ended up being a shack sack of potato thereafter.

PQ & I ran the park connector behind my place. We made it to the Pasir Ris fishing pond, ran a round there and then came back the same way.

I was panting and wheezing like nobody's business. Wah, this is the furthest I have pushed myself so far man. Ran as slow as err, how a turtle would run ahhahaha...

I think we hit 6-plus km?

Came home and totally concussed. haha.

I should try it again...hmmm, next week sounds good...;p

Saturday

Saturday noon

Went to visit Granny as usual. It was a bad day for her. Not in the physical sense. In the mental sense I mean.

She was spouting nonsense again. I think she'd been thinking too much again.

Dad & I tried ways and means to distract her. We asked her loads of questions. Told her many "stories" from Marc's eting habits to how he's doing in school to how he's coping with piano lessons....to even discussing about the weather.

But every reply she gave us or told us was that "Everyone has left me behind. Everyone has gone out already. I'm stuck her cos I cannot walk and cos of this bloody thing (the walking frame)."

She kept repeating it in Malay. Everything we talked to her to. She'd nod and then she'd go into that same few sentences again. Sigh.

Hope when Adrian visits her today and brings Marc along, she'd be better.

==========
Saturday Afternoon

Met up with K at Kembangan and went to school together. We were early and thought it best to register for the next semester. And then, the fucking Q ended up being so long till it took us 45 minutes to get everything done.

Sigh, we did what teenagers would do. We skipped class in the end. Hahahha....we PONTANG!

Ended up at Bakerzin in Paragon whiling the afternoon away...

==========
Saturday Night

Met Dan & YL and Dan's friend Eric for dinner at Sketches in Bugis.
The tum wasn't cooperating. Felt very queasy and nauseous. Only managed to down a bowl of mushroom soup and a tiny piece of bruschetta (which tasted horrible by the way).

Voila, we adjourned to the National Library after that. Hehe...Went to catch Wild Rice's production "The Importance of Being Earnest".
Directed by Glenn Goei and starring people like Crispian Chan, Hossan Leong, Ivan Heng and Chua Enlai.

I loved Chua Enlai in the show!! hahah...but the entire cast did good lah. An all male cast but with at least 4 of them playing female characters...:)

Funny portrayals, funny scripts, good chemistry amongst the cast equalled a very entertaining watch haha. Though the first 10-15 minutes were a little messy and disorganised ha.

The Tang Quartet did a marvellous job of providing musical accompaniement. They perfromed many familiar pieces and I would dare venture that they struck many a chord with the audiences' hearts as well...:)

At least I know they touched me. :)

Adjourned to Mr Bean's at Prinsep for some light drinks and supper. The tum was still bad, I only had a piece of calamari and a prawn beofre I declared myself full. So unlike me haha...

Darling Dan & YL sent me home...;p

Friday, vendredi

Friday Afternoon

It was makeover day with the sec sch peeps haha. Our appointment was at 2pm.
The 5 of us trooped into the Beauty Box Studio in Bugis at 150pm.
Eugene, Yen hui, PQ, TH & me...

I was the 2nd to be made-up..Hmm, totally not used to it.
Fake lashes, thick eyeliners, dark brows, dark brown eyeshadow....hair spray and voluminous tousled hair...
Gosh, I felt like a mamasan hahhaa...

Theme was black tops with blue jeans..

Nevertheless, we had individual shots and group shots...It was fun in a way lol.

Smile, don't smile, head up, chin down, head tilt, hair brush back, hand on his knees, hands on her hips, hand on his shoulder, hand on her arm, shoulder drop abit, elbow up abit, blah blah blah blah hahaha...

We chose about 8 individual shots and about 5 group shots as part of the package...hehe.
Wonder how the eventual prints will look like...!!

They rest adjourned to the new Iluma for dinner while I went off to meet some of the Frenchies for dinner at Holland V....

