Thursday, June 30, 2011

Half Down, Half To Go

It's the last day of June! 6 months of 2011 have just whizzed by, and another 6 more months before it's 2012. Eeks! What happened to the days in school when filling in the dates would start with 198_?

Anyway, things are looking good. I start my work trips next week, and will be going to India again. Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about going back to India, but I'm actually quite excited now.

And that's because I have mini-holidays tagged on to my trips! Well, sort of. Have plans to ride a boat (?) along the Ganges while in Kolkata (I think that's what's happening anyway), doing a day trip to Pune, and *drumroll*... I'm going to Ladakh!!!

*dance*

Everything just seemed to fall into place. From meeting someone who stayed for 3 months in one of the guesthouses last year, to booking the last available room at said guesthouse, to finding a travel kaki since LGG and Ching couldn't confirm the trip. Happiness!

Yummy went a little mad when she found out who I was traveling to Ladakh with. Phrases like "I am buoyed by hope" and "I knew this was going to be a good day", "I'm rooting for you" and "Hope is a beautiful thing" peppered her chat with me. Finally ran out of ways to tell her that nothing was going to happen so told her not to hold her breath waiting. Lol.

So I think the rest of 2011 looks set to be quite awesome. Whee!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Wipeout

A couple of months ago, I decided to do some digital spring-cleaning. I had hundreds of people on my msn list, and almost (or was it more than?) 600 friends on my facebook account.

My msn account had the weirdest names on the list, most of which I did not recognise anymore. Probably ex colleagues or work contacts or old school mates that I barely kept in touch with.

And because the email IDs were so random (very few people use their real names), it was hard to figure out who raincloud or pinkprincess or wizard or shoebox was.

Facebook wasn't as bad, I actually knew every single person I added to my account. (I don't add any ol' random person who decides to add me on facebook. That's what my fake facebook account is for. Lol.) And with their photos and mutual friends, even if you didn't quite remember, you could sorta figure it out.

Plus, I had set up my privacy settings so that mere acquaintances couldn't see my personal stuff like photos and updates.

However, having 600 people meant a barrage of videos and links and photos that I didn't really care for. Sure, it was nice to stalk old school mates and such, but do I really care about what that exchange student I snogged in 2002 does today?

(In the random event that you're reading this, Cordy-boy, you'll always be my favourite German boy.)

So, off with their heads! I went about culling my facebook and msn list mercilessly, deleting people based on the following criteria:

For msn:
Do I even know you? (Yes you, the raincloud / pinkprincess / wizard / shoebox. Among many others.) No? Delete!
Have I chatted with you in the past year? No? Delete!

For facebook:
Are you an old school mate or ex colleague that I've actually not contacted since the time we were in school/work, if not for facebook? Yes? Del... Hang on, are you cute or have interesting posts? Yes? Mmm I'll keep you. If not, delete!
Are you living in India? Yes? Delete!

And sure enough, I managed to trim my facebook friends' list down to a hundred over people and deleted the random contacts on my msn account.

Of course, the downside is having to decide what to do if a once-deleted contact has made a friend request. But not a big deal, I'll figure it out.

Monday, June 27, 2011

That Nap Was A Bad Idea

Took a nap this afternoon from 4-7pm. Bad idea. It's now 3.30am and I'm wide awake. And hungry.

*whine*

And ordinarily, I'd be fine heading to work feeling like a zombie, but I have a meeting tomorrow and dinner plans too. How am I going to keep awake?

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Happiness and Being Thankful

LGG saw an exhibition during the happiness conference in Brisbane. This lady took pictures of things that made her happy, everyday. And what a brilliant idea it is!

So the both of us have decided to do just that, and upload our pictures online. 2 days in, and I'm beginning to suspect that a majority of my pictures are going to be food related. Lol.

http://bunnygoeszen.posterous.com

Anyhow, it's important to be happy with what you have and always be thankful. :)

Friday, June 24, 2011

Don't Worry, Be Happy

It's wild, huh, Bona, how many happy people there are in the world who claim to be otherwise.

Admittedly happy,
    The Universe

The secret to being even happier, Bona, is feeling all of it that you can now feel.

