幸福小女人 – 重播

Hehe, K surprised me with dinner! He made crepes! Both savoury and dessert crepes! So clever!! Hahhaa…And so sweet of him! :)

My crepe! With sausage, egg, mushroom and cheese filling

The whole spread! With salad and greens....
He had a tuna and cheese crepe.....

The dessert crepes...Bottom one was butter and honey crepe.
And the top one's my all-time favouraite! Nutella crepe!!

Thank you baby! :D

More Mid-Afternoon Comic Relief

Itchy Fingers? Hiak Hiak

This Morning

6 SMS-es in 20 minutes.
Is this considered harassment? I think almost?

But they were from the man who controls how much bonus I’ll get in May.

Oh, woe is me!

Oh, don't we all love to compare?? Haha

The Tech Era

I've got a feeling.

That the youngsters of the next generation will start saying things like this.

I cannot stand people who jump to conclusions.

I had this on my MSN nick today. "Je Veux". Which in French means "I Want".
JM is someone who understands French.

JM: Hey Congrats!!
Me: Huh? Congratulate me for what?
JM: Cos you're engaged!!
Me: Engaged?
Me: What the hell makes you think I'm engaged???

JM: Cos you wrote "je veux"
Me: Pls lor. Don't anyhow jump to conclusions lor.
Me: In any case, "je veux" means I want lor.
Me: It doesn't mean "I do" or " I will" lor.
JM: haha ok.

Like WTF?
I couldn't be bothered to reply.

5 minutes later.

JM: What is the thing which inspires you most recently?

omg. irksome.

Me: Truth be told. NOTHING.

And yes, that killed the conversation.
Just the way I wanted it.

I needed to concentrate on work anyway.
So adieu to silly conversations and people who jump to conclusions.

Voila, load up ladies! It pays to paint yourself a little!

There are times when I can't resist posting something.

This is one of those moments. :)

Ed Alleyne-Johnson

It's music like this which accompanies me while I work.
Left me friggin speechless man...

Hope I don't become like them

Friggin aunties.
Niam Niam Niam.
Niam Niam Niam.

UGH.

The Rainbow Connection - Kermit The Frog

Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbows are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see

Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Self

I remember the time when:

I had more patience
I was less judgemental
I was more open
I was less guarded
I was more happy-go-lucky
I was more caring
I was less selfish

Cross-roads

I was walking home earlier tonight.

And at a cross junction, I saw an old man. With a walking stick. The kind which branches out into 4 other legs about 5 inches from the floor.

He was ambling and wanting to cross the road. No. He was shuffling. No. I can't find the right word. Let's just say each step he took was probably only about 4-5 inches wide.

I was waiting for my green man to appear and was crossing from South to North. He was crossing from West to East. I was staring at him, fearing for him. How the hell was he going to make it to the other side before the green man changed to red?

I was undecided. I wanted to walk with him. I didn't know what to do. I was so worried for him. My heart went out to him but my feet stayed rooted to the ground. I still didn't know if I should go forward or not.

By that time, a few others were watching too. From where I was, from the opposite side of the road, from within vehicles.

The green man stopped blinking and changed to red. He still wasn't even halfway across the road, only 3-quarters of the way to the middle island where the green railings are usually placed.

Everyone was staring. I could feel it in them too. Everybody felt for him but somehow didn't move forward to be with him or to hold him or to guide him. A young girl next to me was undecided too. I could see it in the way she stood and faced him, as I did.

The cars had started moving by now. Some couldn't move because of him, others veered around him. Some were turning into his lane but couldn't. One asshole of a motorbike rider was honking at him.

By that time, my own green man had appeared and it was time for me to cross. I crossed, as did the few others who were with me. Each of us took furtive glances back at the old man. Undeniably to see how he was doing and to see if he was okay.

He had reached the midway point by now and was just standing motionless there. One hand on his walking stick. The other cluthing his sling bag close to his body. The cars moved. In front of him and behind him. It felt harrowing just seeing him there. So frail and helpless amidst the traffic.

And then in what seemed like forever, his green man appeared again. The cars stopped. People started crossing from West to East and from East to West again. And he started shuffling again to get to other side of the road. Hopefully before the red man appeared.

When his green man appeared, it seemed like a signal. Everyone who was watching anxiously suddenly went about their ways as usual. No more glances back at him. No more walking slowly just to be around just in case something happened to him. Everything went back to normal.

I continued crossing the road, albeit still with some glances back at the old man. When I reached the other side, I stood and watched him from a distance as he snailed along.

Only when he reached the other side safely did I turn to continue with my journey home.

My heart felt heavy though. I was disappointed in myself. It was not the first time that I was caught in such a situation. Of wanting to offer help but not knowing how and not knowing whether I should or not. And ending up just standing there watching from a distance, wishing the other party well and praying for them.

swoon

There I was, taking a slow walk along the main pathway within Times bookstore. He was with a companion, in one of the arterial pathways veering off the main one. I remember it was at the Marketing and Finance section.

He had just left his companion's side and was taking a few steps toward the main pathway. His inquisitive gaze was sweeping the row of bookshelves, scanning the volumes of books lined up there, plump and ripe for picking by any curious reader.

I happened to glance up at the very moment his eyes reached the main pathway. We locked gazes for a moment or two before he turned away and continued with his scan of the bookshelves. He had one hand running across the spines of the books laid out in front of him.

Oh my, I thought to myself. He's gorgeous.

Pan-asian face. Soft dewy skin. Brown-skinned and tanned. Light fluffy hair of a pale shade of brown. With a hint of curls forming around the back of his head near his neck. And that pair of large beautiful eyes. Almost sparkling. With a thick thick fan of lashes adorning each eye.

His companion called out to him and in response, he gave a most delightful smile, revealing a perfect row of straight teeth. And oh, he had dimples! One deep hollow on each side of his cheeks.

He was decked out in a light blue T-shirt and beige berms. And he wore blue Crocs, a shade darker than his T-shirt. Casual chic yet oozing so much charm.

His companion called out to him again and he finally tottered over, gurgling some indecipherable melody of coos.

Oh, how I wish I could have given that little toddler a hug!

His dad was a North Indian i.e. fairer than the South Indians. With his pan-asian look, his mum could have been Chinese.

I'm really an Uncle and Auntie magnet

I’m sort of “stalked” by an uncle.

