The Grasshopper Is Coming!

Wheee! He's at the airport now, as I type this entry, checking in for his flight to Singapore. It's not a direct flight though, so he has to travel via Mumbai, but in less than 12 hours I'll be seeing him. I'm so excited!

New Year Resolutions

Three More Days!!!

Three more working days left for the year and I'll be on holiday!!! Whee!!!

A Date With.. Myself

I'm sitting here at Thai Express, enjoying a plate of minced basil chicken with rice and a greeb mango salad. I've got my Thai iced tea, and I'm waiting for the movie to start in 40 minutes time.

Everyone got 2 free movie passes during the company Christmas party and I decided to watch Rupunzel and Tron tonight. By myself.

It's been a long time since I've gone on a date by myself and i'm quite excited. I'm all prepared as well, I have enough cash to cab it home after the movue ends, and I have my trusty Kappa jacket (thank you grasshopper!) to keep me warm in the cinema.

I can't remember the last time I did something by myself. Oh wait, my muay thai classes. Ok scrap thay trin of thought. Lol.

Anyway, I think it'll be fun. This time next week, the grasshopper will be in Singapore!!!

Reflections - 2010

I was initially too lazy to sit down and pen my thoughts about the past eleven months, but I left my earphones in the office. And since I can't watch 30Rock on the train, or listen to any music either, why not try to make sense of the jumbled thoughts in my head and reflect on how the year has been.

All in all, I'd have to say the year has been a pretty awesome one. The number of chops on my passport attest to the amount of traveling I did (for both work and personal). Numerous trips to India where I went to Chennai and Hyderabad for the first time, and alsomet the grasshopper's folks; the unforgettable Bali trip where I famously said, "I know I'm talking rubbish, I just can't stop myself!"; two trips to Beijing and painful China visa applications (and also where I had the bestest Peking duck ever); the epic Tibet holiday where we took a 2 day train ride to Lhasa from Beijing and camped in below zero weather and made it to Everest Base Camp while barely breaking a sweat; and the handful of work trips to Jakarta where I discovered that Indonesia could be pretty cool. And I still have one more holiday to Krabi with the grasshopper, where we'll be counting down to the new year together! :)

Things on the family front have been good too, with two new additions to the clan: my sister and Mark finally tied the knot, and Windy and my brother welcomed baby Gideon to the world. My sister's wedding was a wonderful opportunity for the extended family to get together, and I managed to spend more time with Karen and Darwin (after not having seen them in yonks). I also made up with my brother.

My life at work have been good too. Nothing much to say about the work front (it's just work, after all) except that I feel that I'm getting better at wht I do, and still enjoying what I do. There's a new colleague in my team who has been a good fit, so the workplace has been quite fun and full of jokes and laughter too.

My relationship with the grasshopper has been interesting this year, with us going from strength to strength and also seeing the worse fight we've had. But it's all good and we try to work things out and communicate as best we can. The distance between us has been an issue that's been brought up more frequently, but I reckon that's normal as our relationship moves through different stages. He'll be coming to Singapore this Christmas though, and will be meeting my folks and friends. How exciting! I hope we have enough space and stamina to eat all the food I have lined up to eat though. Lol.

I also took up a new sport which I'm quite excited about- Muay Thai! I've been going for slightly over a month now, and unlike previously where I'd draaaaag myself to the gym, I'm quite happy to go for class during lunch or after work. The workouts are fun and I'm being trained by the best- world champions in Muay Thai! No more shit training by wannabe Muay Thai "fighters". Whee!

Hmmm I think I covered most of what's been going on this year. In the next post, what I want to do for 2011.

The Last Month Of The Year

I've barely gotten used to the fact that it was already November and now
December has decided to sneak up on us. So as I always say this time of the year, it's December already?!

Shall do some reflections about how the year has been in a later post.

Mid Week Mid November

The last quarter of the year always seems to pass by in such a flash. Already it's mid November and I'm counting down till the grasshopper comes to down for Christmas.

Woke up early this morning to go for a walk with Ching, Jeanne and Matt. We
decided to go to Bukit Timah Hill and I realised that I've not been there since before Tibet! The climb up was ok, and the walk was fairly manageable until the last bit at the end. Had to take a shorter route out because my legs
were getting really tired. Nonetheless, it was a good walk.

Had a quick lunch then chatted with the grasshopper for a bit. Took a nap while he went out to run some errands, then chatted some more in the evening. Moments like this makes me really wish we were in the same country.