============
Friday Night

Met up with K at Bugis MRT and we went down to Holland V together..
First thing he did was to laugh at my fake lashes haha...kns!!!

It was supposed to be a gathering with full attendance..but well, as usual, people fly kites.
From a full RSVP of 7 pax, it dropped to only 4 pax. And one of them came mighty late..

It was only me, K, Eric & YC. But well, we still had a smashing good time over at Baden Baden haha...German food and of cos Erdinger!

I stuck to Weiss...YC took Dunkel and hated it to the max hahaha....

It was a lame lame night. Lotsa crappy lame jokes and broken French spewed forth from our alcohol-laced lips haha...We talked about everything...from rooftops, to FB quizzes, to boybands, to the situation in Thailand, to our broken French, to food, to girls, to the smoking ban, etc aha...

I laughed till my sides ached big time...

Adjourned to 2AM dessert bar after that. Eric left...and so it became YC, K and me. YC's riend popped by for awhile as well..

We ordered 2 desserts. One was Chilli choc and another was some choc mousse thingy...
The chilli choc was errr...abit too exotic..It really was spicy. Spicy choclate ice-cream just does not sit will with my palate I guess.... haha... YC was guzzling iced water to wash it down ahha.

I was high. We were all high. Still spouting lame jokes and talking crap at 2AM dessert bar.
Toilet trips were frequent at the bar as well haha...the beer was finally finding its way down our digestive systems...;p

YC, K & I cabbed home togther since we were all easties. K was at the last stop and well...
The final bill came up at $40. Gosh, I've never ever taken a cab ride which came up to $40 bucks before leh haha....

Cool cool lovely night...:)
Wish I had more of these nights...:)

Thursday Night

It was a night out with the uni peeps. A small cosy affair over at Timbre @ Old School.
I think I prefer the Art House branch the best though..

Kym, XL, Dan, YL, Chiewz, Rohlin, myself...K & his friend Maesh were there as well.
Pizzas, mushrooms, chix wings, salads, seafoods, breads, Erdingers, mojitos, martinis...

Loads of merriment, loads of ribbings, loads of laughter, loads of gossip...and well, loads of discussion over what guys are suitable for me.

HAHHAHA...my friends seem to be anxious for me and waste no chances to discuss the future of my love life right in front of me!!! Gosh. They're more kan cheong than me lor haha..

K & Maesh left for another of their gathering and the rest of us made our way to Dempsey.
Ben & Jerry's seemed to be the unanimous vote for the night.

Voila, two Merlionsters of 6 scoops each made the night for 6 of us. Yong Soon joined us soon after...

In the midst of munching...B&J had a blackout. zzzzzzzzz....we were eating in the darkness
Didn't really know what the hell I was munching on also haha...It was all a mish mash of flavours.

I think I tasted mint, macademia, raspberry, coffee, choc and some butterscotch haha...

Chiewz sent me home that night...That goondy was playing Jai-Ho all through the journey home...both the English and the Indian versions...
Now the song's stuck in my head... haha...

What a lovely lovely night...*beams*

Woo!

The long weekend is almost over.
It's been a thoroughly enjoyable past few days. Tres tres m'agreable.

Loads of laughter and carefree-ness..I've not had so much fun and laughter for quite awhile...
Laughter really brings a person much needed energy boosters..:)

But as usual, when I've had too much food and drinks, the tummy protests lol.
5 pints of Erdinger over 2 nights and German & Western food & ice cream... hehee...
It's been acting weird since yesterday....haha.
Will lie low for the next few weeks. Need to keep cholesterol levels in check.

work.

pissed off.

Twitch...

Maybe that's why my left eye's been twitching since Friday.
Cos I was gonna meet er jie?

Hmm mm...I met one of my blading instructors on the train just now too...

So coincidental. I keep meeting people today.

Maybe tomorrow I'll meet some others?

Hope the twitches are just muscle spasms from tired eyes..hmm mm...