I had a 3-month stint at a career recruitment company more than 2 years ago. In mid 2007 to be exact. I helped set up a telemarketing team in the 2 weeks before I left and essentially did the recruitment for about 3-4 of the telemarketing staff.

Out of the CVs I received, I picked some and did phone interviews with them as a first round screening. Those I found suitable were called down for an interview with a product manager and most were subsequently hired. One of them was a retiree, a 50-something uncle. We’ll call him PS.

The telemarketing team was eventually put up at branch A of the company. I was situated at branch B which was in a completely different building.

When PS started work in August or September 07, he asked for my mobile number and some dumbass gave him my number. He SMS-ed me and also called me on my desk phone. Said he wanted to meet me and to treat me to lunch because I helped give him a “new lease of life”. Apparently he was in despair because he couldn’t get a job because of his age and he was very very grateful that I didn’t ostracise him because of his age.

He was persistent but I politely declined for a few times. I left the company in mid-September and he SMS-ed me saying he was sorry he didn’t get to thank me in person. I thought that was the end of the story. But he SMS-ed me in 2008 again to thank me.

I don’t recall hearing from him last year.

And then errr, I just received an SMS from him again.

“Hi Michelle, this is PS. I’ve not tnx u enuff 4 ur recommendation of the telemarketing job @ XXX n I hope u’ll gv me d chance 2 tnx u properly. Hav a nice day!”

**Company name has been masked.

Gosh...I can’t imagine a 50-something typing in such short forms. I don’t even type in such short forms………

I hope he doesn’t call.

*burp*

I had sinful food during lunch today.
Nasi lemak haha. It's literally been years since I had nasi lemak and so I thought to give it a try again haaa.

Plus I bought a cup of bubble tea…lychee green tee with pearls. Yum….

I think I am going to get a sugar higheeeeee!

busybodies

There is a bunch of people I know. Out of this group, there are about 2 or 3 people whom I doubt at times.

Something happens. Be it good or bad. And then these people are quick to ask questions. Probe. Ask some more. And then ask even more.

I really do wonder. If they’re asking out of pure kaypoh-ness or out of honest care and concern.

At this point in time, I tend to believe they are behaving this way because of the former reason.

It does irk me a little, a lot at other times and sometimes I try not to bother.

I must learn to be more patient.

On leave

I had brunch by myself today. :)

I was on leave and it felt good to spend time alone with myself.
The parents are away and I have the whole house to me, myself and I. Wheeee!

Brunch was at Bakerzin at Tampines One.

Took a slow leisurely walk there, plonked myself down, ordered and then read a book whilst munching on raisin bread...Warm raisin bread with balsamic vinegar..lovely.

Ordered their set meal and it came with hot pumpkin soup! Ahh...cosy cosy food..I like!
The penne in mushroom cream sauce I ordered had whole chunks of garlic and asparagus in it. Both are my favs and together with mushrooms, they brought me to heaven haha.

I was the only one there for a good whole 45minutes. Hahaa...Was reading "The Fours Sisters of Hofei". A real-life biography of a family...tracing their history from the 19-century till about 2002.

And enjoying some quiet time with myself........

And then. TMD. My boss SMS-ed me.

Wah lau. Anti-climax. He doesn't know when to NOT do these things.
You as a boss should not SMS your staff whilst they're on leave and during the weekends.
Unless it's a real emergency. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
He SMS-ed me at 11-plus, at 4-plus and at 5-plus. For inconsequential issues. WTF?

*wails*

I just spent $1,500 on a massage and a facial package this afternoon!

*looks at dry pockets*

*sniff*

Toothy

Over the last few years, I've noticed that it's getting increasingly difficult just to buy a toothbrush.

Gone are the days of a toothbrush being a plastic stick, with a rectangular-looking brush at the end of it. And with the bristles being all of the same height and colour.

These days, toothbrushes come in all sorts of colour, shape, size and PRICE.

I spent a good 10 minutes staring dumbfounded at the rows of toothbrushes in front of me. I was at Watsons. And all I wanted was just to buy a toothbrush to replace my pink Oral B.

Pinky has served me well over the last year or so. I know I know. It's recommended that toothbrushes are to be changed about once every 3 months. But well, I grew attached to her. Hehe. ;p

I went to Watsons with a mission. To find a similar pink toothbrush. From Oral B preferably.

And it took me a ridiculously long 10 minutes plus just to find a reasonable toothbrush for myself.

I never knew the toothbrushes of this day and age came with so many fancy names and functions. Where have I been in the last one year???

Whitening. Sensitive. Ortho Brush. Ultra Max.

Cross-bristles. Straight bristles. Multi-coloured. Single-coloured. Round patterns. Diamond patterns. Rubber bristles. Rubber flaps. Tall bristles with shorter ones. Short bristles with taller ones. Wavy bristles.

Rubber grip with diagonal grooves. Rubber grips with circular grooves. Rubber grips with a polka-dotted rough surface.

35mm. 40mm.

Ultra soft. Medium. Hard.

$3.50. $5. $6.95. $10.95. $12.95.

Like what the hell?? So many factors to consider just to buy a toothbrush???

I just want a PINK Oral B toothbrush!!

Oh well. Alas, I could not find any pink Oral B toothbrush. And so.....I reluctantly settled for an aqua coloured toothbrush. From Oral B of course. :) $6.95.

Voila. Pinky's lying in the bin now. I bid her a solemn farewell.

I put Aqua in his new home earlier, He seems to be doing fine in the toothbrush holder. He's been introduced to my teeth, gums and tongue already. I think they'll get along pretty well. :)

Novena

I might go down to Novena Church one of these days again to listen to their service.
Will also buy the small little book they use for service.

granny

Gran's 94 this year.

Having a conversation with her can be fun at times, bland at times, boring at times, ridiculously funny at times and tiring at times. She can be quick-witted one moment, extremely forgetful the next moment, sarastic one moment and just plain woozy the next moment.

When the mind's old and feeble, and time is more than sufficient, imagination takes place in its fullest potential.

We've had conversations with her before where she has imagined things. Like saying that my sister-in-law makes love letters to sell for CNY when that is not the case at all.

She caused family relations to be a little strained late 2008 or early 2009 when she went through a period of time accusing a family member of being involved in illicit affairs. Of course, we all know she's having dementia. But still, being accused of such things and in full view of other members of the family is not a nice thing to endure.

