More Progress!

Wahahahaha not only have I discovered the 2 fingered scrolling thing on my macbook, I finally figured out how to open links in a new tab. A bit slow, but better late than never eh?

*beams*

Teeheehee

I'm so pleased. For the past couple of days, I've been asking everyone who uses a mac where the page up / page down button is. Scrolling up and down using the tiny arrow key was quite tiring and I was wondering why they didn't have a page up / page down button.

And now I know why. I just discovered the 2 fingered scrolling thing which makes navigating a page SO MUCH EASIER. *love*

Queen of Procrastination

My flight is at 8pm. I have to be at the airport at 6pm. It's 5.40pm and I'm on my way home. I've not packed yet. Lol.

Anyway we had the office Christmas party today and had a blast. We all dressed up as rocker chicks and there was a Guitar Hero competition which my colleagues took part in.

There were 3 teams and 3 prizes, but had to forfeit the chosen song. Instead they played a song of their choice and had to settle for third. They got a bonus cash prize of $100 cash each for showmanship though. Lol!

It was really fun cheering them on. Everyone dressed up, wore outrageous make up, painted our nails black, and screamed our hearts out.

Had a couple of last minute meetings after and that's why I left the office late. I reckon I should have enough time and won't miss my flight. I hope.

Lol. 2 weeks in India. Woot!

Unexpected

A random chat with the grasshopper. The sharing of college experiences and stories. Describing an old friend who I ran into the other day.

This was what happened when suddenly I remembered something that I had forgotten about so many years ago. Something that lay dormant in the deep recesses of my mind. Something that sprung up unexpectedly, resurfacing when you never thought it would.

The mind is a funny thing eh. How it's able to blank out certain incidences, and only when specific triggers have been activated, do you remember what it was.

Amazing. And quite disconcerting.

The Cost Of Getting High

2 bottles of Moet. Apparently that's how much it takes for LGG and I to get to that happy alcoholic place. No sipping of the bubbly either, we had to resort to bottoms up-ing the champers to get a buzz.

It was a fun night though. We caught up and gossiped about Korean ski instructors, annoying and embarrassing newspaper editors (and their kids), being smothered and mothered, traveling styles, 2010 travel plans, and a whole load of other stuff.

Ended up chatting with a bunch of ang mohs who were in town for a toxic waste management conference or something. I asked them to give me a hazmat suit, to no avail, but did leave with the newfound knowledge of how to create toxic fumes. (Amonia + clorox!)

Got back home and chatted with the grasshopper for a bit. He's booked everything for our upcoming Goa trip, and we were really psyched. Goa baby!

Heehee. Anyway, I smsed my boss to ask if I could come in late. But strangely, I managed to wake up and even left the house earlier than I usually do! Wah. Amazing. Lol. I'm still feeling a little tipsy though. Hahahaha.

Alrighty. TGIF!!! One more week and I'll be off again. Woot!

Happy Song

I think the Black Eyed Peas song, I Gotta Feeling perfectly sums up
how I feel most days- that tonight's gonna be a good night. I watched
the video of the flash mob dancing to this song on Oprah and it made
me grin from ear to ear.

So occasionally, I use the song title / lyrics as my FB status. But
now, I'm feeling a tad bored and looking for a new happy song that I
can quote. Hmm.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Note From The Universe

Truth be told, Bona, it takes so very, very little to be happy.

But you knew that.

Whew -
    The Universe

In A Good Mood

In a chipper mood this morning. Maybe it's because it's Friday and I'm
listening to happy songs.

*big grin*

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Home Sweet Home

So pleased. Headed for a school presentation with one of my ADs and
when we were done, she asked the school to call 2 cabs. I innocently
asked her whether she was going back to the office and she said that
we didn't have to. Yay!

So now I'm in a cab, on my way home. I think I'm gonna try to make
some Mishti Doi today. It's a great day!

:)

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Trip Highlights Part 2

- Saw an elephant near the compound while we were sitting around the bonfire. It was eating from the tamarind tree which was right in front of our cottage! Also saw lots of deer hanging around. Woke up in the morning and there were so many deers just outside our door! It was amazing.

- Walked around and discovered that the view was simply breathtaking from the rooftops of one of the houses. You could see for miles and miles and everything was just so beautiful. I could have sat there for hours.

- Left Wild Haven and drove to Gopalaswamy Betta Hill. The drive was quite scenic and the view from the top of the hill was simply spectacular. Explored around a bit. It was very nice.

- Got back on Sunday night and slept all the way till late Monday morning. Whined about missing Chinese food (I was sick and missing it!) and the grasshopper brought me to this Chinese restaurant. Have no idea what manchow soup is, but had it nonetheless.

- Went contact lens hunting and I totally forgot that mine are the kind that needs to be pre-ordered. Yikes!

- Had sugarcane juice and all was well with the world once again. Sugarcane with ginger is da bomb!

(And i just missed my bus stop- shit.)

- Finished half a bottle of baileys before heading out to the airport. Ran into Cheryl and Dave at the airport and the newly engaged couple said that they had a fantastic time in India too.

- Was absolutely stoned by the time I boarded the plane which was good cos that meant that I could just sleep all the way, which is what I did.

:)

Now I need to figure out how to get to the office. I'm so so so so far away! Dammit.

[ETA: Pictures of my trip can be found here.]

Highlights Of My Trip

My trip, in point form:

- I think the fun starts the moment I land at the airport. I get in touch with the grasshopper and it's all a matter of timing to see if he can reach the airport at the same moment I step out. So far, I've always had to wait. Lol.

- Bacardi breezers for the drive back to the grasshopper's place. The boy needs to learn that 2 bottles will only last half of the trip back!

- Manicure, pedicure and hair spa at Salon Mousse with Karen. Aah, finally managed to meet up with her after 5 months. It was really nice to be able to speak Singlish to someone in India hahaha.

- Had a migraine at night. Grasshopper was tasked to find drugs to make me well again. Painkillers = love. Lol.

- Lunch with Karen again at UB City. Apparently it's a really atas
place. Grasshopper was learning how to use chopsticks. So cute.

- Watched 2012 at the cinema. They didn't sing the national anthem before! I felt cheated. Hehehe.

- Appam with sunny side up egg for dinner. Ohh it was yummy! Then off to that restaurant for Mishti Doi. Be still, my heart!

- Went to Tanu & Souby's place for drinks. The view from their balcony was really nice. Hung out till it was time to leave.

- Headed out at 3am. I slept most of the way in the car. Caught the sunrise along the way and stopped to take pictures. Sunrises are always beautiful.

- Arrived at Wild Haven at about 10am or so and had breakfast before taking a quick nap.

- Drove out to some river and dipped our feet (and more) in the icy cold water. How random it felt to have a chilled beer in the middle of a river in the middle of India.

- Went further out in the jungle to view wild animals. Saw nothing for the first hour, when suddenly we spotted wild boars. Then peacocks, deer and finally a wild elephant. It was awesome. We also saw bison and more elephants further up.

- Sat around a bonfire drinking. The weather was very, very cold and I was freezing and not feeling all that sociable. But the company was good and you can't go wrong with Jagermeister.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Whee! I'm at the airport now, waiting to board the plane. I've got my
(brand new) Macbook charged up, so that should provide a couple of
hours of entertainment on the flight. Yay!

Have an hour to kill before boarding, I reckon. Hope my phone battery
lasts till then. So exciting!

Anyway, I'll be back on Monday night / Tuesday morning.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Why I Should Not Have Coffee In The Afternoon

Was in the office yesterday with Shini and both of us were doing everything we could to avoid doing our appraisals. We sent emails, updated spreadsheets, arranged meetings, went for said meetings, surfed the net, MSNed, you name it.

In a bid to procrastinate some more, we decided to sneak out of the office and get ourselves a drink from Coffee Bean. How could we resist all the Christmas drinks that the coffee chains were churning out? Peppermint this and caramel that. Yummy.

Anyway, dark chocolate peppermint latte in hand, we happily skipped back to the office, content that we managed to kill another 15 minutes of our day.

Fast forward to last night, or early this morning specifically. My eyes were WIDE AWAKE, and my mind was racing and I couldn't fall asleep! I tried watching a couple of episodes of Scrubs, tried reading Dead Before Dark (which *always* puts me to sleep, stupid Sookie), but nothing worked.

I looked at the clock and it was already 3am. Then 4am. And by the time I finally dozed off, I'm pretty sure it was time to wake up. So now, I'm sitting on the train on my way to work, with huge bags hanging under my eyes and my brain in snooze mode.

Have a flight to catch today. I guess I'll have to sleep on my way there. Yay! Less than 24 hours to my holiday! :D

To Do List Part 2

Since we're copying each other, here's some from Wen's list that I really like too. Copying word for word, because I'm lazy.

• Have a house that's surrounded by humungous mountains and gorgeous greenery. Where the sunrise seems so near you can touch it.
• Fall head over heels in love. Stay there.
  
• Jump from a plane with a parachute. What's it called? << SKY DIVING
  

Always Good To Have A Positive Attitude In Life

Lil Goth Girl says:
Go to the Galapagos Island and have a chat with them giant turtles. Maybe one will let me have a ride!
thats my one travel thing
bon says:
wahahahahahaha
the komodo dragons are also in the galapagos right
Lil Goth Girl says:
yeah!
bon says:
you know they will hunt you down and kill you right
Lil Goth Girl says:
the turtles?
bon says:
the komodo dragons
Lil Goth Girl says:
well then its a good thing this is a bucket list
bon says:
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

My To Do List

Tanu's post on the things she dreams about got me thinking. What do I want to accomplish in this lifetime? So here goes, my list. Including the silly stuff.

- travel extensively. Lol ok this is quite vague. Naturally, if I had the opportunity to travel to every country in the world, I would. (Alright, I'll list 'em out.)

- travel to Tibet in 2010. There's something about the Himalayas that just draws us to keep going back. Hopefully, my citizenship application goes through and I'll be able to go next year.

- backpack around Europe, alone. This was supposed to be my grand holiday for 2011, as a birthday present to my 30 year old self. I think everyone should try traveling alone at least once in their life. I've not worked out the logistics for the Europe backpacking trip yet though, and knowing me, it'll probably be largely unplanned.

- see snow. I've never seen snow! But apparently snowflakes aren't as magical as the movies make them out to be. Lol.

- travel to the US. Honestly, the States isn't really a country that I yearn to go. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that my sister is moving there, it wouldn't even be so high up on the list. Too many other interesting countries to visit.