Google Translate FTW

Decided to plonk the lyrics of the AHS school song into google translate, and this is what I got. LOLOLOLOL

Weather mighty towering male Hongxue homes confrontation, Lion Island
Holy justice Road were Zhaoxi Jia name Anglican
Counseling Erduo Shi Shenmolongwei God linru bow
Chunxian Mo calm dry summer cloud chant from verdant trees
Jinde they fail the tree into the wind the three religions on the four virtues
John Christ's elite forever Bangguo of the city dry

And the original school song:

浩荡嵯峨气象雄 黉舍峙,狮岛中
圣洁公义道之宗 肇锡佳名号圣公
咨�多士慎磨砻 维上帝 临汝躬
春弦夏�莫从容 干云之木自青葱
进德修业树风声 三教就四德成
永为基督之精兵 永为邦国之干


Heeheehee

Happiness Is Discovering That Koufu Sells Chee Cheong Fun

Whee! Subject header says it all. All this while I've been buying breakfast from Wild Pot and keeping to a staple of kaya toast and soft boiled eggs (and now the occasional bowl of mee siam). But yesterday I was buying kopi from Koufu and decided to see what else they sell for breakfast.

To my very pleasant surprise, they sell chwee kueh and chee cheong fun! Happiness! I don't know why I never explored Koufu before, but YAY! Better late than never!

OMG I'm Such An Uncle Now

Interesting evening today. Had dinner and drinks with Amit tonight after work. Shisha, wine, kebabs, debunking myths and a whole host of giggles. Sometimes, it's nice to just chill out at home and just nua.

Had a short nap, and then went to meet EYS, Kenneth and SH at the Serangoon Garden Country Club. Walked into the pub and I must say, being the only gal = head turner. Plus it helps that I was actually formally dressed and looking really good because I had an interview today. Hehehe.

Beers, more food, dai di, and... cigars. Lol for someone who is my doctor, he's actually quite a bad influence, what with all the shishas and now cigars. Tsk tsk.

So the three men took my virgin cigar experience, and I must say it wasn't as unpleasant as I thought it would be. Stopped when I found out there was nicotine in the damn thing though. Lol. What kind of doctor do I have?

Told EYS about my afternoon discovery, and he says men are stupid. How true. He also agreed when the words "piece of shit", "desperate asshole" and "morally lacking skank" came out. Hehehe. Gotta love my friends.

Anyway, the cigars were more expensive than I thought, and cost 40 bucks a pop. Need to tell Amit that they don't cost a dollar or two, or ten bucks for a decent one like he says.

It was a good evening though, but now I'm ready to take my melatonin and zzz. Plus I taste like a smoker now. Ick. Goodnight world!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

That's That

And with that discovery, I now conclude all my posts about Mr Iwdyveaiaacsbf. Not worth my blog space. Not worth my time. Not worth my brain cells. Not worth a single iota of me.

It's amazing how a single moment can just change everything you think. But better late than never, I say.

Can't Let Go Of Her Huh

Seems like you never could and went running back the moment you could.

Good to know that everything was just lies lies lies.

I should have known.

==

Simple Together - Alanis Morissette

You've been my golden best friend
Now with post-demise at hand
Can't go to you for consolation
Cause we're off limits during this transition
This grief overwhelms me
It burns in my stomach
And i can't stop bumping into things
I thought we'd be simple together
I thought we'd be happy together
Thought we'd be limitless together
I thought we'd be precious together
But i was sadly mistaken
You've been my soulmate and mentor
I remembered you the moment i met you
With you i knew god's face was handsome
With you i suffered an expansion
This loss is numbing me
It pierces my chest
And i can't stop dropping everything
I thought we'd be sexy together
Thought we'd be evolving together
I thought we'd have children together
I thought we'd be family together
But i was sadly mistaken
If i had a bill for all the philosophies i shared
If i had a penny for all the possibilities i presented
If i had a dime for every hand thrown up in the air
My wealth would render this no less severe
I thought we'd be genius together
I thought we'd be healing together
I thought we'd be growing together
Thought we'd be adventurous togheter
But i was sadly mistaken
Thought we'd be exploring together
Thought we'd be inspired together
I thought we'd be flying together
Thought we'd be on fire together
But i was sadly mistaken

OMG Nostalgia To The Max

Waaah this youtube clip has been making it's way around AHS alumnus on Facebook and when I heard it, my jaw just dropped. Our school song! Waaaaah!!! I've not heard the song since I left school, and watching my old teachers sing it just brings back so many memories.