Er Jie

Or rather, I do not have the perogative to refer to her Er Jie anymore.
Let's call her E.

I've never met E outside before. Never over the last few years. Not once.

And then voila, I met her today at Suntec's TCC.

You can call it fate. Cos I wasn't even supposed to be there.

I was supposed to be home for dinner. Mum called to say sorry, she didn't cook today.
Fine, I was kinda tired and though I'd head home to cook some simple meal for myself.

PQ called around 6-plus when I was about to leave. Jio-ed me for dinner.
And so I met up with her & YY instead.

And so we met in TCC. Me & E. I said hi to her first.

And then the inevitable came. The questions. Some stories on her end as well. Anecdotes perhaps.

What happened between you two? "Go ask your brother" was my reply.
Why, what, how come, blah blah blah.

She shared some stuff on how the rest of her family's doing...and apologised to me as well.
I said no need. Afterall, things are over, so be it.

She left TCC before I did. Told me to take care.

Sigh.

The meet-up made me a little upset again.
I kept thinking of uncle & auntie and how disappointed they might have felt.
Esp uncle...

I have half a mind to do something.....but argh..nevermind, I shan't even think about it.

OMG

I'm really falling asleep.

It's a bad day today. Can't concentrate.

The only thing I am thinking of is my bed at home.

And free onlines movies and TV shows...

And my blanket at home...

And my pillows...

And

And

And...

zzzzzzzzzzz

Canton Wok no more

I just read the news that Canton Wok at Joo Chiat will be closing down...
And its boss/chef is filing for bankruptcy.

Sigh...

The food there is quite nice...
Unique and nice and very affordable...

......

People,
Will always make a lover feel a fool,
But you knew I loved you,
We could have shown them all,
We should have seen love through,

Fooled me with the tears in your eyes,
Covered me with kisses and lies,
So goodbye,
But please don't take my heart,

You are far,
I'm never gonna be your star,
I'll pick up the pieces
And mend my heart,

Strange that I was wrong enough,
To think you'd love me too.
I guess you were kissing a fool,
You must have been kissing a fool.

~Extracted from "Kissing a Fool" by George Michael~

=======
When trust was broken badly once,
Will things mend adequately,
For the soul to trust another again?

The List

There are 13 food establishments on the list.
I just want to try some of them and I am happy enough.

But K the goondu wants to go to each and everyone of them lol..

Wonder how we'll ever find the time and opportunity to try all of them!!
Especially when some are god-damn expensive places like Au Jardin and Les Amis and Il Lido and Aoki!!

Nevertheless, am glad there's a list. haha.
At least it's something to look forward to...

Oh yah and especially when one of the meals is gonna be a treat for me!
Muahahhaha...

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!

I've been eating. Alot. Don't know what's gotten into me.

Suspect it's the cycle which is causing this. I feel hungry all the time.

I eat breakfast at 930am. By 11am I am hungry.
I take lunch at 12pm or 1230pm. By 230pm I feel a little hungry again.

Bleah. I've been snacking..and eating lots.
I'm eating more than even some guys hahaha.

And I've put on 2kg since compared to before the trip in early March.

Opps..better monitor..

Thursday Night

I had a lovely night yesterday…Full of fun, laughter, mad giggles, cackling and no-holds barred guffaws haha…

Dinner
I had dinner with Kyne first over at Curry Favour at Stamford Street…Their standards have dropped since I first tasted their food about 2 years ago…Wonder why.

We shared a side dish..fried fish with cheese in the middle. It turned out relatively tasteless and left a “tannic” feel on our tongues. Not sure if “tannic” is the right word to use haha, meant to say “siap siap”. Prices weren't very reasonable too...abit harsh on the pockets haha.

Substation – The Madhatters
And then we went to catch a stand-up comedy act called The Madhatters Comedy Company at the Substation…They’re a team of about 7-8 pax...mainly expats and one or two locals.