- travel to some country that ends with -stan or something like that. You know, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan etc. I think it'd be fun.

- eventually travel to Japan (haha and South America and all the other countries I've not been to before)

- make ketchup. I've made mayonnaise, butter, kaya, paneer, and I'm pretty sure a lot more other things from scratch. How hard can it be to make ketchup?

- wear a white wedding dress for my second wedding. Haha well first I'd have to meet someone and want to get married again, but I missed out on the white wedding dress experience the first time round. I think I'll be more involved when it comes to planning my second wedding. Lol.

- ride a horse and gallop across the countryside. Not trotting around in circles or being led by someone across the beach. I want the real deal.

- live on my own. Interestingly, I've never lived on my own before. Need to work out the finances though.

- work and live overseas. It's going to be such an experience to live overseas, to immerse yourself in the culture of another country. This will probably be a hard one for me, seeing how it took me 6 years to apply for my citizenship. How am I going to settle any of the paperwork needed to get the necessary visas and stuff? Lol.

- buy property. At least have a home to call my own.

- pull out a tapioca by it's roots. And if I get the chance, carrots and potatoes too. Lol.

- have a pet snake and a puppy. (Not necessarily at the same time). I've owned quite a number of rather bizarre pets, the weirdest one being a snapping alligator turtle (or was it the Madagascar hissing roaches? Hmm) , and somehow I've always been oddly fascinated by reptiles. And yes, I know a puppy is not a reptile. Lol.

- dive and see 1. a whale shark 2. manta rays 3. mola mola 4. barracuda tornado 5. hammerheads. Actually, I'd just like to pick up diving once again. It's been too long!

- reproduce and have little bonbons. According to Kumar, the leaf reader, I'll have 2 kids. Yay!

Hehehehe I'm sure there are more. Shall think about it and add on if they come to mind. *grin*

The Weekend!

The weekend has been awesome so far. Made paneer last night and it was oh-so-yummy! Had it fresh with a drizzle of honey and my mom and I polished it all off. *slurp*

Paneer is surprisingly simple to make. You just need to heat up a litre of milk till it almost boils. Turn off the heat. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir until it curdles. Strain it through a
cheesecloth (or in my case, clean nappies), and press it with something heavy. Voila!

Went to Nicole's first birthday party today and had lunch there. The Penang laksa was pretty good, and the rojak was yummy but I had to skip the kueh pie tee cos I think there was pork in the filling.

Headed to town and had coffee with Michelle and had a nice chat about our upcoming holiday plans. I tried looking for that book, but none of the bookstores stocked it.

Decided to do a quick run at the gym, and survived for 20 minutes before caving in and giving up. And then I met my sis at the Sheraton hotel for dinner and drinks.

We had the buffet at The Dining Room and I stuffed myself silly on cold prawns and roast beef. Was so so so so stuffed. Had a nice catch up and was feeling rather sad in the cab on the way back home when I realised that it'd be hard for us to do stuff like this when she migrates to the States next year. :(

Got home and chatted with the young grasshopper and watched some (ok, 14 episodes) of Scrubs. It's now 3am and I think I'm going to try to do that deep breathing thing that they always do at the end of yoga class.

Random Blabberings

It's Friday!!! *grin* The week has just passed by in a flash and soon the weekend will be here. I've still not done my goal setting and appraisal (ack! It was due last week) so I guess that's what I'll be busy with today.

I had a yoyo of a day yesterday. Had a good start when Joe popped in just before lunch with some cake because he was in the area. Always good to have cheesecake. Lol. Then I had a mee siam for lunch (with 2 limes *slurp*).

Was planning to go to Borders after work, so decided that hey I might as well get a Macbook too. (Yes, don't you love my logic?) My only concern was that they didn't come in red, which the Ki said was easily rectified with the use of skins.

Chatted with Tanu to get an approximation of how much we'd be spending in December so I'd know how to budget my monies and later found out that the place they wanted to stay at Sakleshpur was fully booked.

My mood sunk and I feel feeling a little sulky, even though they were proposing another place to go. (Which I have yet to learn to spell and pronounce lol.) Finally cheered up some when the young grasshopper showed me some pics and Tanu was describing how beautiful the place
was.

Happily bounced out of the office to meet LGG and to Borders. They didn't stock the book I was looking for (argh) so I just went to the Apple shop to make my purchase. Unfortunately, the discount that I was eligible for was only available for online purchases!

*cue dramatic sigh and pouting*

Went to Pete's Place and had a really nice dinner with LGG and Ching. Then headed up to the bar at Mezza9 to have martinis. Chatted for the rest of the evening before heading home.

Managed to catch the young grasshopper online for a bit before he left for Hyderabad. It was nice to chat for abit and then I went to bed.

My body is *still* aching from Wednesday's hot yoga class. I think I really need a massage. One more day to the weekend!

Blogging On The Go

It's quite convenient to be able to do nonsense stuff like this on the go huh. Lol.

Anyway I'm on my way to work and I'm *so* late. Hehehe.

Had a chat with the young grasshopper last night and he's got me all excited about my trip up. He said that this would be a food trip where he'd bring me to eat all kinds of different cuisine. Yay!

He's also going to visit his parents these couple of days and I asked him to grab a couple of recipes of some of the dishes that I tried at this Bengali restaurant the last time I was there. Hopefully we'll be able to recreate it. How fun!

Also, I asked him to get me cheesecloth. You know, muslin. I'm going to get some (clean) cloth nappies from my colleague today and going to attempt to make paneer with it, but I'm not sure if it'll work. If not, I'll check out the shops but at least I know I'll be able to get the muslin when I'm there. Paneer, here I come!

Lots of people have been asking me why I want to make paneer. Why not? Plus the ingredients are more commonly found than stuff needed to make cheese (rennet) or tofu (calcium sulphate i think).

Anyway woke up this morning aching all over. Went for hot yoga last night and worked muscles that I forgotten even existed. Ouch. But it's a good ache, I guess. Just feel like sleeping in. Hehehe. Nevermind, this time next week I'll probably still be sleeping in a bed in the middle of Bangalore with the young grasshopper by my side.

Hungry!!!

Just finished a hot yoga class at the gym. Hmm. I think I'd rather stick with the cardio machines and (trying to remember) doing weights. Maybe body combat class won't be so bad.

Went with Bento Set and both of us were grimacing at each other while attempting to contort our highly inflexible bodies into the various pretzel-like positions. And more grimacing as we were made to hold the pose. *groan*

Class was from 7.45pm-8.45pm and we left the office late and didn't have the time to grab a bite before. The result of all that sweating and stretching and groaning and balancing? I'm sosososo hungry now.

Wanted to get something before heading home but I'm reluctant to spend too much eating out (eyeing that netbook, you know). So now I'm heading home and wondering whether my stomach will start digesting itself in the meanwhile.

Ah well, 2 more days to the weekend! So happy. Hehehe.

I Want! I Want! I Want!

Was surfing the net last night and came dangerously close to buying one of those cute tiny laptops online. I don't know whether I should though, everyone tells me I won't like how small the keyboard is and not to complain when I have to squint to see anything on the monitor.

But it's so cute! And so tiny! And so (ok not *so*, but relatively) cheap! And so light! And have I mentioned that it's so cute! Plus it comes in red!

Hmm. I know I should wait till Sitex comes round but if I get it, I'll want to bring it with me on my trip. Then at least I can read ebooks (although I can just go buy a tonne of real books, so cheap in India!) or watch more Scrubs (try and finish all the seasons?). Might need to keep oneself entertained while the young grasshopper does his work.

Aah. Decisions, decisions.

Rambling On The Mrt

I'm wearing a pair of closed toe heels that I've not worn in months, and now I'm beginning to remember why. My feet are hurting and I've only walked the distance from my house to the mrt station.

Thankfully I've got a pair of flip flops in the office that I can happily slip my unbound feet into.

Anyway the weekend passed by so quickly, as it always does. Had to work on Saturday, so spent the day in the office. I was having the sniffles, so it was quite embarressing inside the conference hall, being the only person who kept on sneezing and sniffling away.

Was supposed to meet up with Lenny who is back in town for a holiday, but I was on medications and didn't feel up to an evening of partying at the Butter Factory, so I bailed. Stayed home, watched a bit of Scrubs (my latest obsession), and slept.

Didn't do a thing on Sunday. Made egg salad and had that for lunch. Was in bed the entire day, finishing up season 3 of Scrubs. 5 more seasons to go!

I wanted to buy one of those tiny laptops so I would bring along on my upcoming trip to Bangalore, and they aren't too expensive. I think you can get one at under 800 bucks. I want something small and light (portable!) and of course cheap. Sitex is coming up but I'll be in India then.

Ah well, let's see how it goes. :)

Starry Nite X

There's a mini concert held at the end of every term called Starry Nite. Some of my students were performing so I decided to go down to support them.

There were 5 bands performing from 7pm-10.30pm. $6 beers, good music and great company hanging out with the kids. Enjoyed myself, especially when one of the bands started playing Sweet Child of Mine. :D

超级无敌阳光美少女!

Just because it's so hilarious.

超级无敌阳光美少女! aka Super Unbeatable Sunshine Pretty Girl

A Reminder To Myself

Sometimes, it's the attitude that matters. Be positive. Remember the good.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Digital Loot Love

Met up with LGG, Jeanne and Ching this afternoon at Arab Street. We had lunch at that shisha place and spent the afternoon exchanging movies and TV series. So pleased. I managed to grab all 8 seasons of Scrubs. *grin*

Walked around after because Ching wanted to look at fabrics. Saw some shops with some really nice cloth, and then ended the afternoon at Pluck (Plunk?) eating ice cream.

Spent the entire evening just watching Scrubs and finished watching 14 episodes from Season 1. Hehehe I love the show. Am tempted to watch more but it's 1am and I need to sleep.

17 more days!

A Small Change

Decided to change the blog header from "On the road to a happier life. It's not been easy but the journey continues." to "Enjoying every minute of my life."

Heeheehee :)

Finally!

Oh yes! I totally forgot about this! I took a day off last week to settle some immigration stuff- transfering my re-entry permit from my old passport to the new one, and stuff like that. Since I was at the ICA, I decided that I might as well just apply for my citizenship.

I know I've been talking about this for the longest time, but honestly, I've never really seen the urgency for it. Everything that everyone said about ease of visa applications etc just weren't all
that relevant to me because I didn't have any plans to go to the States and my Indian visa, though expensive ($500!), was paid for by my company.