The latest fiasco. She thought my brother died and was crying and wailing and sobbing from 2-3am all the way till this morning. According to the nurses, she was making a din throughout the night.

She packed my brother's photo, wore her slippers and demanded to be let out and be brought to his "funeral" so that she can see him one last time.

My Aunt and brother had to go down to the nursing home early this morning before my gran was convinced that he was okay.

Sigh.

Family

I guess each family has its own drama moments.

My own family. K's family. Some of my friend's families.

Why do some families have a no or less drama life compared to other families?

Hmm...

What the??

What a crushing way to die...Gosh.

Article extracted from ST online.
========

Jan 22, 2010
Sat on boyfriend; killed him

CLEVELAND (Ohio) - AN American woman had pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend by sitting on him, reported MyFox National on Friday.

Mia Landingham, who weighs 136kg, sat on her much smaller boyfriend, Mikal Middleston-Bey, after they got into an argument in August last year, reported police in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr Middleston-Bey only weighed 54.4kg, said the police.

According to a Fox8 report, Landingham was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours community service on Wednesday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. She was immediately released from jail.

The report said that Landingham's attorney said there was a long history of domestic abuse in the couple's relationship and asked Judge Carolyn Friedland for leniency, saying Landingham had no prior criminal record.

Landingham apologised for squashing the father of her children. The couple have three children together. 'I just want to say that I am sincerely sorry about this situation. I wish I could take it back,' she said.

However Middleton-Bey's family were unhappy with the result, with one of his sisters saying: 'So basically you can say that I can go sit on somebody and get probation? I feel there wasn't no justice.'

Currently reading up online about:

• the Navajo Indians
• their history
• their relationship with the land they love so much
• their culture
• their food
• and their curent efforts in preserving thier culture and customs

In a way, I wish and hope that our own local clans are doing their best to either document or preserve the cultures and customs of the various dialects there are in Singapore.

Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones

Both K & I found this song extremely bizarre when we first heard it.
Chasing Pirates?? huh?? Plus, the melody was rathermonotonous and strange...

But I guess, it's one of those songs which strangely grows on you after hearing for more than a few times...Here's the song. you can gauge for yourself if you like it or not on the first listen.

Type type type

For those who are interested in finding out what their typign speed is, I came across an online test which actually calculates for you...:)

You can try it out here.

Mine's at 66wpm. :)

Culinary pursuits

My first attempt at making foccacia bread failed haha.

It was quite disappointing! The dough and smell all seemed perfect!

But it came out of the oven a little hard and crusty. Wasn't as fluffy as I thought it would be!
But the fragrance was there alright...haha.

It looked a little like Indian chappati actually lol...No pics though. No point taking a pic of a crusty hard piece of bread haha...

Hmm, nevermind, I shall give it a try again next time!

Health Screening

Went for a health screening yesterday. A yearly thing organized by the company.

Verdict so far:
- I apparently am 162cm and not 161cm. Hmmm.
- BMI’s at 17.9 so it’s quite alright. You can go do the math haha.
- BP is mighty fine
- Body fat analysis is good. 21.3% body fat.

Waiting for the other results to come in.
Hope my cholesterol level is as excellent as what last year’s report showed! Haha…

Words of Wisdom

It is always not nice to be caught in between two people.
Both literally and figuratively.

Geeky gawky

Currently reading up online about "Social Awkwardness"

This pic of Tweety always makes me smile. I hope it brings you smiles too!

Rash

I’ve got a funny little rash on my face. :(
A little itchy *scratch scratch*

Not sure of the cause as yet but there’s two possibilities.

Once the rashes go away, I’ll need to start on an elimination process to determine which product actually caused the rashes…bleah.

Watcha Say - Jason Derulo

We were singing this during one of the car rides. Catchy catchy tune. :)

wtf

I’ve got a taiji master as a colleague.
I’ve got a somewhat half bo-chup person as another colleague.

Was inadvertently sabo-ed this morning.

Cheenatown!

We went to Hong Lim Complex today. :)

My yearly duty as daughter to go buy fish maw, red dates, chinese sausages, dried sea cucumber, dried scallops, white fungus, black fungus and whatever other dried goods stuff my mum needs for her CNY cooking.

There's this shop at Hong Lim which I always visit. Their goods are relatively fresh and prices are reasonable. I don't really know the name of the shop though. Teck Soon Trading I think. Haha, I know where they are situated but can't really remember its name. ;p

She asked for less things this year. Only fish maw, red dates and chinese sausages. So it was a relatively easy shopping trip.

K was having a fun time checking out all the weird and bizzare chinese herbs. He happily pointed out a pile of dried lizards which were each stretched out on a stick. Lol.

There were also some seriously odd-looking foods or herbs which we couldn't identify. There was a pile of yellowish things which looked like puffed-up scrotal sacs of some unidentified animal. Errrr.....

Popped by the 2nd floor as well to grab some CNY decorations for the house hehe...My dad's going to complain about me being too cheena again haha.

It's always fun in Chinatown. I like the place!
Lots of interesting things to see hahhaa. Maybe I'll drag him down there again on another day. :)

Battery low

I've not been feeling my physical best over the last few days.
Ok, that sounds a little strange. Let me rephrase.

I've not been feeling very well the last few days. Mind over body doesn't seem to work well these days too haha..

Feeling feverish but when tested, my temperature's okay. Feeling breathless at times.
Climbing a small flight of stairs is enough to leave my thighs feeling jelly-like.
Feeling like too much things are going on around me and like as if my head's spinning from all the comings and goings. And the appetite's almost going out the window.

I was at K's place this afternoon and I was totally concussed from 3-plus till 5-plus. Couldn't peel myself off the bed.

I don't like being this way at all. I don't like being weak. :(
Maybe a short run tomorrow evening will do the trick.

Je dois practiquer un peu

Je m’en fiche! Parce qu’il est vendredi!

It est long temps que jai commencé etudier la langue française. Environs 3 ans je pense. Si j’avais plus des opportunités pour practiquer la langue, je pense que je serai meilleur en la.

J’ai un mal de tête a partir du moment que je me suis levé ce matin. Bah…je ne me pas sens bien jusqu’à maintenant. Ma bidouille aussi…

Oui, je sais, cette” post” est un peu bizarre…mais je ne peut pas penser justement maintenant….zzzzz.