For those who know the US show ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, the performance was much like that show…with some audience interaction and absolutely zero scripts. Everything was done impromptu and with 100% improvisation.

Which made it a very believable and very laudable performance. I’m always very impressed by people who can think on their feet and within a split second’s notice. No no, make that a nanosecond’s notice haha.

There were times when we laughed our heads off like nobody’s business. It felt good. Very good.
To be able to open your mouth huge and wide and give a deep throaty laugh...One stemming from your heart :) Of course, witch cackles and high-pitched squeals came from us as well hahaha....

We were at the Guiness Theatre. Cosy place with a max capacity of about 100-120 pax I think.

The only dumb thing was that an Indian family . Expats I think, brought a 1-yr-old baby and a 3-yr-old toddler along. The baby was making strange noises at some point in time. After a few stares by some members of the audience, they brought the kids out. Sheesh. These people really don’t respect the performers leh…how can you let your kid interrupt the show in such a manner????

Will be watching “The Importance of Being Earnest” next week.
Looking forward to seeing Ivan Heng and Hossan Leong in action…Heard Ivan Heng’s performance is fantastic in the play…woot! :)

Harry’s Bar
Adjourned to Harry’s Bar at Chjimes for more chats, more gossips, more mad-capped laughter and of course Erdinger Weiss. Hahaa…

Slept at 1-plus eventually and woke this morning feeling a little stoned but nevertheless happy…:)

:)

I woke up today feeling happy and cheery..:)

I recall a conversation I had with Chloe last week perhaps...

Both of us were striving to sleep earlier and to get to work on time...haha...

Babe! Waking up feeling happy is achievable!! Jiayou!

what is. what isn't.

The mind works in such a strange way I think people have tried to fathom it over many centuries and have come to no avail still.

And the way the 5 senses interact with the mind is equally wondrous.

The sight of a particular something unleashes a memory in the mind.

A smell evokes another.

A sound is linked to a fond thought of something.

And taste brings forth yet other pictures in one’s mind.

===========
Little things still remind me of a lot. I hate it when I’m trying to let loose and suddenly bham, a memory hits me at the back of my head.

I acknowledge the thought. That it is only but a memory…and store it in a cupboard...
Dust myself off, adjust my clothes and carry on with whatever I am doing.

- buying blades
- eating at marina square’s yoshinoya
- karaoke
- trips overseas
- JJ Lin
- Jay Chou
- David Tao
- Great World City
- HTC phones
- Eunos MRT station
- Mazda 3
- lychee green tea
- ah mei kopitiam in raffles place
- OGS
- Night Safari
- the pub in Pasir Ris Park
- char siew bao
- Yan Ge Restaurant
- Katong
- Kallang
- Massimo Dutti

oh fuck.

The ubiquitous topic

The topic of how Singaporeans treat their domestic helpers has come into the spotlight again.

This is the umpteenth time over the last few years that an article has been published in the mass papers highlighting various atrocious acts committed on these ladies who have come from a foreign country in hope of a better pay and better future.

I was reading Melissa Heng’s article on My Paper this morning. She called for a government unit, possibly MCYS or MOM, to institutionalize a formal framework of procedures addressing the welfare and treatment of these domestic helpers.

She suggested for a 15-minute session to be held with each helper twice a year. This she said, could potentially make the employers think twice before putting a hand (or a cooking pot) on their helpers.

Plausible? Perhaps..This is also not the first time someone has called for a formal unit to be established to look into these matters. Nothing has been done, perhaps the people in the government are looking into these options right now….hmm.

I’ve seen the other extreme where helpers are treated very much like another rmember of the family. They eat together with family members, sleep and lay with their kids, go shopping with the family and even go on overseas trips with them.

But there will always be black sheep around. In whatever society or culture.

I’m just wondering why most of these black sheep highlighted in these domestic help abuse cases are educated professionals.

The more educated you are, the more warped your brain becomes??

It’s a strange world.
Really.