However, there've been recent changes in immigration policies from the Chinese embassy and now they are not issuing visas to China for Philippines passport holders in Singapore. So if I wanted to get a visa to China, I'd have to go to the embassy in Manila and apply for it. *faint*

So this was the incentive for me to get the necessary paperwork going. Otherwise, the China/Tibet trip next year wouldn't be possible, and I'd miss out on another epic holiday.

Plus, my sister would be moving to the States next year and funds willing, I'd also want to visit her there next year (and maybe squeeze in a little side trip to New York to see my ex-boss).

With all these upcoming plans, let's hope my application gets approved in time. :)

Not Really Updates

The blog has been really bare of updates because nothing much has been happening. Just the usual- meeting of friends for dinner and drinks, going to work, spending time with the family.

So I've been counting down to my holiday and getting really excited about it. 21 more days! I've still absolutely no idea where we're going to, but who cares? Cheryl will also be traveling to India around the same time, and apparently we're even on the same flight back, so I guess I'll meet her at the airport. Hehehe. I wanted to have a meal with her (an Indian meal, in India!) but I think her schedule is going to be too tight to meet up. Bummer.

This has been a good year and I have a feeling that 2010 will be great, if not better than this year has been. Woot!

Holiday! Celebrate!

Lol, 25 more days!

This Is It

Someone commented to me the other day that it seems like I've not gotten over the Ex and that really made me stop in my tracks and go, WTF?

Anyway, I realised that perhaps it's because I keep comparing my life today to what it used to be life. I don't know. But I've decided that this is it. No more talking about the Ex. No more bringing up the past and gushing about how good my life has been since I left.

It's a fact. My life is good. I don't need to compare it to anything or to anyone.

So from today onwards I'm going to stop looking back and just concentrate on the now, on the future, on appreciating the good stuff for what it is.

Do I even make any sense? Lol.

TGIF!

Woohoo it's Friday and I'm in a good mood. And it's not even 7am!

Spent the last half hour or so in an sms conversation with the young grasshopper. He was asking about my bad day yesterday (not really day, more like a really bad moment. The rest of the day was actually quite alright) and I was telling him about my plans to go up this end-November.

26 more days to go. *grin*

So yes, talking about holidays always puts me in a good mood, and it's always great to have something to look forward to. Helps make dreary days pass faster.

What A Difference A Year Makes

I was reading through old entries in my happy notebook and came across one that I wrote exactly a year ago.

"Although it seems that there is no end in sight, things will get better one day and I'll start to feel happy again."

When I look at how I am today, it's hard to remember the gloom and unhappiness I felt a year ago when my marriage had broken apart. It's hard to remember the pain I felt, the sense of loss and unjust and anger. And honestly, I don't even remember how I managed to muster the strength to just move on.

Getting a job really helped the process though. Having something to do, meeting new people, learning new things, immersing myself in the corporate world. Being valued for my inputs and ideas, getting to know my colleagues, earning an income and feeling worthy once again.

It also helped that I had amazingly supportive and loving friends and family.

It's funny how resilient we are. One year on, I'm traveling a lot more than I ever did. I'm meeting people from all over the world and having the time of my life. I look at myself today, and I'm happy.

What a difference a year made, huh.

Happy Birthday!!!

Aww my sister came up to me today, hugged me and moaned that she's going to be in her 30s soon. *hugs* And here I am complaining that I'm officially in my late-20s!

Well this post is dedicated to my dear sister. May your 30s be blessed with lots of joy, love and laughter. Thanks for always being there for me through thick and thin, and for loving me despite the weirdness you've had to endure.

*slobbery kisses and gropey hugs*

Thanksgiving Part 2

Hehehe got a bit lazy and didn't finish my list the last time, so here are 5 more things I'm thankful for.

6. Silly chats that make me smile. Don't really need any explanation for this, right?

7. Travel, travel, travel. 2009 is probably the year that I've travelled the most so far. Doesn't matter that I seem to be going back to the same country heeheehee. :P Here's to more traveling to come!

8. The Internet. Lol, the Internet seems to be a recurring guest on my thanksgiving lists (along with travel, friends and family haha). What can I say, without the Internet, we wouldn't have IM.

9. Being able to love myself and to love my life. Things are definitely way better now than they were this time last year. And they can only get better!

10. The Universe, who makes everything that 's good in my life happen.

Early Morning Thanksgiving

It's 6am and I don't know why I'm up so early. Probably because I slept a tad earlier last night than I normally do.

Anyway, here's some early morning thanksgiving. Ten things I'm thankful for:

1. That Yummy had a safe delivery of baby Andrea Zara. I visited them at home a couple of days ago, and wow, the baby is such a cutie. Really got my biological clock ticking in overdrive. Hehehe.

2. Friends, both near and far. I'm so glad for the people in my life who listen to me gush about boys, tell me about their mother's latest groupie behaviour, share their personal problems, and offer to kick butt if I get hurt. Doesn't matter which country they are in, I'm thankful that I'm loved enough for them to care.

3. Family who give me strength and comfort just by being there. It's so easy to take for granted the steadfast presence of your parents, and we really ought to treasure them more when they are around.

4. That my sister's wedding is falling into place. I'm so happy that after 7 years, they are finally going to tie the knot. *hugs*

5. That I have fantastic colleagues, well most of them. I like how we are able to work well together and get things done, despite the circumstances.

... Hmm getting lazy to type. Haha. Shall stop at 5 and continue later.

Because All You Need To Do Is Visualise What You Want

When it comes to setting aside a little time each day to visualize, Bona, look at it like this:

No matter how distracted you become or how confused you are about the process, the simple fact that you gave your dream this time and attention means you did it correctly, you did it long enough, and that by the time you open your eyes, already in the unseen, huge wheels have begun turning.

HUGE.

You think I'd make it hard?

Your humble servant,
    The Universe

Believe

I like this quote:

We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released. -Jean Houston

The Week That Past

It's already mid-October and time is just whooshing by. Haven't really had the time to update much cos I've been busy organising a conference which just ended.

Things in the office have been rather interesting. The department has been put through a pressure cooker organising this event and it really was eye opening to see how incompetent some people really are. And it's amazing that they managed to survive for so long in the working
world with such a lack of common sense.

But anyways, this is a Happy Blog so I shall not complain.

One of the plus sides of this pressure cooker treatment is that I've definitely grown closer to some of my colleagues. And that's always a good thing, I guess. It's quite clear that most of us do not appreciate ass kissers, and would happily ignore such people. Heehee.

Well, I'm just glad this event is over and that I can take a breather. One more work trip and then it'll be the holidays. Yay!

Anyway, I think I'll end here and update more when I'm more rested.

Happy Diwali to all!

If We Lived On Krynn

LGG: well i'd be an elf and be annoyingly superior
bon: eh but kender travel!
bon: scarly we really become kender
bon: LOL
LGG: WAH dun want la
LGG: so annoying
LGG: talk nonstop
LGG: oops
bon: ahem
LGG: HAHAHAHHAHAHAA

Birthday Celebrations Part 2

Had dinner with Ching on Tuesday evening. She was going away to Bintan on Wednesday, and wanted to meet up before her trip. She brought me to the Shashliq (Shashlik?) Restaurant- an old Russian restaurant at the 6th floor of Far East Shopping Center. We had borsch soup, and a steak each, and shared a banana flambe. The food was REALLY good and I was a happy camper.

Went to the office on Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised when my boss got me an ice cream birthday cake from Ben & Jerry's. The department got together to sing a birthday song and it was hilarious when the cake started melting because of all 28 candles that they decided to put on it. The ice cream cake was also really yummy. Hehehe.

Had lunch with Li Min, Joe and Shini at Sun & Moon at Chijmes. Chatted about work and holidays and other nonsensical stuff. Li Min was having a bottle of sake and he ordered one for me, so I glugged it down not knowing that I was drinking alot. Got back to the office with flushed cheeks and feeling giggly. Hehe.

Met up with LGG, Pam, Anthea and Carol and had a nice dinner at Cedele at Raffles City in the evening. We decided not to go boozing and spent the evening catching up and chatting with each other. It's been yonks since I'd seen Pam and it was really nice to know that she's doing well.

Went for a karaoke session with my colleagues after work on Thursday. This was a combined birthday celebration for me and Michelle and the few of us had a good time warbling out song after song. I think it's important that colleagues get along not only in the office, but outside the office as well, and occasionally it's really great that we make time to hang out together.

Had a meeting which ended late on Friday (how cruel!) but managed to hit the gym and did a light workout- chest, back and legs. Didn't spend any time doing cardio though, which means the next time I go, I really need to try to work up a sweat. Headed to LGG's place after that and the 2 of us really seemed like an old married couple. I got through the door and she was preparing dinner and I was complaining about what a long day I had. LOL.

We set up the DVD player and made sure the movies were all in working order and then watched a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls, and also watched the Hangover before crashing and heading to bed. Woke up early this morning for a Lord of the Rings marathon session.

Carol, Ching and Anthea came over and we ate SO MUCH. There was porridge, omelette and braised peanuts for breakfast. Cheese and crackers. Grapes. More cheese and crackers. Potato salad. Raita. Mooncake. I'm sure there was more food that I can't recall. *slurp* We had a blast of a time dubbing the script (my favourite were the Chinese dubs lol) and basically dissing Frodo throughout all three movies. Total time to complete the LOTR marathon? 10 1/2 hours. Lol.

Anyway, one more day and it's back to work. *breathes*

Feeling Blessed

It's incredible having such a wonderful bunch of people in my life.
Feeling such an outpouring of love from everyone.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to me!!!

--
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An Awesome Week To Date

One week into October and so far things have been a blast.

Stayed at the Oriental with Carol on Wed and Thu night. She was having an event and had a free room stay, and she invited me to bunk with her. Aah, it was so blissful. Waking up to a wonderful breakfast spread.. *contented sigh*

Had drinks with Li Min, Joe and Benny at Harry's on Wed. Strongbow cider is yum! Learnt how to bounce coins off the table top and into a glass and eventually I want to be able to bounce it in to a shotglass. It's all about the trajectory.

Dinner with my sis on Thu at some ramen place at Central. Note to self: never order the spicy soup. Lol. After that, she bought me a really cute dress, and then we had margaritas at Cafe Iguana. It's so nice to be able to just have a drink and chat.

Went to KPO with LGG and met up with BT, Jeanne and a couple of other people. Vodka cranberries all night long. Then crashed Carol's event at the Guildhouse and headed to smoke shisha at Arab Street. Whined about boys to each other while lying down on the couch. Lol, felt like we were 15 again, except with more money and no curfew.