Je veut rentrer chez moi....

zzzzzz

Woke with a headache. Those aches which make your head feel extremely heavy and groggy. Eyes are heavy-lidded today too. I’m just stoning at the desk right now.

*wails*

Social networking

In my line of work, I sometimes deal with other counterparts in other countries.
I meet them in my travels and during conferences and meetings.

Naturally, a number of these folks are on my Facebook.
Some are working level staff, some are directors, some are middle managers, some are CEOs.

A director of the equivalent of my organisation in another country contacted me via Facebook today. Was asking me some questions about work and clarifying some stuff.

Lol, he was apologising profusely as he had misplaced my namecard and didn't know how else to reach me except via Facebook.

How interesting haha.

My King

I spent a grand total of only 15 minutes with K today.
But it was enough to light up my entire evening.
My otherwise bland evening.

I still have a dopey grin on my face despite me saying bye to him on the train about 2 hours ago...:D

*battle cry*

Feeling a little exhausted now....Don't know why haha.

It's only Tuesday!

Jiayou jiayou jiayou!!

There's 3 more workdays to go till the weekend!

Battle on!!!!

Poor SingPost

What is the big deal about the SingPost stunt?
I thought it was an interesting campaign. Quite innovative actually….

Conservative uptight folks out there have instead slammed the publicity stunt and have even called for a fine to be levied on SingPost.

Are Singaporeans that inflexible?

Poor SingPost haha. They've gotten loads of flak recently.

The Day So Far In Gist

Medication kills the appetite. For some meals, I'm been eating half of what I usually eat.

Back to work today. Clearing and replying to 200-odd mails.

Doing self performance appraisal at the same time. I think I worked hard for FY 09/10. I hope I get the same rating as I did last year.

I think OT is in the pipeline for today again.

Called K earlier on. Had a smile on my face when he picked up.

Am okay to meet up with an ex-hostel mate. But not feeling ok about things when he's saying he might bring someone else, another ex-hostel mate. But can't really back out of it now.

I'll be a listening ear again on Wednesday this week. Just arranged for dinner with a girlfriend.

Wondering when is a good slot to cut my hair.

Will be a busy week ahead. Hope the voice and stuffed nose heals soon. Today is Day 5 liao.

Trying to blog to escape from work for a few minutes.

But realising that it is rather silly to do so.

And so I will end this entry here. :)

orisinally original

I'm hooked again to.....www.orisinal.com

Hehe...some of their games are really very cute lah...cut me some slack. ;p

Bad press #3

Was woken at 730am this morning. By an SMS from the boss.
It's either he enjoys hounding me. Or he ENJOYS hounding me.

My company is out in the papers again. Bad press AGAIN.
Article number #3.

After tons of explanation and report writing and fact-finding and background investigations....I think there'll be more to come.

Chairman of Board, Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, CEO, President, General Manager, Corp Comms Team....

Now even foreign counterparts are asking or probing for information...

zzzz...glad I'm on MC today... haha...one less day of fire to fight! :))

Whee!

Japheth

A conversation with a new temp who came in yesterday. Young boy of 18, just done with his As at RJC and now awaiting results.

Me: Do you want to join us for lunch?
Him: Um ok!
Me: What's your name?
Him: Jayferf.
Me: Har?
Him: Jayferf.
Me: Jayferf??
Him: Uh ya.
Me: How do you spell that man?
Him: J-a-p-h-e-t-h
Me: Oh ok...interesting...


It was only later on when K googled for the name then I realised that oh.......
Japheth is actually listed as a son of Noah's in the Hebrew Bible.

Wow. Cheem.

Hop III

Rabbit stoning.
In a corner.
Swiping nose with paw.
On occassion.
Drowsy.
With chemicals.

Boo

A leaky nose, fever and scratchy throat isn’t exactly a fun way to begin the new work year.

The Coll isn’t making it very fun too.

Glad I have other people to cheer me up in the office. And the occasional dose of virtual TLC from the significant other.

Hop II

Rabbit sitting.
On its haunches.
Taking.
A much needed rest.
One ear flopping down.

Blubber

I watched a little of "Biggest Loser Asia" earlier on whilst having a late dinner.

Hmm.

There was a Filipino male contestant who tipped the scales at 200kg.

Hmm.

That's more than 4 times my weight....

Wow.

Pao3 Bu4

I was supposed to go run today...Reached home at 845pm...
By the time I get changed and warmed up, it would have been a little too late to head out for a run....

:(

Lamenting Time

1 dumb report.
2 newspaper articles. (bad press mind you)
3 organisations.
4 weeks of mayhem.

Plenty of people getting overly kancheong.
Working Level Staff, Senior Managers, Bosses, Senior Bosses, Parliamentary Secretaries, a Minister.

And who is the little fry at the end of the whole food chain?

No points for guessing.

Me.

For all the grand hoo-ha-ing which has been going on.
For all the people who are getting worked up.
For all the rest who are trying to get as much information as possible from me so as to cover their asses.
For all who are trying to get themselves out of the picture as far as possible.

Screw them. Screw it. Screw whatever.

But for all the rest of the sweethearts who are or have been a great helping hand in this whole mess.

I'm very grateful.

For my boss who is bearing a greater part of the burden actually.
I salute him. For having the energy to keep up with all this.
Maybe this is just a piece of cake for one with 30-odd years of experience.

But on the other hand.

Wah lau.
I am on on the brink of puking from being "harrassed" by him.

He called me at least 9 or 10 times today.
With the last 5 phone calls happening between 715pm to 1015pm.

He sms-ed me about the same number of times.
And I spent close to 2 hours in his office in total throughout the whole day.

I think I spoke to him on the phone today more than I have with my significant other.
Sheesh.

I hope tomorrow won't be as "eventful" as today.

of hems...but no haws.

I have come to realise.
That the skirts and dresses worn by working class girls.
Have grown.
Considerably.
SHORTER.

What the hell?
I saw a girl in my office tower today.
Wearing a dress which ended like at the most 3 or 4 inches below her butt only lor!!

Tell me is this appropriate for office?
Or am I just a prude?

P/s: to my horror, the girl took the same lift as I did and I discovered that she was working for the same organisation as I. Government public service employee leh. Can wear such stuff meh? *faint*

I'm Yours

Jason, I've neglected you these past few months.
So glad we spent some quality time earlier on!