Watching Yanni Live at the Acropolis during music class. Sitting outside the discipline teacher's office as punishment for truancy (and just before the O'levels to boot!). Long discussions about why we need to wear petticoats and not dye our hair. Reading the Bible during Bible study- in Chinese. The countless performances by visiting Christian groups. Cheering our sports teams at various National level competitions.

An interesting time with lots of fond memories. :)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Mr Iwdyveaiaacsbf

Lol Darwin has a new nickname for the grasshopper, and I think I'll adopt it for now because it makes me laugh. It's admittedly a little long but... LOLOLOLOLOL

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

To Meet Or Not To Meet, That Is The Question

It's that time of the year that I have to start planning my work trips to India. I'm obviously not as enthusiastic about it as I was last year, but what has to be done just has to be done.

Thing is, do I contact the grasshopper? Do I tell him I'm going to be in town? Do I arrange to meet up for dinner to catch up? To have some form of closure?

I don't know.

Different people have different opinions, and majority of the people I've asked have said that it's not a good idea. But, since when have I let public opinion stop me?

Honestly, I'm geared towards getting in touch and finding out how things are. It's the least I can do, and I have to admit, I am curious. But, is that such a good idea?

Something to think about.


[ETA: Wahahaha and a wise one commented, "You think you want to meet him, he want to meet you ah?" True huh. After all, he never had the courage to call. What makes me think that he'd have the courage to meet me face to face?]

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sleep Talkin' Man

Oh my, oh my, oh my! How come I've never seen this blog before? It's HILARIOUS. I can't stop laughing! Apparently this is stuff he says when he's asleep, and his wife records it down and blogs them for the world to enjoy.

http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com

Some of my favourites (there are too many!):

"I'm the epitome of seeing is believing. Once you see me, you'll believe there is a god."
"If you look at me again, I'm gonna bugger your fucking eyeballs and eat them, so you stare at my shit."
"You're undiluted brilliance, awesome to a point of purity. You're— oh, sorry, I was projecting. You're an arse."
"Of course I'll buy you flowers... when you're dead. Simply out of celebration, mind."
"Okay, okay, you've got to meet me halfway here, alright? I'm sorry for smacking you in the face, but, you've got to apologize for existing."
"It's not sweat. It's my aura glistening."
"Kiss my fist. Oh, look! It wants to kiss you back. So. Many. Fucking. Times!"
"I would gargle contents of the arseholes of the recently dead than go out with you. It's not a hard choice really."

LOLOLOLOL! Which are your favourites?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

And All Is Well Again

And sometimes, all you need to do is chat with a friend (or friends) to have everything put back into perspective. :)

The list is out. Now all I have to do is wait for the Universe to deliver. Woot!

11 Weeks

Sometimes, like today, I feel like such a loser. While I'm slowly and surely moving on, it's the letting go that's the hardest. Why do I still think about the grasshopper? Why do I still miss him? And horror upon horrors, why do I still love him?

Sigh.

The clock in my head silently keeps track of how long it has been, counting the days, the weeks, and now the months. 11 weeks today.

And I don't even know what I'm clinging on to. The memories of a time now past. Hopes of something that will never be. The love of someone who has ceased loving me.

Sigh.

It's easy to tell oneself to be strong, that life goes on, that things will get better. But the cynic in me now questions, will it?

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Sticky Date Pudding

Because it's been such a long time since I posted any recipe, I thought I'd blog about what I made today: sticky date pudding. Ahh, I remember the first time I had it. I was at the Marmalade Pantry with LGG, and when I took my first bite, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was divine, and every mouthful was pure joy.

That was many years ago, and my obsession with sticky date pudding has somewhat waned. However, during my recent trip to Perth, my sister-in-law had made a batch of the stuff and all my long-forgotten memories of how much I loved it resurfaced. I got the recipe from her and came back and decided to try my hand at it.

And yes, making this was really as easy as my SIL said it would be. In fact, the hardest part was probably chopping up the dates (so sticky la).

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted dated, chopped

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

300ml boiling water
(mix and leave to stand)



1 cup castor sugar (I used less)

60g butter

2 eggs

1 cup self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Instructions:


Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and mix well. Fold flour into batter. Stir in date mixture. Add vanilla. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 30-40 minute. 