Met Junie finally on Saturday. I did the vit c infusion in the morning (3 hrs! I have tiny veins) and went over to LGG's place. Hung out at home and then went to Food#03 for dinner with Anthea, Ching and some other gals. Celebrated Anthea's birthday with lots of food (think we ordered everything on the menu!) and a couple of Vitagen vodkas. Yummy.

Miraculously, we could all wake up in time to do the tree top walk at MacRitchie in the morning. 2 1/2 hours walking with Ching, LGG and Junie. It was very nice. Hard to imagine we still have such nature-y places in Singapore. Had brunch after at the Green Room.

Went home, napped, and had dinner with the relatives and an early birthday celebration. The food was good, the cake was yummy, and the family was as gossipy as ever. Lol.

Met Chui Hua last night after work and she sponsored a Javanese massage and scrub. Had a really yum dinner at Little India after. *bliss*

--
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October!!!

And another month has just passed us by, it's already October!!! Wow.

Had an enlightened week at work, and my mood in the office has
improved considerably. I decided to distance myself emotionally from
work, and I find myself being able to take a more neutral stand on
things these days. Yay!

My birthday present to myself for 2009- a gym membership at Fitness
First again. Nope, not a plane ticket to Bangalore, haha.

It's time to whip myself in shape. Think I'll need to get more workout
attire heehee.

Weekend is here, yay! Birthday is coming, double yay! Life is good.

--
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It's In My DNA

True, you can't see what you can't see, Bona, you can't hear what you can't hear, and you can't feel what you can't feel. But still, you can know that you're not alone, that you're adored, and that absolutely everything will continue to work out for your very best, as it always has.

It's built into your DNA -
    The Universe

Another Note From The Universe That I Really Like

No matter how things appear, Bona; no matter what you've overheard; and no matter how many people think otherwise... nothing can stop you, no one can hurt you, and you and I still have forever and ever.

Whoooohoooooooo!!
    The Universe

Sleepless In Singapore

Almost 4am and I'm still wide awake. Dammit I shouldn't have had that latte earlier in the afternoon. 11 hours later and the caffeine is still coursing through my veins.

Had a nice chat with Carol this afternoon, hanging out at the Green Room. It's my new favourite place to go over the weekends. Haha, not that I had any favourite place to go before.

After that I met up with Ching, and we wanted to catch Inglorious Basterds, but the screening time was too late. (I should have just gone anyways, seeing how I'm still up. Haha.)

Anyway, spent the last 6 hours tossing and turning in bed. Wow. Was in bed at 10ish and still haven't managed to fall asleep. So much for counting sheep. Gonna be a zombie tomorrow.

According to my horoscope, I have to be emotionally distant from my work. So that's what I'll aim to do tomorrow. Having a neutral perspective is apparently supposed to help me achieve greater things. Let's see about that.

Reconnected (sort of) with a friend I sort of lost touch with a couple of months back. Sure, it was just a couple of messages exchanged, mostly about me whining about something, but it's good to be back in touch. Subject discussed was a little odd, but oh well, it's all good.

Need to focus on more positive thoughts.

Need to stop ranting and sleep.

The Problem With The Internet

Googling symptoms of whatever aches and pains you're feeling = sure recipe for paranoia.

I'm now worried I have a kidney infection and that my blood is being poisoned as I type out this entry. Lol. Thankfully, part of me recognises that I'm probably overreacting. But the other part of me is still going to see a doctor nonetheless to check it out.

Just Bummin'

Wow. I spent the entire day just doing absolutely nothing. Woke up at about 8am and just watched movies and videos on my laptop, and 13 hours later, I'm still at it. Lol.

Watched Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, half of The English Patient (got bored and kinda dozed off), several episodes of South Park, The Simpsons and Scrubs. Heeheehee.

I wonder what I should watch next.

Because We Were Born Deserving

Another note from the Universe that put a smile on my face today.

..

I can assure you, Bona, that the time will come when you, too, will ask, "In what fields did I sow seeds to deserve so very, very much?"

Then I'll remind you that the whole sowing-seeds-cause-and-effect concept was just a myth, because you were born deserving.

Hosanna in the Highest,
    The Universe

It's Been A Long Time

Oh wow. I just realised it's been a year since I last posted a recipe on this blog. I'm sure I've cooked or baked since then, just haven't had the motivation to take pictures and blog about it. I'm sure. Hmmm.

Anyway, I guess I'll endeavour to chronicle more of my culinary adventures. Heehee.

Eccentrically Designed

Been having a crappy week in the office and feeling severly demotivated. So was clicking around on Facebook when I came across some notes that Daniel wrote on his travels. I read through his entries and my mood lightened up somewhat when I read the nice stuff he wrote about me.

"Also, Bona. She is so fun loving and eccentrically designed that I think wherever she goes she will thrive and have friends. She has goodness to say always and it brightens her life and those around her. Also, this funny side led me to think she would fit in perfectly in Ireland. She seems more Irish than anyone I've met so far. But i think a romance between Singapore and India will prove a delightful distraction til then hehe."

More Stuff.. In Short

- Went to visit the ex-in-laws on Wednesday. I called my ex-FIL and ex-MIL to greet them over Hari Raya and they invited me over, and then I got emails from my 2 ex-BILs as well, so I decided why not. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and I rather enjoyed catching up with them. Brought back 2 bagfuls of yummy rendang and kuehs too. *grin*

- Found out a lot of things about the Ex when I was there, and it just reinforced my decision to split with him. I really hope he's happy though.

- Went to the doctor to get meds for a really bad bout of UTI. Apparently peeing blood is not normal and that means my infection is really, really bad. Got told off for suggestion I just drink cranberry juice instead ("The infection is very, very bad! Do you want it to spread to your kidneys?" - Ooh, memories of being hospitalised in 2005 for the same thing.). Am getting better, but it'll probably take a few days to clear.

- Had dinner with the Yummies and Guppy last night. Met up with Guppy and drove over to Yummy's place and had a nice time catching up with her while waiting for David to come home. It's been yonks since I last saw her, and now that she's on maternity leave, there goes her online presence. Yummy looks good though, albeit rather uncomfortable waddling around.

- Caught up with Guppy as well and it's always amazing to meet people that you click with even though you barely knew each other in real life before. We had a nice chat about India, cars, my maiden rubber burning drive, friendships and starting businesses.

- Ordered too much food for dinner, as usual, and took lots of pictures, especially of David playing with his new toy- a Nikon D60. Sweet!

- After food, we took the car for a spin. The Yummies leading the way to Changi, and me following in Ashton, with Guppy giving me advice and pointers on my driving. Woot! Guppy was the sweetest, telling me that it's OK to hit 1. lamppost 2. fence 3. curb, but it's NOT ok to hit 1. other vehicles 2. people 3. animals. Lol!

- Meeting LGG later for brunch, so I better log off and get some work done. :D

The Long Weekend.. In Short

- Went to Bangalore again. The plan was to head to Pondicherry- a 7 hour drive away.
- Flight got delayed. Ended up leaving Singapore almost 12 hours after the scheduled time. Was too late to make it to Pondicherry.
- Hung out instead. Watched a movie (The Ugly Truth), shopped around the malls, grabbed some grub. Food in India is always good. Finished almost 2 bottles of bubbly. Lol.
- Spent Sunday hanging out some more. Went to some outlet shops and got me a free pair of contact lenses (heehee). Had dinner at Lido, a rooftop restaurant and finished almost 2 bottles of wine. Was a nice and mellow evening.
- Slept in on Monday. Sleep is good. Had KFC for lunch and dinner (we bought a bucket of chicken!) and then it was time to head to the airport.

I'd write more but feeling sleepy and tired and brain is still in the freezer. Lol. All in all, I had a good time, as I always do when I'm there. I'm now at work and can barely keep my eyes open. I'm just glad I don't have any appointments in the evening today.

*yawn*

A Momentous Moment Indeed

Hahahaha the subject header cracks me up. Lol.

Anyway. About said momentous moment. Was chatting with LGG last night and she said that her friend was going to the states, so do I want to order anything online with the free shipping and all. So I log on and I'm browsing through dresses and skirts and tops and suddenly.. we're exhanging links.

LGG: This one nice?
Me: Ooh I was looking at that too.
LGG: OMG are we talking about shopping?!
Me: Don't kill the moment.

Lol. So yay to us! We've finally found something new to talk about!

One More Sleep!

Lol this time tomorrow, I'll be in India! (Yes, again.)

So exciting :)

--
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Fourth Time Lucky

Woohoo!!! I passed my driving test!!! FINALLY!!! Yaaaay!!!

Nothing much to report about the test, except that I struck a pole and thought I had already failed the test. Continued with the rest of the circuit and the road route but was feeling demoralised and kept on sighing throughout.

Tester: Turn left in front.
Me: Sigh, ok.
Tester: Turn right in front.
Me: Sigh, ok.

Imagine how surprised I was when I found out that I passed my test! Woohoo!!!

Anyway, am mighty pleased. Can finally stop heading to that end of Singapore. *dance*

Sometimes Doing The Right Thing Is Just The Right Thing To Do

Was on the train yesterday after my driving lesson, on my way to meet the girls to catch Dhamma Brothers at the cinema. I got on at Woodlands, plonked myself down on the seat and plugged in to my iPod.

A couple of stops later, someone gets on the train and sits directly opposite me. We make eye contact for the briefest moments and I realise that this was one of the Ex's uncles. My immediate reaction was to look away and pretend that I didn't see him, and to be busy texting on my phone. (Actually, I was busy texting on my phone. Lol.)

I felt bad though. Part of me wanted to go up and greet him, but I didn't want the hassle of having to make small talk. Plus, I couldn't remember the proper way to address him. (Uncle? Pak something?) So all I did was sit there, avoiding eye contact, frantically polling everyone via SMS on what I should do.

The question posed to the masses was: What do you do when you run into someone you don't want to on the train? And the common consensus was: Pretend to sleep.

Lol!

In the end, I decided that I didn't have anything to lose by greeting him. After all, I had no reason to be afraid. My gripe was with the Ex, not his entire extended family. And I did travel together to Malaysia with him and some other in-laws before.

So I finally stood up, walked over to him, smiled, (waited for him to smile back), took his hand and salam-ed, and then got off the train as though I had arrived at my station. And I felt so glad that I did.

Wonderful Weekend

Ah, sometimes it's fantastic to have a chill weekend just hanging out with friends.