Hop

Rabbit caught
In the glare
Of a car's headlamps
Frozen in terror and surprise

Throw a Stone and.....

You'll hit a graduate.

At least this was what people said about 5-6 years ago.

I think this phrase should be updated. It should sound like this now....

"Throw a stone and you'll hit....

A Masters student or a person already holding a Masters".


Why is everyone taking Masters?
Just found out two friends are doing their Masters now.

One MBA with Insead and one Masters in Science with NUS.....

I guess. I just don't have the drive to study anymore.
Did too much of that in uni perhaps? Haa.

How interesting.

Someone whom I've not been in touch for a long long time just asked me...

"How? Have you moved into your new flat? How's the environment there?"

How interesting.

It must really have been a very long time since we last communicated.

Tanned

My whole body's of varying shades of skin colour...With the tops of my shoulders being the darkest.

糟糕。。。这么办？

I had a dream

I saw my grandmother. She's 94 come February 16th but I saw her in her late 70s or early 80s, when she was still able to walk for longer periods of time.

I was in Malaysia. I think. Accompanying my grandmother to buy some household items. I remember buying clothes-pegs.

I saw schoolchildren. Most were just blurred visions. But there were two who spoke to me. Little Malays girls of ages 8 or 9 with pigtails. Sisters I think as they looked very much alike. The elder one spoke to me. There was a very mature and sombre air about her.

I remember feeling a general air of anxiety, heavy and bearing down on me. I remember the watchful eyes of Malay and Chinese hooligans on us. They were lurking in various streetcorners.

I remember two other boys with me. Not sure how they were related to me though. One was younger than I and the other was older than I. My grandmother and I were talking to them. We turned to look at something and when we turned back, they were gone. I remember trying to look for them. Perhaps this was when I felt the anxiousness.


Some analysis gleaned from websites:

Grandmother
To see your grandmother in your dream, represents nurturance, protection, and unconditional love. Consider the qualities and characteristics that exist in your own grandmother.

Children
To see children in your dream, signify an aspect of yourself and your childlike qualities. You may be retreating back to a childlike state where you are longing for the past and the chance to satisfy repressed desires and unfulfilled hopes. Perhaps there is something that you need to see grow and nurtured. Take some time off and cater to the inner child within. Alternatively, the dream may be highlighting you innocence, purity, simplicity, and carefree attitude.

Anxiety
To dream that you are experiencing some anxiety in some affair, is a reflection of what you may be feeling during your waking life. You may have repressed thoughts, unexpressed emotions, resentment, and hostility that are triggering your anxiety dream. This dream also denotes that you are disastrous mixing business with pleasure

Crabby Old Man

Someone sent me this poem and I thought it best to share with others.
Old age, something which we all don't really think about now at age 30.
But which will inevitably arrive sooner than we think.

Nice and touching. Enjoy.

=============
What do you see nurses? . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, . . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . ... with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food . . . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . "I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to notice . .. . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . . a sock or a shoe?

Who, resisting or not . .. . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding. . . . the long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . you're not looking at me..

I'll tell you who I am. . . as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of ten . .. with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . . who love one another.

A young boy of sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet..
A groom soon at twenty .. . . .my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . .. . that I promised to keep.

At twenty-five, now . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . and a secure happy home.
A man of thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . With ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . .. to see I don't mourn.
At fifty, once more, . . babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . .. . My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . . .my wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . .. shudder with dread..
For my young are all rearing . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years,. and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man . . . . . and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age .. . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . .. . where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass . . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again .. . . . my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . life over again.

I think of the years, all too few . .. . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . .. . open and see.
Not a crabby old man. Look closer .. . see ME!!

Yammy Yummy?

It was a somewhat hot, sticky, sweaty but aromatic afternoon.

K and I were battling it out in the kitchen.

The opponents?

500gm of rice flour, 500gm of yam, black mushrooms, chinese sausages, dried shrimp, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, sugar and water. Oh yes, coriander, ried shallots, red chilli and spring onions.

Yeah, oh well, we were making Yam Cake.

1st attempt.

It turned out alright in terms of texture, colour, garnish and all.

BUT. I took my first taste and it was friggin bland. Darn.

We followed the recipe to a T. I think we should have just gone with our instincs. Afterall, cooking is quite usually based on instinct and "aggarration".

Still, it was a good first sttempt. Next time round it'll be MUCH BETTER.

I'll guarantee it. :)

A colourful colourful forest of garnishing...

The year goes by

It's the last day of the year.

Too many thoughts in my mind. It's all a blur.

Good things, great things, not so good things, horrible things, fantastic things, yada yada.
Special dates and months. People. Events. Countries. Relatives. Colours. Scents. Emotions.

So much to say. Nothing to say.

I can only pray and have faith that 2010 be a great year for myself, my friends and and of course my loved ones.

It's been a great ride in 2009. Bumpy at times but nevertheless a great ride.
I hope for the road ahead to be equally fun and equally rewarding and smoother...:)

I want to say

I'm irresponsibly mad about you

~ Dinah Washington in "Call Me Irresponsible"

Marcomm FAIL

I saw Guardian's ad on the MRT train today. It was quite interesting. It read as:

"Do you know? The average person's body has enough iron to make a 3-inch nail and carbon to make 90 pencils?

And right next to this huge ad, there was another tagline which read as:

"Enjoy the freedom of having instant ideas for better living. DIY"

Hmm.
Seriously wonder what's their objective. No link at all between the two taglines.

English Lessons

My English has been on a rapid decline.
I can't pronounce words properly. I can't type proper grammar.

Big time shit! haha....considering I need to do alot of writing for a living.

I've been having various questions on the language in recent months...and here's another one.

Should it be "Did you know?" or "Do you know?"
Imagine this being used as the main tagline in an advert. Which should be the correct one?
Hmm mm...to me...both are right, but the former sounds better....

But still, I'm no expert.
Wonder if K can give me an explanation...hehe.

Rusty Brain

I can be rather absent-minded.
But I've been fucking absent-minded for the last 2 weeks lah!!

Argh. Could it be due to lack of sleep? Maybe. I've been surviving on an average of 6 hours of sleep each day quite often over the past weeks. Because of all the festivities and gatherings and what not.