If you want to make a sauce for the sticky date pudding, here's a recipe. I didn't think it was very necessary though.

Sauce: 150ml cream + 150g brown sugar + 50g butter. Combine all in saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes.

Om nom nom nom

I Wish You Love

I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
And then a kiss, but more than this
I wish you love
And in July a lemonade
To cool you in some leafy glade
I wish you health
But more than wealth
I wish you love
My breaking heart and I agree
That you and I could never be
So with my best
My very best
I set you free
I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all when snowflakes fall
I wish you love

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Back In Singapore

Ah we almost had our flight back cancelled due to the ash cloud that was over the city. According to the news all domestic and international flights out of Perth were cancelled. But we didn't hear anything from SQ so decided to go to the airport to check it out, and behold, SQ would be heading back home (by flying *under* the ash cloud, clever buggers).

Anyway I'm back to the humidity and heat of Singapore and I must say at least I can breathe better here. My dad had me take some Chinese meds for my cough and also gave me a sweet to suck so it would soothe my throat. Might just suck it up and stick with the Chinese meds instead of going to see a western doctor, I'm not fancying taking antibiotics and having my mouth taste like chemicals.

So how was my trip to Perth? All in all, it was good. Had a great time catching up with everyone in Perth, especially Darwin (the Legend) who was my drinking kaki and took me pub hopping. I actually quite enjoyed his choice of watering holes, places that I think I'd gravitate towards if I were living there. Enjoyed having the company of someone close to my age who wasn't asking me every other moment to consider moving to Perth. Lol.

Had my moments when I was there too, and found solace in the playground at the park just near the house. Had a good sob there, when I thought about the could-have-beens and how things are not quite panning out as I thought they should have. But as Darwin says, gotta keep my head up and all will be well.

Interestingly though, when I was sitting at the playground, I seemed to be a magnet to all the dogs in the area. People would be walking their dogs and somehow the dogs would just run up to me and sorta circle around me. Were they being intuitive to the sadness that I was feeling? Perhaps.

Australia is more expensive than I thought it would be though. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the cheap food in India (and no one can beat India when it comes to cheap fare) but paying 10aud for a pint?! Coupled with the ridiculous exchange rate, oh my. Spent more this trip than I have in all my past holidays too.

I miss the vastness of it all though- being able to watch the sunrise from the front porch, clear skies dotted with fluffy white clouds (we had perfect weather when we were there and it only rained on the last day!), the lack of a billion people on the streets.

Somehow it feels like I've been away for much longer than 11 days. But it's always good to be back.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Freezing My Tits Off

Oh man, why is it so cold tonight? I'm huddled under the sheets, but still shivering and my teeth are chattering. Brr.

Yay!

This time tomorrow I'll be back in Singapore! Whee!

Humidity, I'm coming!!!

Oh No.. I Think I Can't Remember What I Did And When

Tuesday:
Hmmm went to Harbour Town- a factory outlet mall, which my sister apparently went berserk at the last time. Bought 2 pair of yoga pants from Lorna Jane because I remembered Ching saying that they were comfortable. Tried them on and OMG they really are comfortable, and it was only when I was leaving the shop that I realised why they looked *so* familiar. Ching has the exact same pair (I think Jeanne too, Lol).

Took a walk at King's Park after and it's a really pretty park that overlooks the river and city of Perth. Beautiful scenery, and lovely place to hang out.

Went back home for dinner, and then went out with Darwin to King's Park again. He wanted me to have a look at the city at night, and I must say it's stunning. Well, any city at night would look amazing set against a dark night. We then went to the Lucky Shag for a couple of pints before heading home. Darwin had the misfortune of allowing me to drive his car back and he says it was the most traumatic experience ever. Lol. I do not disagree. Hahaha.

Wednesday:
Booked myself on a day tour that would cover the Caversham Wildlife Park, Pinnacles at Cervantes and sandboarding at Lancelin. Think it was an awesome decision to go for this day tour as the drive to Cervates took a really long time. I got to sit in the front of the bus next to the driver, and as it was a 4Wd, the seat I was on was one of those bouncy seats (suspension seats? Who knows, it was fun though).

Heading to Caversham in the morning was amazing. When I went there on Monday afternoon, most of the kangaroos were lazing in the noonday sun and were sleepy and quite unresponsive. The kangaroos in the morning were alert and hungry, and literally crowded around you as you grabbed handfuls of feed. So cute! We also got to see a wombat and pet the koalas.