Met up with Daniel on Saturday afternoon for a quick bite and coffee. Ended up at The Queen & Mangosteen Pub at Vivo, and we spent the next couple of hours just chatting and taking the piss out of each other. He was in Singapore for a week before heading to KL and then to Thailand where we was going to work in a Burmese refugee camp for 3 months.

Ching joined us for a while and then the both of us headed to LGG's place to hang out and watch random movies. Decided to watch some 80s Chinese kung-fu movie and then Empire of the Sun, while lazing back and eating chips and drinking ribena. It was fun. Left her place at almost 2am (or was it 3am?) and got back, took a shower and slept.

Was supposed to go for a tree top walk this morning, but couldn't wake up on time, so snoozed away in bed. Got an SMS from Carol asking about brunch, which woke me up immediately, and a quick shower later, we were on our way to Bishan Park. Can't remember the name of the place we went to, but we've been there before (and I think I blogged about it haha).

The four of us (LGG, Carol, Ching and me) shared a basket of fries, eggs florentine, scrambled eggs and a portobello mushroom burger. *slurp* It was gooood. I think we've found a new favourite place to hang out!

Got back home at 3ish and then went out with my sister again at 4ish to hunt for a new mobile phone. Didn't manage to find anything, but had an early dinner and then headed back. Spaghetti and meatballs = love.

Was supposed to get some work done, which is why I lugged my files back but all I've done since I got back was chat, chat and chat some more. Lol.

Anyway, going to try to get *something* done at least. Counting down to the next weekend! :D

Another Nice Quote

I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.

Vroom Vroom Part 4

Lol. I'll be taking my driving test for the fourth time this Tuesday, and considering I've done it so many times before, I'm not too worried if I pass or fail this time. Ideally, I'll pass so that I can just get it over and done with. But if not, meh.

Had a driving lesson with my regular uncle instructor yesterday and it was the first time I saw him in hmm 8 months? He was really sweet, encouraging me to keep trying and not to give up. He was quite funny too, telling me stories about other students who tool the driving test more times than I did.

He made a comment which sort of caught me by surprise. He asked if I was fasting and I shared with him that no I wasn't, and that I wasn't married anymore. And he apologised for bringing up something "sensitive" and then said that I looked much happier now.

Ok, perhaps it shouldn't have been such a surprise, but I guess I just didn't think he would have noticed. And it was nice to chat with him about it, and being able to talk about things neutrally and without any anger or resentment or pain.

Anyway my lesson went well. Hopefully I'll be able to pass my driving test this time round. He said that his son had a court case on Tuesday morning, but that he'd try to rush and prepare me for my driving test. *heartmelt*

Alrighty, time to look for something to eat.

Change Beckons

I need to have an attitude overhaul. Things at work are getting tense and the unhappiness and resentment seems to be growing. I reckon, if it gets to a point where you're openly rude to your boss in front of other people, something needs to change.

Had a chat with LGG about it and apparently we've all moved to Stupidville. In the past, we used to pat ourselves on the back about how smart we thought we were, but now the phrase "I'm / We're so stupid" seems to come out of our mouths oh-so-often. Lol.

She said something that got me thinking though - it seems like every time I dislike something, I run away from it. Not happy at work? Quit. Not happy with husband? Leave. And I feel defensive admitting that something like this is true, but I guess this is the price of being self aware.

So, now I'm going to make the conscious effort to not let these things affect me and to remember that all this will pass.

Meeting New People

Aah, I'm back home after spending 4 days in Jakarta. I had an enjoyable time, and got to meet up with some of my agents who I've been working with for the past year. All in all, I think it was a good trip.

Was feeling really happy on my way back to the airport this afternoon. Made a lot of new friends and I was feeling really thankful and blessed that I have had the opportunity to travel, and that I am able to meet such wonderful people wherever I go. :)

What A Difference A Year Makes

Amazing how different my life is now, compared to the same day exactly a year ago. Who would have known that this time last year, it would be my last day staying with my (now Ex) husband. Who would have known that I'd be capable of mustering the strength to leave the man I married less than two years ago. Who would have known that I'd recover and move on, and move on to better things in my life.

Everything happens for a reason, I suppose. Sometimes, I still wonder why what happened, happened to me. But no regrets, no looking back, no wasting time thinking about the choices I made. I'm just glad I'm in a much better place now than I probably would have been if I stayed on with him.

For starters, I'm traveling a lot more now, both for work and for personal holidays. I've made a tonne of friends in the past year, a multitude of interesting characters that have made my life so much more colourful and exciting. I'm working in a job where I actually feel happy, even 9 months in. In a nutshell, I'm happy. Happier than I thought I could ever be.

Sure there are times where I slip, and I feel the anger and resentment and the pain and the hurt. But that's all part of the healing process, I don't think one can fully recover from something like this in a short span of a year. But those down moments are few and far between, and generally in between moments of extreme highs, so it all even outs emotionally somehow, I guess.

Not much reason for this post, really. Just thankful for everything that has happened to me, both good and bad, and for this continual learning journey that I've been on. I've learnt a lot about myself (that I have zero self control when it comes to budget air tickets, for example haha) and I'm really liking the person I am today.

Haha, yes, a post about loving myself at 4am in the morning while sitting in a hotel room in Jakarta with MTV blaring in the background.

On a more not-so-pensive note, I just bought 8 packs (I think) of instant noodles this afternoon. Lol!

In Jakarta

One day in Jakarta and it feels like I've been here for the longest time. Arrived last night, checked in to the hotel, had a meal at the restaurant downstairs and stayed up to complete a powerpoint presentation for today.

Headed down to the education fair which was quite interesting. Lots of performances by the students from the school, and then got a chance to finally meet our agents here. Had lunch and ate quite a bit- had fried chicken, fried fish, fried tempeh, sayur assam soup and orange kelapa to wash it all down. Not forgetting the kecap manis *slurp*.

Got back to the hotel, checked out the facilities, discovered the spa, booked a massage for ourselves this evening. Had a coffee at the lounge, lazed around and then headed for another meeting with one of our agents. Then went for dinner and had grilled seafood, gado gado and chendol. *burp*

Had a beer with my colleagues at the hotel pub and then went back to the room, checked my emails and then went for my massage. Was assigned a male masseuse, but requested for a female one. Fell asleep during the massage, and was woken up to turn around. Fell asleep again, and was woken up when the massage was done. Got up to take a shower and actually fell asleep with the water pounding down my back. Lol.

Am back in my room, checking my emails and getting ready for bed. Jakarta has been fun so far. I bet it was the massage that made me change my mind about the place. Yay!

Have I Packed?

Every time I have a trip, I seem to always have a corresponding blog post saying that I've not packed. Lol. Well, I have to be at the airport in an hour's time, and someone just ask me if I have packed. LOL.

It's a bad habit, I say.

Anyway, off to Jakarta tonight! I owe my boss a ppt presentation, but I'll work on it at the hotel tonight.

The Irony Of It

Heeheehee I just realised the little bit of money I get every month from the Ex subsidises my monthly jaunts to India. LOL.

Avoid The Ang Mohs

My mom saw my luggage out this morning and asked me where I was going. Told her I was flying off this evening for a work trip to Jakarta, and like the last time I headed off to India, she said, "Don't go to places with ang mohs."

Lol! Nevermind that there was an earthquake that hit Java yesterday and that tremors could be felt in Jakarta. Just avoid the ang mohs. Hehehehahahaha I'm so tickled.

Hey I just realised this. So I'm actually listening to my mom when I go to India. Hanging out with Indians, not ang mohs!

Wake Up, It's September!

Woah. It's already September! How fast time flies. (I seem to say that every month haha.) Random updates for the past week or so.

The second half of the year has proved to be most crazy. I asked the Universe for an abundance of travel and *poof* I've been flying out of the country SO much.

I'm going to Jakarta for work tomorrow, and as usual, none of my bags are packed. At least my luggage is out of the storeroom, so all I have to do tomorrow is throw some clothes in. Lol.

I've also booked my driving test. Fourth time lucky, I say. Had to force my boss to approve my time off and he wasn't too happy about it, but I really had no choice. My PDL and Final Theory Test is expiring and anyway, I had already booked the test and won't get any refund if I cancel.

Next trip is back to *blush* India again. This time we're headed to Pondicherry. Lol! Just the name of the place makes me break out in giggles. Taking advantage of the long weekend to get my fix of budget airlines, Indian food and cheap booze.

New boss came on board. Been too busy to really spend much time talking about work with him, but so far so good. I've known him from before, so there isn't that awkward feeling when you work with someone for the first time, so it's all good.

Alright, bedtime. Can barely keep my eyes open. Goodnight!

The Pre-Christmas Turkey

Oye I forgot to blog about this! The pre-Christmas turkey that we so painstakingly prepared stuffing for 3 weeks ago? It's not meant to be. *sigh*

Postponed plans to cook the turkey because I decided to traipse off to Bangalore that weekend. And then we had to postpone the cooking of the turkey again because it was LGG's turn to hop off to Goa the following weekend.

And now that all of us are finally in town and ready to stuff some turkey, LGG finds out that Maria thought the stuff had been sitting in the freezer for too long (more than 2 weeks!) and threw it out. Lol!

So we figure, perhaps turkey should only be done during Christmas. No use meddling with tradition and trying to do things when they are not meant to be.

Alas, I'll have to wait a couple more months before I get a taste of Ching's oh-so-famous turkey, but I guess the wait will make it all the more delicious when we finally have it. Hehehe.

Insomnia (Not The Club)

It's 5am and I can't sleep. Dozed off briefly between 3ish and 4ish but it was a very restless sleep, my mind racing with a million thoughts a minute.

Hung out with my sister today. Went to a wedding fair to check out the hotel for a potential wedding venue. There was free food too! I think I've found a new hobby. Lol.

Spoke to one of the wedding planners there and got more information on their wedding packages. There were also a couple of wedding-related vendors and we saw some pretty jewellery as well. Check out www.lingjewellery.com

Headed down to Arab Street and had a late lunch / early dinner at DeliMorocco. Been there once before with cousin.SF and decided to have their chicken tagin with potatoes once again. Yum.

Washed it all down with an iced mint tea and then went to Sufi's to have more iced mint tea and some shisha (mint, of course. Lol.)

We were seated in a cosy corner and played with the friendliest little black cat. Sat back and just chatted all evening. 2 rounds of shisha and more than 3 hours later, we decided to go back home.

Was a very pleasant day. It's nice to hang out with my sis and just chat about stuff. It's been a while since we've both been busy with work and other commitments, and I'm glad we took the day to just spend time with each other.