I packed pressies for Ally & PQ last night. Despite reaching home at midnight after a wedding dinner. I saw the pressies on my desk this morning and reminded myself to bring them.

And when I reached Tampines MRT station. I realised with dismay that my hands were empty...and all I was carrying was my trusty little cardigan...Argh!

Flagellation

I tend to think too much and beat myself up over the smallest thing.
Not quite good for the ego, confidence and mind.

Doing too much of this over the last few weeks. No idea why.
Year-end nostalgia making me emo?

Girl Power

I don't pop my cork for any man I see.

~ Shirley Bassey in "Big Spender"

uuhhh *delicate fingers to forehead*

I feel like those delicate damsels from those Chinese novels set in ancient times.
Those ladies who are delicate and frail and cannot get overly excited else they'll feel out of breath.

Too much food and comings and goings and entertaining and chatter over the last week has left me a little tired...

Woke feeling ok but I dozed off like a pig on the train to work. Reached office and saw some mails arrowing more work to me. Bleah.
And then I discovered I had a slight sore throat when I tried to speak and ended up sounding a little hoarse.

Okok, just a few more days to go...mind over body!
I will not be sick when I herald in the new year!

XiaXue's Love Story

To be frank. I don’t read Xiaxue’s blog. Not at all.

I don’t know why but for some strange reason this afternoon, I thought I’d pop in to have a look. And then I came across this rather wonderful love story of hers, which she posted just 8 days ago, on 20th December.

http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/2009/12/love-story.html

Go on have a good read. It’s a long entry, but it’s not boring.

Maybe after reading the entry, it’ll add that dash of optimistic hope which we all need to have from time to time. We have enough cynicism and skepticism in our lives already.

Nothing like a sprinkle of hope and a good ol’ dash of lurrrvveeee to brighten our day…:)

I know...cos I have my daily doses...hee.

Weighty Conversations

Admin Lady (AL): Eh, you're so thin! You look dehydrated! Like very dry like that.
Me: Huh? Got meh? You mean I look shrivelled??
AL: Ya, dry dry like that. Like got no water inside you.
Me: ????
AL: But you're pretty so still not so bad. But you must try to be fairer.
Me: Err...orh ok. But I'm always this colour what.
AL: No lah, when you first came in you were fairer. Must try to get fairer ok!!
Me: Err...orh ok.
AL: Ya ya, else later look like Malay.
Me: ...........

==========
Ee Hong: I think she's lost weight. Looking a little thin.
Sasi: No lah, I think she's put on abit.
Both: Wave your arms leh. Got bye-bye syndrome or not?
Me: .........

==========
Me: Am I fat? Or just nice?
Granny: You're just nice lah! Too thin not good. Like that just nice. Got abit of meat here and there.
Me: ..........

==========
Me: *squeezes upper arm*
Me: I'm bui bui.
Baby: No lah, you're not fat.
Me: Orh hee.
Baby: Even if you're fat I'll still love you.
Me: .............

*burp*

The last few days have been heavy-going. Lol. On the stomach that is.
So much food, so much good food! Lots of ham, sausages, chicken, turkey, beef, pork, sushi, veggies, pumpkin soup, clam chowder…haha…

There's quite a bit of ham left in the fridge...It'll be my breakfast for the next few days at least....gosh...

I told myself I need to lie low for the next few weeks and go easy on the intake. Else the waistline will go on an expansion spree. I need to start running again too argh!! My last run was SCM…and that was 3 weeks ago hahaha...

I know! I’ll go for a run on 1st Jan 2010!! Good healthy start to the new year!! Woot!

Shucks. I am Auntified~!!

I really feel like an auntie now.

I spent 5 minutes scolding someone this afternoon.

And then I just spent 20minutes nagging at the same person. To get her to buck up.
To get her to get her act together. To get her to understand that no one can help her unless she helps herself first.

If need be. I will nag more.
If I see anymore big lapses, she will get it from me worse.

Choco!

The Royce Chocolate Store below my office tower was swarmed with people during lunchtime today. Lol...and I think the staff weren't very well-prepared for it.

They looked harried and frantic serving customers, settling payments, answering queries, doing crowd control, wrapping presents, shooing away playing kids from the store, etc.

Business is brisk for them during such festive occassions and during Valentine's Day.

Guess the tons that they are earning during these few months of the year is enough to cover their costs of operations for the remaining months of the year where only a handful of people patronise them.

Hehe. I was a customer of theirs just now too...

*munch munch* ;p

Losing patience

Really losing patience. It’s really not that difficult to find a place to have a gathering. There’s TONS of restaurants in Singapore.

Wah lau. You’re not working yet. I am. Stop bugging me during the day. I can’t be entertaining you online all the time and giving you suggestions of where to go for the gathering and what to eat.

Sheesh. And I’m not gonna give any more suggestions next time. None of it gets considered anyway.

You’ve “organized” this thing for 2 weeks already. Till today you're still asking me where should we go, what should we eat, which venue has good parking space...

What the?????!!!!!!

Argh.

ERA

I've always liked ERA and their gregorian-chant-like music.

Back in my uni days when I was doing choreography work for pageants, I used a number of their songs for catwalks and poses because I felt their songs had more drama and impact ahaha.

Whilst listening to their songs a few days ago, I found myself subconsciously counting beats and seeing how I could use them in a showcase of pageant contestants lol...

Here's two of their lesser known songs...Hymne and Enae Volare Mezzo.

GO AWAY QUICK!!!

Uh oh. Not good.

Pimple outbreak...!

It's Xmas week and I've started the Monday of the week with 6 pimples!!

*wails*

Doormat

Not feeling too good today. Feeling angsty and emo.
Anyhow, was researching on the word "doormat" when I came across an interesting blog.

Maintained by a middle-aged lady who's had quite a few experiences n her life I think.
I didn't have the time to read through her posts...
But reading one prompted me to share her blog with others.

www.lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat.com

Time

You think the days go by slowly when you’re in school.
Your days are occupied by schoolwork, games, friends and nagging parents.
You spend the days wondering when the semester will end and when the holidays will arrive.

Then you get older, you get into tertiary school.
You start to wonder if time passes a little more quickly now.
You spend your days on projects, tutorials, friends, significant others. And yes, the nagging parents are still there.