Made our way to visit a rock lobster farm- nothing particularly impressive, I felt it was more a tourist stop where they were selling rock lobsters at 30 bucks a piece. Drove on to the Pinnacles, which was quite nice- I had no idea it was over such a large area! Took a nice walk around, looking at the huge limestone rocks. And then made our way to the sand dunes at Lancelin.

Having a passenger seat in a 4WD was amazing. I had a perfect view of everything and when the bus driver went down some steep slopes, I was hanging on to my seat for dear life. The sand dunes are so beautiful, with their wavy patterns blown by the wind. After coasting around for a bit, we got out of the bus and got the boards out for a bit of sandboarding.

Waxed our boards, and sandboarded down the dunes. I have to say I had a little chuckle when one of the really noisy kids on the tour somehow managed to get a mouthful of sand. Heeheehee. Exhilarated but exhausted, we finally packed up and made our way back to Perth city.

Took a cab and met Darwin and a couple of his mates (Tiff and Louise?) at the Garden down at Leederville. Nice chillout pub. So far the places that Darwin's been taking me to has been quite cool. Had a couple of beers, chatted a little, and then headed back home. Long but satisfying Wednesday.


Thursday:
Went to Hillary's and walked around. Had pizza at one of the many eateries. Then met Junie in the evening. Took a train down to Perth City and had dinner with her at the Brass Knuckle at Northbridge. Went to an indy pub and listened to some music and had a couple of pints before heading back to her place to crash the night.

Friday:
Picked Uncle Manny up from the airport and took a river cruise to Fremantle. Had lunch at Cervantes and walked around Fremantle.

Saturday:
Went shopping at the Joondalup for an outfilt to wear for Aunty Lin's 60th birthday party in the evening. Also went grocery shopping for stuff to cook for lunch on Sunday.

Sunday:
Cooked lunch and went to Beeliar to hang out with my brother and the kids.

Monday:
Went to Serpentine National Park but didn't get to trek around (bummer). Had drinks at the Queen with Darwin and Leia at Mt Lawley.

Tuesday:
That's today- can you tell I'm getting too lazy to blog about my trip? Hahahahahaha. Am sick, throat hurts, and I can't wait to get back to the humidity of Singapore. Who would have thought?

Monday, June 13, 2011

A Song For You

I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you
We were alone and I was singing this song for you

The Human Body Is An Amazing Thing

And I say this based on the amount of phlegm that my body is capable of producing. Where in the world does all this stuff come from? Each time I cough, a giant blob of sticky green phlegm manages to somehow appear in my mouth. Bleh.

Anyway, at least the throat doesn't hurt so much. I've been religously gargling with Betadine and taking my Strepsils, and also drinking a tonne of water. Hopefully this cough will clear up soon.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

10 Weeks

Still have tears in my eyes. Sigh.

Sick

Lost my voice, throat hurts like a mofo. Argh.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

No, Not Now! .. And Perth So Far

Gah. One of the worst things that could happen when you're on a holiday would be to fall sick. Dammit. The back of my throat is inflammed and I woke up hacking giant globs of sticky, green phlegm. Which is actually better than yesterday when my body was producing sticky, brown phlegm. But still. Blech.

Anyway. Perth so far has been quite fun. The kids are amazing and it's been great catching up with all my family and friends here. I've had quite an equal balance of hanging out with the family, doing touristy stuff, and getting the local scene.

Sunday:

We arrived at 1am and got back to my brother's place at about 2ish am. Yes, you can bring foodstuff into Australia! We brought in packs and packs of different curries and sauces for Windy and Aunty Thelma, and as long as they are vacuum sealed and you declare it at the airport, it's ok. It'll only take a little bit longer to clear immigration.

Gave the kids their presents first thing in the morning, and I'm glad that they were happy with what I bought for them. Lesson learnt: legos can be quite tedious to build, so unless you're prepared to sift through the tiny little pieces and put them together, I'd suggest not buying them as presents. Lol.

Went for a short walk around the suburb while my brother and his family went to church. Perth is pretty, with lots of greenery around: parks and lakes and fields and bushland. Seems like a nice place to raise a family.