Lol. It doesn't explain why I can't sleep though. Wonder if I should even bother anymore. Feel like taking a walk outside. Hmm maybe I should.

I Like This Quote

With passion pray.
With passion work.
With passion make love.
With passion eat and drink and dance and play.
Why look like a dead fish
in this ocean of God?

Rumi

Gotta Love My Ex-Boss

Ahh how sweet. Even though he is in New York now, my ex-boss is still looking out for me. Sort of. Here's an email exchange between my ex-boss and one of our agents in Jakarta.

..

Ex-Boss: eh S, Bona is one fun girl and she gg up with another chick called M. Take them out and have a good time ok? Like we always do ok!

Agent: hi hi.. no worries, man! We'll have fun in Jkt so Bona will come here more often =)

Me: Don't worry, S. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun! :) Ex-boss has been telling me lots about Jkt, am looking forward to it hehehe

Agent: Great! Looking forward to meet you =)

Ex-boss: just bring her to get drunk can already cos Bona is an alcoholic. The other girl M dun get to travel much cos she works for C and you know hoe C is so must make this trip worthwhile for her ok!

..

He knows me so well. Lol!

Working Late

Woah it's 9.15pm and I'm still in the office. I haven't done OT in months!

Well I'm sort of done, I'll leave whatever else is left for tomorrow. Now, just waiting for my sister to finish up and she'll pick me up and we'll go for dinner. Woot!

Deja Vu!

Was chatting with LGG on MSN this afternoon when I commented that I was feeling very scattered. Ack! She said the exact same thing one year ago. My life is mirroring hers, except I'm doing everything one year late. How freaky is that?

But one good thing is that at least I know that no matter how crazy the things I do seem, someone else has done it before. No matter how stupid the actions I make are, someone else was just as dumb. And at the end of it all, things will be alright.

Feeling Peckish And Absolutely Wide Awake

Subject header says it all. I had a very full breakfast this morning (4 slices of bread!) before going back to bed. Woke up at about 2ish and had lunch (pasta, and then rice with beed stew) and an early dinner (rice with omelette).

Been snacking since then, having chips and peanuts and a full glass of milk. And I'm still hungry!

Must be cos of all the food blogs I've been reading all day. From cupcake pages to Indian food, it certainly makes me crave for something to eat.

Now the question is, do I look for food or just ignore the rumbling in my tummy?

Bunny the Tourist

Had dinner with Raj, the guy I met on the plane, at Little India last night. I was telling him about my chaat-hunt and he kindly offered to bring me around Little India to satisfy my craving for Indian food.

Met up at Mustafa. He was a tad late as he went to some temple to pray first, so I roamed the aisles at Mustafa and was so tempted to buy Cussons Imperial Leather soap when I saw it. I still remember the ad where they carved little people out of the bars of soap, and the Cussons soap people always lasted longer under the shower. Lol.

Didn't get it because the queue at the cashier was too long so I just walked around until he finally arrived.

Went to one of the restaurants across the road and got a pani poori and bhel chaat. Meh, I wasn't impressed. The chaat I had in India was definitely waay better. We then went to this south Indian restaurant after and shared a mutton soup, briyani, fish tikka and Kingfisher
beer. This meal was yum. Heehee.

Was walking around and just chatting when suddenly he says I look like a smoker. Do I? Hmm. So I told him the first time I inhaled *any* form of smoke was at this shisha joint in Calcutta. And the next thing I knew, we were hopping into a cab on our way to Arab Street.

Found a place that had shisha and we ordered one, as well as a coke each. Spent the rest of the evening chatting about work, living in Singapore, how (un)friendly people are here, relationships and lots of other random stuff.

Headed back at about midnight.

Was supposed to go for the tree top walk at MacRitchie today but plans got cancelled so I'm still in bed. It rained last night and it was so wonderful to just snuggle up in bed under the sheets. Reminds me of the weather in Bangalore. Lol.

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Chaat-Hunt

I really think I have an affinity to Indian people. Somehow I make friends with them rather easily, the last time I went to Bangalore, I managed to meet so many new people. I'm even still in touch with the guy who helped me out at the airport!

On my second trip, I met someone on the flight who was going back to see his wife. Had a nice chat with him and ran into him again at the airport on my way back to Singapore. Needed to get some help to top up my phone line and if he wasn't there, I'm not sure how I would have gotten that settled.

Anyway, we exchanged numbers and now we're meeting for dinner tonight. I told him about how I've been craving chaat and that I have never seen it before in Singapore. Woohoo! So we're heading to Little India on a chaat-hunt. Yay!

My Itch Has Been Scratched.. For Now

Was feeling rather restless yesterday, and was trying to confirm details on an upcoming trip. However, my partner-in-crime wasn't able to commit to any travel dates till the end of the month, so I was stuck looking at airline websites but unable to do a thing.

Got to work this morning, logged on, and got a message from Carol. "$8 tickets to Phuket!" She had me at hello. Lol. We decided on the spot and made the booking. Woot!

I'm in SUCH a good mood now, it's ridiculous. Here are my tentative travel plans for the next 12 months:

Jakarta - Sept 2009 (work trip)
Medan - Sept 2009 (work trip - maybe)
Cebu - Oct 2009 (WIP - read above)
Ho Chi Minh City - Nov 2009 (work trip - maybe)
Chiangmai - Dec 2009 (charity walk)
Goa - Dec 2009 (maybe)
Phuket - Jan 2010 (YEAH!!!)
Bali - Mar 2010 (YEAH!!!)
Xi'an and Tibet - June 2010 (WIP)
New York - Sept 2010 (maybe)

*dance*

The Week That Passed

Been rather lazy to update much these couple of days. So to summarise:

- Was still in Bangalore on Monday. Didn't do much, we just stayed in, chilled and hung out. Made our way to the airport in the evening and I got back to Singapore at about 6am on Tuesday. Had some breakfast and then went to the office to shower and change. Thankfully I managed to get an entire row to myself, so I could lie down and sleep during the flight.

- Finally got to see baby Nadia on Tuesday evening! I was on my way to meet Ching and 222 and ran into Eunice and Faisal on the train station. Eunice's dad was waiting for them with baby Nadia in tow, and I have to say she's such a darling! Made my biological clock tick a little faster as I played with her. Lol.

- Had dinner with Ching and 222 at Buangkok and had salted egg crabs. Yum. Also had tom yum soup and vegetables. Had a nice catch up and we have decided that the holiday after next June's Tibetan jaunt will be in Jordan! Haha. Got to get out of the Himalayan region lah.

- Went to see Sanjay to get a prescription and left his clinic with what I needed, plus a vaccination against cervical cancer and a blood test to see whether I'll need further vaccinations again Hepatitis. Lol. Had lunch after and chatted about the different patients that he
gets, which was quite amusing.

- Attended a talk on personality and weight management with Angel yesterday during lunch. Apparently I'm a direct-emotional person, and some of the characteristics include being spontaneous and motivated by fun. Direct-emotional (influencing) people hate routine. How true!

- Met my sister for dinner and went to Holiday Inn Park View to check out the place. Didn't manage to see much as there were major renovations going on, but the service from all the staff was fabulous. Ended up eating at one of the restaurants there, and enjoyed a
one-for-one buffet! Woot!

..

Has it only been 2 full days since I got back? Lol. I feel like going somewhere, anywhere, again.

A Delayed Reaction

Had a sort of meltdown last night. Was in the car with Arjun driving to dinner and chatting about relationships and why people cheat, when suddenly I was hit by such a strong wave of emotion. I don't know how to describe it, but I just remembered everything that happened between the Ex and myself, and I was suddenly so angry, so hurt, so upset and I just had to lash out.

Poor bloke had to bear the brunt of my outburst, and had to endure the silent treatment I was unfairly giving him after. Wasn't angry at him, or at anything he said, but didn't have anyone else to take it out on. *sigh* And I don't even know what exactly I was mad about specifically.

Spoke to LGG and Yummy about it and apparently what I'm experiencing is a delayed reaction to the whole situation. They say it's normal to be angry and that these things take time to heal, even though on the surface everything may look all fine and dandy. I don't know. I haven't really thought about the Ex much, except when it was our non-anniversary and I never expected to have such a reaction. Oh well.

I'm fine now, just a little shaken that I seem to be still affected by this whole thing. But I know, it'll all get better.

Lazy Days Are The Best

I'm in Bangalore now. Decided on a whim to check out ticket prices and they were going for cheap, so I decided to contact my friends here to announce my plans to go over for the weekend and took off the next day.

Got drunk on Friday night, spent the whole of Saturday trying to recover from a massive hangover. Bought some books at Crossword (woot!), lazed at the apartment, watched movies (Hangover, and Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay). Finished reading The Kite Runner.

Getting ready to head out for brunch soon. Need to take a shower and then we'll be off. These are the best type of holidays, I reckon.

What Worm?

It's 5am. Was woken up this morning to the sounds of my mother
pottering about the house. Plus, I think my body just woke up
automatically, since my brain probably figured I'd need some time to
pack my stuff this morning.

*grin*

I love budget airlines and how they've managed to change how people
travel. Air ticket prices can sometimes be so ridiculously low, it's
hard to resist. (How does one say no to SGD110 tickets to Bali?)

Was chatting with LGG about this and we realised our generation of
Planet Zorkians were really badly bitten by the travel bug.

It wasn't unusual for people to declare impromptu holidays, and
everyone just had this yearning to get out and see the world. We'd
come back and share our stories, which only served to momentarily
scratch the itch before wanderlust struck and we had to plan our next
trip.

To most of us, working was just a means to pay the bills and life is
just one long holiday.

Anyway, one more day before the weekend! :)

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Bitten By The Travel Bug

I'm so tempted to book a ticket out for the end of the month. *contemplates*

Hello, Bali!

Woot! Airasia is having promotions for air tickets so LGG, Carol and I decided to book tickets to Bali in March 2010. Nevermind that I'm still not sure when my flagship event is going to be, nevermind that I don't know if my leave application will be approved or not (well, it better be!).

Fantastic. I love going for holidays! :D

It's A New Day

Amazing. We're already almost halfway through August! I say this almost every month, but how fast time flies.

It's been an awesome year, I must say. Started in a new job that I like, got to know some wonderful colleagues, had a fantastic boss (who is now in NY but YAY! free accommodation when I go there!), traveled quite a bit, and more traveling on the cards. Sweet.

And the most important bit? Getting my freedom back. Woot!