You finally graduate and step into the world of working adults and are part of the statistic contributing to the country's economy.
You know now that time does indeed pass much faster than before.
You spend your days eagerly learning, trying to prove yourself to the whole world, meeting up with friends, spending newfound wealth, enjoying life, getting acquainted with restaurants and places you’d hardly go to as a student because you didn’t have much funds.

You’ve been in the workforce for a few years now.
You start wondering if time can slow down a little.
You find yourself gasping for breath at times with the long list of things seeking your attention.
You spend your days rushing deadlines, getting bogged down by bosses and colleagues, playing catch-up with friends, getting occupied with the increasing number of bills, running errands, losing contact with some people, wondering about your own life and future, thinking about other issues, trying to stay fit and healthy amidst it all, yada yada yada…

It seems the older we get the faster time passes us by.

Uncontacted Tribes

A lot of information condensed into a 3:47m video. It gets a little choppy and abrupt at times but still a good, interesting and informational video.

I know there are tribes around in the rest of the world and even in neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia. But I never knew there are uncontacted tribes elsewhere in Latin America, the Pacific Islands and the Africas….

Interesting…
Wonder how they live, what they do, how they feed, what languages they speak, etc…

Morning Gripes

I don’t enjoy Christmas group gift exchanges.

And especially not when you’re exchanging gifts with a bunch of folks you don’t really know.

I mean, I love Christmas and all but I find the concept of such group gift exchanges rather superficial and just for the “sake of doing it”. And how am I supposed to get a nice heartfelt gift when I don’t know who the hell I am giving it to?? The whole exercise only results in the boosting of the economy by that little bit but potentially increases wastage by a whole lot.

End result = costs outweigh benefits.
i.e. NOT WORTH DOING.

If it’s buying for my family, I also find it a tad cumbersome but I’ll still do it.

I’d rather just have a quiet gathering with some food and drinks and chill. In the words of the Gen Z…Chillax….

Longer Than - Dan Fogelberg

This song suddenly popped up in my head this morning. I remember that I when I first heard this song when I was little, I thought it was a tad boring. But over the years, I've grown to appreciate it much more. Mellow and soothing.. :)


Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there've been stars up in the heavens
I've been in love with you.

Stronger than any mountain cathedral
Truer than any tree ever grew
Deeper than any forest primeval
I am in love with you.

I'll bring fire in the winters
You'll send showers in the springs
We'll fly through the falls and summers
With love on our wings.

Through the years as the fire starts to mellow
Burning lines in the book of our lives
Though the binding cracks and the pages start to yellow
I'll be in love with you.
I'll be in love with you.

Longer than there've been fishes in the ocean
Higher than any bird ever flew
Longer than there've been stars up in the heavens
I've been in love with you
I am in love with you..

Blackie!

Ok. I did it again. I got myself another black dress.

It's my 7th black dress.

But but but.

Given a choice between electric blue, electric pink and black...the only logical choice is to take black right?

Yes. Ok, I'm convinced.

Yay!

...........

She did it again.

Made my blood boil twice in a day.

Winner.

HELP!

Uh-oh, I’m surrounded by Twilight fans in office.
My female lunch kakis are talking about it almost everyday!!

HELP!

Coll the Troll

I don't like it when some anal person comes to me early in the morning and bugs me about non-consequential stuff.

And why bug me about finance issues when you're the finance person and SUPPOSED to be doing such consolidations???????????????

Seriously, WTF.

She really has a way of making my BP rise.

Footsie!

I really should go bathe now. And scrub my foot at the same time.

Giving K a pseudo pedicure last evening has motivated me to give my own pair of feet a good pick-me-up session with both the foot scrub and a pumice stone.

I'll prolly drown my feet in moisturiser later on too....:)

One should not neglect one's feet (and legs).
Because they're the ones who will carry you around everywhere till you're old.

Read rhymes with eat

I used to have a voracious appetite.
For books that is.

Now I only have a voracious appetite.
For food.

Not healthy at all.
Hmm.

Wonder what made my brain synapses go through such a 180 degree change.

Maybe because read rhymes with eat.
And "eat" is a command which the brain takes shorter to process given that it has only 3-letters (compared to 4 letters).
Hence. The brain subconsciously prefers that I eat than I read. :)

Wah! I'm so smart I admire myself.
......
....
...
...
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Not.
.
..
...
....Hehe.

Experiments do pay off!

Golden Pear - diced
Lettuce - cut into bite-sized strips
Pommery mustard - aka wholegrain mustard

Mix all together and you get a great perk me up salad!! :)))))

*chomp chomp chomp*

*grins*

dollars and cents

It is always a motivation to check your bank account early in the morning and see that your pay has already come in. :)

It is also a motivation to see that the AWS has come in too! :)

Ok, I don't feel as bad now about spending money liao. Muahahhaha!

Admin Matters

Insurance
I think I really need to sit down and consolidate whatever insurance policies I have.
Be it health, life, travel, accident.

Gosh. It scares me that I don't have a clear inkling what I' m covered for and what I'm not.
And what existing policies I have at the moment...

Forex
I've got too much foreign currencies in my hands now. Korean won, Chinese renminbi, Mexican peso, Phillipine peso, US dollars, Euro, Indonesian rupiah, Vietnamese dong, etc....

I need to change them back to Sing dollars! Didn't realise so much liquidity is held up in all these currencies...

Info Info

Currently reading up & researching on:

- Sponsoring a child in a 3rd world country
- Honour Killings
- The Cold Storage Management Trainee Programme
- Jobs ;p

Bleah!

Feeling somewhat harrassed.

My boss is supposed to be on holiday with his wife in BKK. But the way he is hounding myself and some others, it's like as it he never went away. If I were his wife, I'd be screaming my head off at him by now.

He spent the whole morning on Saturday calling me 3-4 times and SMS-ing me.

He sent me SMS-es yesterday morning.

And he sent me an SMS at 3am last night while I was sleeping. I woke with a shock.
What the hell? Others need to sleep even if you don't leh....I'm a full-fledged zombie today..

He's sent me 4 SMS-es this morning. And it's not even 11am yet...

I will not marry a workaholic. Even if I unknowingly marry one, I'll drill it into the other half's head that there needs to be work-life balance.

After the Run

My Birthday!

These are some very very overdue pictures....;)
I had a very lovely dinner with K over at Dozo in Valley Point.
I'd been there before already and loved the place.
Iwanted K to experience the place for himself and so we ended up going there for my birthday dinner.