First toursity stop of the day was Fremantle where we met up with Ate Lele and Ate Judith. Had lunch at Cicerello's and had the famous fish and chips. Also shared a plate of chili mussels- yummy. Went to the e-shed markets and also wanted to go to the Little Creatures brewery, but the queue there was just too long.

Bought some groceries and went to Ate Lele's for a BBQ dinner. Lol how Australian.

Monday:

Packed our bags as we were going to stay at Aunty Thelma's for the rest of the week. She managed to get her leave approved so could take us around.

Drove to the Caversham Wildlife Park and got up close with various Australian native animals. Got to feed some sluggish kangaroos and pet the koalas. I want to be a koala! They are professional sleepers and can sleep up to 20 hours a day. The remaining 4 hours are spent eating. How awesome is that?

Headed down to Swan Valley where we hit the Chocolate Factory and also the Sandalford Vineyard. It was here that I discovered an entertaining game with Ethan- Starwars Lego has sent you a message! I'd hide his Starwars lego, snap a picture of it, and tell him that the lego sent him a message. Based on the picture, he'd have to hunt for the lego. Lol.

Had dinner back at Aunty Thelma and finally got to meet Racquel and Leon. Headed for a quick beer at the Sovereign Arm, a pub that was nearby, with them and Darwin. Ah, my first local pub experience.

.. to be continued. Breakfast time!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Hello Perth!

In Perth now and it's colddddd.. Thankfully I have cold clothes from my previous trip to Tibet.

Sharing the room with my mom and her tummy is growling. It's loud. Lol.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Naptime!

Wah I'm so efficient today! It's only 4pm and I'm already done packing. Although "packing" would be a rather inaccurate word to describe me randomly throwing clothes into my ginormous luggage.

Flight is at 6.45pm so I reckon I have some time to take a nap before getting ready to leave the airport. Took a shower (packing and wrapping presents = hard work!) and now I'm in bed.

Zzz goodnight!

Procrastination In Action

Had breakfast with esdee this morning. Met up with her to borrow her 1TB HDD so I could grab the latest season of The Big Bang Theory, as well as other movies and series that she's got saved. Got back home at about 11ish am, and my mom and I have this exchange:

mom: have you wrapped your presents?
me: nope
mom: have you packed your bags?
me: nope
mom: then what are you doing???
me: reading newspaper

Heehee I bet my mom's wondering where I inherited this procrastinator-gene.

Anyway, I decided to get off my ass and wrap the presents. Mom bought some wrapping paper, and I had picked up some scotch tape while I was out in the morning.

More than an hour later, the presents I bought were FINALLY wrapped. And I'm sososososo glad that I do not do this (wrap gifts) on a regular basis. Thank god my friends are satisfied with me buying birthday dinners.

It's 12.30pm and my flight is in 6 hours. Plenty of time to take a nap and pack later. Zzz.

Hey Mate!

In less than 24 hours, I'll be stepping foot in Perth. And what better way to celebrate 2 months as a single person?

Another lifetime ago, things were so different. I'd probably already be on a flight to see the grasshopper. In fact, I'd probably already have landed, met him at the airport, given him a hug and kiss, and be on the drive back to his place. My hand would be on his lap, as it always is; I'd reach out and stroke his face while we listen to Coldplay; I'd ask him where my Bacardi Breezers are.

And I know, I know. I've said many times that there's no point thinking about these things anymore. There's no point analysing and dissecting the past. But..

Sigh. Back to the now.

I'm honestly glad that the turn of things have ended up the way they have. It's always good to spend time with family (something I have sort of neglected), to make the little ones happy (I'm not below bribing them with toys to win their love) and reconnecting with myself.

All in all, I'm looking forward to this upcoming holiday. Now everyone say "oh yeah!"

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Gotta Love 'Em

Was chatting with my niece and nephew this evening.

me: hi!
julia: hi aunty bona! this is julia here
me: hey juls, have you thought about what you want from singapore?
julia: can i have some ds games please?
me: sure..
ethan: hi aunty bona. this is ethan. mummy is helping me to type.
me: hi ethan! hi windy! so juls has told me what she wants, what about you?
ethan: can i have a starwars lego please?
me: alright.. so how many hugs and kisses will i get in return?
windy: in return I will give you infinity kisses and hugs - jules
me: aww
windy: Only 1 kiss from me -Ethan
me: hahahaha ok then ethan gets one piece of lego
windy: ethan decided to give u 1,000000 kisses and hugs!
me: hahahahahaha

These kids are hilarious. You just gotta love 'em.