Anyway, I'm happy. Started out the year with a prediction that things will be good, and guess what? I was right. *grin*

Because We Do Not Have To Go To Work

I love long weekends. The plan for today is to head to LGG's pad and 1. prepare the stuffing for our pre-Christmas turkey dinner 2. have an instant Indian meal (prata plaster + dahl = slurp) 3. go for a nadi leaf reading (Ching, not me) 4. watch DVDs and chill.

Sweet.

I'm in a good mood! Booyah!

Saturday

Watched GI Joe with Alfred on Saturday at Suntec City. Am amazed he still hangs out with me after Wednesday's violent night out. Hahahaha. We were 10 minutes late but the show had already started, whatever happened to the ads that they always run?

The movie was entertaining, I liked it and of course having Channing Tatum as one of the main characters made the show all that enjoyable. *grin*

Met up with LGG after the movie at No5 for 5pm beers and wings and chatted a bit with Steve, and left when Ching arrived. Decided to go for the ice cream buffet at the Swenson's at Ion Orchard. Slurp. There was a 1-for-1 promotion so how could be resist?

Had 8 scoops of ice cream in all, and was freezing by the time I left. But it was good. Ice cream buffets = love.

Wanted to catch another movie after but it was too late, so we just walked around a bit and then headed home. Wonderful Saturday. :D

And For The Record

And I am also immensely grateful that I'm no longer married to that retard. Don't know what I saw in him, my official story is that I was black magicked into it. Lol.

Happy Non-Anniversary To Me!!!

Wow, it's so hard to imagine that if I stayed married, I'd be celebrating my 2nd wedding anniversary. Has it been 11 months since I moved out of the house and has it already been 4 months since the divorce was finalised? Time really flies.

I don't know what I thought I'd feel, but I'm just glad I am where I am today. I am grateful for:

- My family and friends. I've said this many times before, but the people around me really have been awesome. Supportive, loving, caring, kind.

- Meeting new people. I've met so many new people this year, it's been amazing. And I have a feeling that some of these new people are friendships that will stay for a long time. I've also renewed some old friendships from the past.

- My job. I'm enjoying myself so far and while there have been some changes in the manpower structure in the office, I've been able to get along with most (if not all) of my colleagues.

- Music. Haven't done this in a while, but spent the whole evening just listening to tunes. Chill.

- Wanderlust. So many places to see! Glad that I have a couple of trips in the pipeline. Woohoo!

- A strong spirit. I'm glad I know that I can move on, that I can stand on my own two feet, that I don't need to rely on anyone to take care of me.

:D

The Night I Punched My Oldest Friend In The Face

Oh hang on, Alfred isn't the oldest friend I have. That's probably Ki. But nevermind. Oldest MALE friend (cos you know, why would I want to punch Ki?).

Met up with Alfred after work for dinner. I forced him to celebrate getting a new job and chunky pay increase (free dinner!) so we went to that Japanese cafe place at Bugis and had something to eat. Had a nice chat and catch up- the evening was starting out well and fine.

Was not sure where to go after, so he asked me if I've ever been to this place called Howl at the Moon. Actually I'm not sure if he was suggesting we go there, or if he was just making conversation, but somehow or another I told him that we should just go there.

Had a couple of drinks (ok more than a couple, maybe 5?) and the night started innocently enough. The music was good, and I was enjoying myself. I'd attempt to describe how the place is like, but am feeling lazy (plus I'm late for work, again) so go do a search for it. Anyway at one point they ask for someone to go up on stage and Alfred points to me, saying that it's my first time and I get hauled up.

I spin some Wheel of Mayhem or dunnowatsitcalled and eventually I have to drink a shot. The audience is asked what they want to put inside and soon shouts of Jager! Vodka! Tobasco Sauce! Baileys! Whiskey! were being heard. Instead of a shot glass, the guy comes back with a FULL glass of what looked and smelled like vomit and then after singing a little ditty I was made to down the whole thing.

Woah, potent stuff. I walked back to my table and somehow thought that punching Alfred was a good idea. I was aiming for his chest, but alchohol and hand-eye-coordination don't quite go hand in hand. Lol. Missed and punched his face.

SORRY ALFRED.

Anyway, had some water, finished up my drinks and then he sent me back. I was sloshed. I don't know what the heck was inside that thing, but all the drunken SMS-es that I found in my phone were all full of typo errors. (My drunken SMSes are usually spelled properly, they just don't make any sense. Or are declarations of love and eternal friendship.)

Well, that's the night I punched my oldest friend in the face. 14 years of friendship and he gets a knuckle sandwich from me. Lol.

New Discovery: The Green Room

Just spent a wonderful evening with LGG and Carol at this place called the Green Room. It's located at Bishan Park, somewhere near the Aramsa Spa. Fantastic place. It serves organic vegetarian food, but the food was quite tasty, although it takes quite a bit of getting used to the soy flavour in some of the foods that they had.

Good company, great conversation, lovely ambience. The entire evening felt really zen and chill and time just flew by so quickly when we were there.

..

I've been thinking about how lucky I am to have the people that I have in my life. Everyone around me just makes my life so much more interesting and colourful. I'd say more but I'm quite tired, lol.

What A Way To Start The Week

My office laptop died while I was in India. Turns out, the hard disc is shot and now I've lost all my files. Sigh.

 

Anyway, meeting LGG so all's good. Time to leave the office. Taa!

Home Sweet Home

Ah it feels good to be back. I've said this many times before, but India was a real hoot. It was such a crazy fun experience and I really enjoyed myself- probably a lot more than expected. But still, nothing beats coming home.

The last couple of days in India went by so fast. My colleague, Jady, joined in me in Delhi. We completed the presentations in all the schools and then took a day trip out to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Go see pictures on Facebook. :D

Napped for a bit when I got home yesterday and then went out with my sister to watch the latest Harry Potter movie. Had fish soup for dinner (soup! slurp) and gotb some popcorn for the show. Wasn't too impressed by the movie, should have watched Ice Age 3 or something else instead. Ah well.

I have to be in the office in 15 minutes but I'm still in bed, and in my PJs. Feeling really lazy. Lol. But I'll have to go soon. Yawn.

It's A Sign!

My laptop is dead. I can't reboot it and all I get is a message saying
that I don't have an operating system. Sigh.

Good news is, I have an excuse not to work. Lol. Thankfully I've got a
wifi enabled phone, and am able to blog now.

Anyway, Calcutta has been an interesting experience so far. Not as
wild and crazy as Bangalore, but fun in it's own way.

Despite the tummy scare on Monday, I've been eating anything and
everything in sight. Stuff I've eaten in Calcutta so far:

- sweet pastries from a dessert shop called Kookie Jar
- samosas and tea (served in an earthen cup, no less) standing along
the side of a road from a shady roadside shop
- coconut from a roadside seller
- pizza hut at city centre
- dinner at the most expensive Indian restaurant in Calcutta
(Pashawari? At the ITC Hotel). The food was amazing
- chaat, poori, aloo paratha, more samosas and lassi from the food
court at mani mall
- drinks at roxy
- shisha at some place that 18 year old kids hang out at
- chocolate ice cream from a streetside vendor

Slurp. Oh and this does not include the buffet I get every morning at
the hotel.

I'm a happy camper. :)

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

Probiotics 1 : Delhi Belly 0

Woohoo, I'm much better now after drinking lots of water and taking a double dosage of probiotics. :D

Am now in Calcutta- the flight from Mumbai was supposed to take about 2 1/2 hours but somehow I landed an hour later than scheduled. Ah well. The drive to the hotel was quite pleasant, there were little signs along the road encouraging drivers not to speed (No Hurry, No Worry or Take Your Time, Not Your Life). I was very amused.

Settled in the hotel and was planning to get a drink at the bar downstairs. Heard some live music when I was checking in and wanted to check it out. However there were some problems with the boxes that I sent via DHL and it took over an hour to sort things out.

Am listening to my latest favourite song, something I heard on MTV on the telly. Apparently it's one of the newest hits from some movie or something like that. Da da daaaaaaaaaaaa!

Alright, going to go to bed. Have a busy day tomorrow.

Bunny Has The Runs

Oh noes! I got complacent over the weekend and forgot to do the kiasu brushing teeth with bottled water thing, and now I've got the runs. Yikes. I've been to the loo too many times this morning, but thankfully I'm not in any pain or anything like that.

Thank god for doctor friends on FB who give you advise on what meds to get. *love*

Gonna soak in the tub for a bit. Body is aching.

Bunny In Bangalore.. Again

Decided to take a quick trip back to Bangalore over the weekend. The weather in Mumbai was crazy and while I'm sure there were lots of places to chill and hang out at, I made friends in Bangalore and had fun so thought, what the heck?

I really don't know how to explain the sense of familiarity and how comfortable I feel here in India. It's like there is a constant sense of deja vu and I just feel at peace and happy here. Like LGG says, perhaps we really were Indians in our past life.

Asked Arjun to help me to get an appointment with a nadi leaf reader but he was unable to fix one- apparently you need to book months in advance. We went to this place called Legends of Rock and hung out with two of his best friends and had a ball of a time. Spent the first half of Saturday sleeping in and just lazing around, leaving the apartment at about 4ish to look for food.

Headed to a party at this place called Ice on Saturday evening and it started out slowly with me making fun of all the posers and the like, but the music got better in the later part of the night. Beer + music + good company = lots of dancing and a helluvalot of fun. I was grinning from ear to ear.

Had some food to eat after we got back and I have to say, home cooked Indian food is da bomb. Heck, Indian food is da bomb.

My digestive system is holding up, no runs or any food poisoning, and I have to give credit to the Martian for his advise on getting a tonne of probiotics and vitamin C.

Anyway, it's been an amazing weekend. Yes, so it seems like I'm crazy booking a flight to Bangalore and hanging out with someone that I met only for a couple of hours on Monday, but I'm so so so so glad that I did. There's just something about this place that leaves me with a sense of peace and calm. Waking up to the sounds of people in the street, the dust, the noise.. somehow it just screams home. Lol. Feeling rather sentimental now.

Ah well, I'm happy. And that's all that matters. :)

Bunny In India

I've been having a ball. Stuff I've done in Bangalore:

- Presentations in schools. This is the primary reason I am here and so far the presentations have been alright. I think I'm getting better at what I do, which is all good.

- Go to the bookshops Crossword and this amazing second hand bookshop Blossoms. Bought 10 books for 1000rs (30SGD?).

- Hung out with Shringar, Sindhoor and Arjun at this place called the Beach. Didn't booze too much because it was a Monday night but it was a fun night with lots of fun and laughter.