A lovely bouquet of white roses to start the evening with..:)

Starters. Left: A Dollop of Cream on Smoked Salmon. Centre: Fresh Seared Scallop with Truffle Sauce. Right: Foie Gras with Bread.

Sliced Tuna Sashimi with Asparagus

Crab Salad

I loved how this flower looked on the plate as a decorative piece!

Bamboo Clam with Truffle Sauce by the side

Escargot with Cheese

Lobster Bisque

Beef on Hot Stone

Herb-crusted Prawns

A surprise for me from the restaurant!

It was really a nice touch on top of their already excellent service.

Brownie with vanilla ice-cream. Heavenly.

Refreshing fruit tea to wash it all down....:)

SCM 2009 - Women's 10km

I completed the Women’s 10km Standard Chartered Run this morning.

My first time completing a 10km run. Well, it was more like a walk-run-walk kind of thing. But still, I completed it and it was around the timeframe I thought I would complete the run.

I thought I would feel good about completing the run. I don’t know why but it felt a little empty and less of an accomplishment compared to when I finished the 5.8km Yellow Ribbon Prison Run back in September.

I spent a good part of the whole afternoon and evening curled up in bed resting. I didn’t feel good physically. I didn’t prepare nor train for the run properly and I think I over-exerted myself. I didn’t have a good breakfast before the run too.

I’ve got a sore upper right thigh now and am walking a little like a duck or penguin. Not quite sure how I’m gonna walk to office tomorrow. Hmm.

Some other things have been running through my mind. I’ve been thinking and asking myself these. What’s the purpose of me joining these runs? For fun? For leisure? To challenge myself? Who am I trying to prove things to? Myself? Others? What am I trying to prove? That I’m not a weakling? So what if I complete these runs? So what? Then what?

A part of me thinks I’m over-compensating for my younger years during which I was not allowed to do any physical activities (due to a mis-diagnosis of a heart condition). Another part of me thinks I am doing these to prove (to no one in particular? I don’t know really…) that maybe I’m not some princess who can’t do such things.

I’m feeling damn shacked out now and yet another part of me is saying that perhaps I should admit to myself that I can’t compare myself to others who are more physically fit.

Ok, I am babbling already. Sigh.

???

My boss cc-es me for both financial stuff and tech stuff.
Like what is exactly my job role??
Am I supposed to know and handle these things tooooo????

A staff who mans the general enquiry mailbox asks me for help with technical questions and operational questions which come in. Her boss (i.e. my peer aka The Coll aka the finance/admin manager) does not know how to answer most of these questions. I end up helping this staff out.
Why am I doing someone else’s job?

My vendor gets me to help out sometimes when they can’t find my tech manager.
I end up knowing how to do simple technical things now.

What exactly is my job role???

RAWR!

I woke today raring to go. A little tired still but with enough adrenalin to get me up and about.
It felt good. Hell, it felt GREAT! Haha..

And then I heard a wonderful piece of news on the radio this morning.

Class 95 is available again on the Internet!!

It's been almost 9 months since they took it off the Net and apparently they've received considerable feedback from listeners wanting to have it back online. And so voila, they're back online....Wheee!!

Did my French homework whilst on the train to work and revised for the next lesson.
(Fell asleep on my textbook last night though haha...)

Stepped into office and cleared up a paper for submission already.

Time to "kill" off the other items on my to-do list...:)

La Fin de L'Annee

Voila, it’s December already. Feeling nostalgic and pensive.

Maybe it’s the weather, the coolness and the general feeling of year-end approaching. Year-end brings Christmas along with it, which I love. At the same time, it brings with it questions and thoughts of how much one has achieved or experienced in the past months or year as well.

Looking back, it has been a rather eventful year and time has zoomed by in a jiffy. Right from 1st Jan till now. Friends, work, family and self…enough has happened to keep me on a constant whir. So much so that I feel as if time has never passed by faster than over the last 11 months.

I remember mentioning that it seems as if the older one gets, the more occupied one seems to get. Haha. I’m not sure about others but it sure does seem like that for me. :)

Friends. Reconnected with some, lost some and made new ones. Got disappointed with some others as well. But I guess at the end of the day you know who are the ones who really matter. I used to be more proactive in maintaining relationships. Unknowingly, I’ve somehow taken sort of a backseat this year. Maybe I’ve just grown more anti-social? Haha..

Family. Same old same old. Parents still drive me up (and over) the wall sometimes I still feel awkward with my nephew. And I’ve been on my weekly visits to my granny’s nursing home for 2 years and more now. Mum’s getting better after her recent kidney stone blasting. Dad’s gonna be discharged today after 20 days in hospital. A cousin’s had a cyst removed from her ovary and a distant relative has been diagnosed with kidney failure.

Work. Abit of a love-hate relationship here haha. Travels have been interesting definitely and I can’t gripe about that for sure. Being given the opportunity to fly around for work was something which I used to think would never happen to me. Projects have been assigned to me over the past year and one of them has been the cause of my edginess over the last months and probably will for the next few weeks/months as well. The boss can be a pain in the ass at times and a nice guy at other times. A bright spark was when I had a promotion and a corresponding increment. Woot! Haha…

Self. Set some targets at the start of the year, met some, barely reached some, en route to reaching some and had to write off some other stuff due to changes in circumstances and direction. Glad I took up blading. It was something which I’d wanted to do for close to 8 years. Along the way these past 11 months, I’d taken a few tumbles for sure, both literally and metaphorically. I can’t say I’ve grown 100% wiser as a result but I‘ve definitely learnt some things along the way that should be in everyone’s “guidebook to life”. I’m still learning everyday though and I’m glad I’ve got K around me, to catch me should I fall.

K. My beacon of light. Haha…who’s brought me many a good thing and shown me quite a number of stuff as well. It hasn’t entirely been smooth-sailing and I’d be lying through my teeth if I said it was. But still, it’s a walk we’ve chosen to take with each other and kudos goes to my king for bestowing much kind patience towards my idiosyncracies. ;p

Onward we march towards 2010 and yet another year ahead. What comes forth? What lies ahead? I guess no amount of planning will prepare us entirely for the unforseen.

So oh well, let’s take it slow and steady….In the meantime, I’ll enjoy my warm cup of tea and lovely cookies. :)