Reflections: 5 Months of 2011

So much for thinking that 2011 was going to be a stable year. In the past five months, I've come back from an amazing holiday in Krabi and a nonstop foodfest in Chennai with the grasshopper, to having my relationship with who I thought would be The One end.

Ah well, such is life.

In the past five months, I've also been reminded of the amazing love and support of the people I have around me. I've been surrounded by family and friends who have given me strength and comfort, who have laughed and cried with me, who have held my hand and head and told me that everything would be ok.

How blessed I am.

It's been interesting getting back on my feet. Keeping busy, meeting new people, getting drunk, planning holidays. Friendships with the most unexpected people have developed, and many lessons have been learnt.

With 7 months left of 2011, I daresay it'll only get better. Traveling always puts one in a good mood, and while I sometimes lament what could have been, new and exciting experiences have come in it's place. It's all good.

I'm excited to see my relatives in Perth, and while it probably won't be the most exciting and exotic holiday ever, spending time with family is always a winner. And we're finally going to Ladakh in August! Despite the many setbacks this trip seems to have taken, Ching's immense desire to go seems to have swayed the Universe to just let things fall into place.

Plus there are the year end holidays that I've yet to plan. Amazingly, even after 1.5 weeks in Perth and a week in Ladakh, I will still have 15 days of leave leftover. Amazing.

So bring it on 2011, I'm ready to tackle whatever comes my way. (As long as i get to go on my holidays ya?)

Lao Liao

All I did was sleep at 3am, wake up at 8am, and be really, really late for work. And OMG I feel like a billion years old.

Can barely open my eyes. Need sleep. Miss my bed. Want to lie down. Do not want to be here. *whine*

A Night of Pakistani Food, Chor Dai Di and Too Much Sheesha

Had originally made plans to have dinner with CH tonight, but she shifted our appointment to Thursday. Then made dinner and drink plans with esdee, but in the afternoon she wasn't feeling too well, and had to take a raincheck. So asked Eu Yan Sanjay if he was free, and we were going to go for food at Kailash Parbat, but he suddenly realised that he had a house viewing scheduled that he forgot about.

By this time my craving to eat Indian food was so strong (been talking about it mah), I just needed to find someone, anyone to have dinner with me.

Was online and saw that Farooq was online too, so pinged him to ask if he wanted to eat Indian food. He had just had Indian food the night before, so re-proposed Pakistani food. I'd never had Pakistani food before, so thought, why not?

Akshay was still recovering from his knee surgery, so it was just the two of us who made our way to Usman at Bussorah Street. Had a chicken dish (I forget the name, but it was Pakistani! And fried.), channa masala, haleem and naan. Also shared a sheesha. Chatted about random stuff- trekking and work mostly.

Pakistani food reminds me of Indian food, but apparently meat features in their cuisine a lot more. Farooq said that there were places is Pakistan that were like BBQ houses, and all you'd get was meat meat meat and more meat. It wasn't untasty, and did well enough to satisfy my craving. Heehee.

Eu Yan Sanjay texted to see if I wanted to meet up after his house viewing, so made plans to meet up with him after Farooq left and we made our way to Magic Carpet.

With all the NEA restrictions on sheesha smoking these days, the "smoking" tables upstairs were full and we had to settle for a table downstairs. EYS introduced me to his frend, Kenneth, and we shared a little platter of hummus and grilled haloumi. Both of us happily made fun of EYS over pints of the (cannot remember name) french beer. (The one that I had the last time I was there.) Chatted and made fun of EYS some more, and also had a sheesha to share. Actually we shared two. Lol.

One of them had a pack of cards, and we proceeded to play chor dai di.

I must say, having a deck of cards is such a brilliant idea! It's a fun way to pass time and allows you to feel relatively intellectual when you have won the round through sneaky strategising and sheer good luck. Plus you don't have to stress about awkward silences, and can just enjoy each other's company.

It was great just hanging out and chilling, and before we knew it, it was already 2am. The only problem was that it's a weeknight and all of us have to go to work the next day. But it's definitely something I'd do again. Thankfully I don't have much work to do tomorrow. Yay!