- Went to this hole in the wall pub called Pico's which is one of my student's favourite hang out places. Watered down beer and popcorn, but the most amazing chili paneer. Suprised my taste buds didn't burn off.

- Tried the local version of devil's piss- a local rum called Old Monk. Potent stuff. I was giggling after one glass of it.

- Bought a roadside snack called Paan. I like.

..

I'm now in Mumbai but the weather has been shit. Raining and high flood alerts so all my appointments have been cancelled. Booked myself a flight back to Bangalore for the weekend and we're going to spend a weekend partying and getting drunk. WOOHOO!

..

Anyway was on my way to the hotel in Mumbai, and I just had a strong sense of deja vu. Maybe I lived here in my past life? Lol.

Bunny Goes To India

In Bangalore now, getting ready to go to bed. Took some cough syrup and glugging vitamin C so hopefully I'll be 100% tomorrow.

Another Note From The Universe

It's always better to give too much, pay too much, and love too much, than not enough.

But then, Bona, since everything comes back to you anyway, can there ever be too much?

I love you too much anyway,
    The Universe

A Note From The Universe

Got this in my email today:

Every single minute of every single day, they're there, Bona.

They may be hidden behind circumstances, people, or light poles. Challenges, closed doors, or lost keys. Camouflaged, dovetailed, or whispering. Purring, kissing, or hissing. But more often than not they're laying about in the open, under a clear blue sky, in plain view. Absolutely. Guaranteed. You'd throttle me otherwise.

10,000 reasons to be happy.

Jumanji, baby -
    The Universe

Thankful For

1. Nice hot showers

2. Shampoo and clean hair

3. Being able to overcome my mental ill-discipline and cover 6km

4. Beanies to keep my head warm at night

5. Interesting conversations

6. Being surrounded by people who teach me new things every day

7. External HDDs

8. Polite hotel service

9. Fibre (hey constipation sucks)

10. 2 hr credit card issuance service

--
Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com

How To Cure The Monday Blues

You know how everyone stays home on a Sunday night, dreading that the next day is a Monday and that they'd have to go back to the office? Well, whatever you call it- Sunday Night Blues, Monday Blues.. I have the cure!

Was out tonight with cousin.SF and discovered a nice place to chill and hang out. It's called A971 and is right next to Cafe Iguana. They have a happy hour promotion from 5-9pm every day, which is a 1-for-1 promotion for their premium spirits at only $11.71 (or something like that).

So we decided to have some dinner and drinks there and just spent the evening chatting away. Before we knew it, it was already almost midnight and time to go off. As we were getting our bill, we remarked to each other how it did not feel like a Sunday night, and therefore tomorrow did not seem like a Monday.

Brilliant, isn't it?

Now we know. Go out on a Sunday night and make the full use of your weekend. Hehehe.

Last Couple Of Hours In Vietnam

Last couple of hours in Vietnam. I've packed my bags (except for my laptop, obviously) and waiting for the taxi. The plan this morning is to send my cousin Leny off to the airport as her flight is about 2 hours before mine. After that we'll head out to grab some coffee (slurp) and breakfast.

Vietnam has been fantastic. Now to plan the next holiday with the cousins. Hehehe.

Word of the Day: Chaka Chaka

Chaka chaka is a phrase that was coined by my dear cousin Elvis- whose filthy mind came up with this phrase when he was talking to Thanh, his assistant, about making love. Lol.

The trip so far has been a blast. My cousins are crazy and we've been cracking silly jokes all week long. There isn't a moment that we aren't laughing (except on the 3 hour drive to Hue where we dozed off) and making absolute nonsense. Fantastic way to spend a holiday.

What Did We Do Today?

Got to meet Thanh's wife and two daughters today. Drove up to Bana and took the world's longest cable car ride up the hill. The view on the way up was absolutely spectacular. Played around with the two girls and took lots of silly photos in silly poses.

Was supposed to go to Monkey Mountain after and go snorkeling at one of the beaches but that didn't quite work out. The motor of the boat that we were on wasn't working, and even if it did, the fella only had one snorkel. Decided to drive back and head to Da Nang beach again.

We were there at about 5ish in the afternoon and the beach was PACKED. Apparently during summer, people get off work at 4.30pm. How fantastic is that?

Got back and arranged for the manicurist to come over to do our nails, and it was so cheap! I think we paid USD2 per person, to have a full set of nail art done for both hands and feet. *grins*

After doing our nails, we had a home cooked meal for dinner- Thanh's wife made a delicious tuna salad, cooked some fish in tomato sauce, steamed prawns and fried chicken. Delicious.

Have to pack my bags now and check in online. Back to Singapore tomorrow.

Da Nang Day Three

After the swim this morning, we grabbed some breakfast and then proceeded on a 3 hour drive to Hue. Was tired so I napped on the way. Did the typical tourist thing today and visited the palace, pagoda and tomb.

Car broke down on the way and Thanh and Kuya Elvis has to change the tire. Ate Leny and I amused ourselves by taking lots of pictures on the road. Lol.

The weather was crazy hot and this time I was prepared and 1. lathered on the sunblock (I already have funny tan lines!) 2. took out my cap 3. drank lots and lots of water.

Had to postpone the drive to Bana to tomorrow as it was late and the last cable car ride (on the longest cable car ride in the world, apparently) was at 6.30pm and we didn't have enough time to make it. Took our time sightseeing and then had a yummy seafood dinner.

Been working for the past 2 hours or so, pfft. So feeling really tired and brain dead now.

Why Vietnamese Are So Tiny

Other than eating tonnes of veg, I just found out another reason that Vietnamese are so tiny! Just got back from the beach. We headed there at about 5ish (local time) and already the beach was full of people. There were groups of old folks doing exercises, lots of people swimming. It was so interesting.

Waded out to the beach and even though we were probably around 500m out, the water was still only up to chest level. The sand was very clean- no sharp coral bits or rocks. The water was very clear as well.

Didn't spend much time at the beach because we've got a 3 hour drive to Hue. Time to shower and pack up!

Day Two: My Son, Marble Mountain and Hoi An

One of the perks about going around with a local is that you get to eat great local food. No tourist trap restaurants, no deciphering of menus and using hand signals to communicate.

Had beef stew for breakfast this morning. Chunks of beef and mystery meat (looks like salami) are cooked in a stew and served in a cast iron dish with an egg cracked on top. You mix it all up and eat it with pieces of baguette. Delicious. We had local coffee as well, and I have to say, that stuff is da bomb.

Lunch was beef soup- slices of beef and onions cooked in a tasty and very flavourful broth, eaten with broken bits of "paper rice" and baguette. Delicious too.

Anyway, went to My Son in the morning to see some ruins. Apparently My Son was the capital of one of the three regions before Vietnam became Vietnam. Walked around the ruins, took pictures and made up stories about how people used to cement the bricks together. (Thanh says that archaeologists still have not figured out what they used.)

After that, we headed to Marble Mountain- and AIYAH it wasn't really 1000 steps. Lol. Lots of caves and everything was so humid, but the view was nice and I haven't really been in many caves so this trip sort of made up for my lack of cave viewings in the past. Lol. There were also lots of marble sculptures on sale- laughing buddhas, roaring lions, booby naked ladies. You name it, they had it.

The last stop for the day was Hoi An. We walked along the beach, which wasn't as crowded as Da Nang beach and then went to the market place. Lots of cheap tailors and imitation bags around. We saw this old lady grilling little pieces of something, and stopped to ask her what it was. Sweet potato mixed with coconut. Sounded good, so we each had one and it was delicious.

Dinner was rather disappointing. We stopped at a place full of ang mohs and ordered ang moh food- burgers and roasted chicken, and the food was barely decent. I finished 2 bottles of coke though. Hehehe.

Anyway, it was a tiring day with lots of climbing, walking and perspiring. Had a shower back at the hotel and need to go to sleep. Plan for tomorrow: swimming at Da Nang beach at 5am (wah) and then a 3 hour drive to Hue where we'll sit on the supposed world's longest cable car ride and stay the night at Bana.

Bona staying at Bana. Lol I amuse myself.
 

Day One In Da Nang

Boarded the plane in the afternoon and transited at Siem Reap. Had a USD3 can of 7-Up while waiting to re-board the plane, and was just daydreaming when suddenly I hear this woman shouting in my direction. "Hurry up, woman!" she shouts as I hurriedly grab my bags and rush to the gate. Lol.

Finally landed in Da Nang and the view while the plane was descending was just simply amazing. The sun was an orange-y golden glow, illuminating the mountains and the reflection was just lighting up the lake/river/body of water. I was mesmerized.

Got to the immigration counter and could see my cousins waiting for me. Waved to them as I took my place in the queue and when I was finally out there were lots of hugs around. The plan for the evening was simple- check me in to the hotel (the aircon in the spare room at my cousin's place wasn't working), dinner, a walk along the beach, drinks at a bar.

I think I know why the Vietnamese are such tiny people. We had a seafood dinner and ordered shrimps (ordered this wrongly and got tiny prawns that were cooked in salt. Lots and lots of salt.), prawns (we re-ordered the prawns that were the size we wanted and cooked the way we liked), fish, and a hotpot which had more prawns, crab, squid and a tonne of veg.

Seriously. The pile of mixed vegetables that came with the hot pot was HUGE. And when Thanh (my cousin's assistant, our very own guide to Da Nang) found out that I liked kang kong (dammit I forgot the Vietnamese name for it. Mui ree or something hahahaha), he ordered more and another huge pile of kang kong came.

Walked by the beach after dinner. Apparently the beach spans 30 something km, and dotted all over were little stalls that had tables and chairs laid out where people could sit down and have a drink or two. Very chill. The sand was powdery soft and the sea seemed to go on forever (unlike in Singapore where you can see the ships anchored. Yawn.). The moon was almost full and it shone so brightly in the night sky.

Very nice.

Finally made our way to this bar called the Seventeen Saloon. There was a fantastic Filipino band that was performing there- and I was so happy during their second set when they started playing Guns N' Roses and Queen. (Oh-oh-oh sweet child of mine!!! Yes yes, I know. Have to let my inner mina out once in a while. Lol.) Had a couple of drinks there and then made our way back when the bar closed for the evening.

The best part of the trip so far has to be our mode of transportation. Motorbike! It's really quite fun to sit on one, just don't let my dad find out that's what I've been doing. Lol.

Alright, time to go to sleep. The plan for tomorrow is to go to the Marble Mountain. Sweet!