At this point, it seems more likely that I'll end up moving there than he coming here, but we're not in any rush so no plans for the time being. Tiger Airways cancelled their Singapore-Bangalore route, so now we need to figure out how we're going to see each other in 2011. No more impulsive trips!

I guess 2011 will be a year of planning and saving money and hopefully nore discipline. Crossing my fingers and toes that I will get a good appraisal and a good increment and bonus.

Well, going to try to sleep early tonight. 2 more days and it's the weekend! Happiness is a mid-week public holiday. Whee!

Monday Mojitos

Sometimes lunchtime drinks are all it takes to make the day a good day. Heehee.

Caught up with Li Min over lunch today and we chatted about martial arts, crappy bosses, lying colleagues and overseas spouses. It was a fun and much needed break. Plus, the food was good and the three mojitos put me in that happy, happy place.

Went for Muay Thai in the evening and had a good workout. I'm having a little bit of a buay-hiao-bai moment now, when I say I was the prettiest girl in the class. *grin* I think the grasshopper is a lucky boy. Heehee.

Had a quick dinner with Ching at some Japanese place and now I'm back home and showered and waiting for the grasshopper to come online. Quick chat with him before I go to bed.

Life is good. :)

I Wonder Why

It's 2am and I'm up again. Sigh. Went to bed at 11pm and thought I'd be able to get a good night's rest before attempting to go for class in the morning.

Shall try to go back to sleep now. But this waking up in the middle of the night sucks.

Festival Of Lights

I'm finally in Bangalore, and descending into the airport this time round is probably the second most amazing experiences I've had on a plane so far. The first one being the time we flew past the peak of Mt Everest while heading to Bhutan.

The pilot made an announcement that we were going to descend, and mentioned that if we looked out the left window, we'd be able to see the fireworks and celebrations. So I turned my head and looked out the window, and I saw an entire city that was lit up and shimmering. Every where you looked, there were crackers being lit, exploding in the sky and really giving meaning to the Festival of Lights.

The plane finally landed and I had a huge grin on my face. I cleared immigration quickly and got into the grasshopper's waiting car. We drove back home and lit some crackers downstairs too. Whee!

I think I'm going to wake the grasshopper up and get him to go buy some more crackers so we can burn them downstairs. Happy Diwali!

Old Recipes

Can't believe I used to be so conscientious about writing down whatever I used to cook and bake last time. Lol.

http://bunnygoeszen.livejournal.com/tag/recipes

Doing Well

Hahahaha I just realised I typed the phrase "doing well" a lot in the last couple of blog entries.

In A Gushy Mood

The grasshopper makes me so happy. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. :)

Blogging.. Or Rather The Lack Of

I have noticed that I blog much less frequently than I used to and I guess it's only natural since I'm much more preoccupied living and enjoying my life these days.

An update on how things are: my relationship with the grasshopper continues to grow strong, despite the long distance between us. He'll be coming over for Christmas and then we'll head over to Krabi to countdown to the new year. In fact, all the details are being finalised right now as I type this entry out. Tanu and Soubhagya will be joining us as well, so I hope we have a blast.

My family is doing well, and I'm now an aunt again to baby Gideon. My sister-in-law went through quite an adventure, and I'm glad that everyone is doing well. My parents are doing well, but I do wish we could spend more time together, maybe for a holiday. My sis and Mark finally got married, and she will ne moving to the States some time next year. :( I'm sure I'm going to miss her.

Work is fine. I've been enjoying what I do and do not feel that sense of utter reluctance to go to work every morning so I can't really complain. Have a good boss and fun colleagues, and the working hours are fantastic.

Went for my fair share of holidays this year and renewed my travel insurance haha. Been traveling quite a fair bit for work too. I'll be heading to Bangalore for Diwali, and I'm so excited!

The girls and I still try to make it for our weekly walks around McRitchie and now Ching and I have found a new thing to do. We've tried walking home from the office and I must say it's quite enjoyable! We get to pass by a number of interesting sights along the way and also get to eat at some really awesome eateries too. Slurp.

Anyway, I guess my point is that I've been too caught up with life and everything that is going on around me and I haven't had much time for this little piece of online space. Ah well, as long as I'm happy. ;)

Why You Shouldn't Sleep At 7.30pm

Woke up at 12.30am and four hours later, I'm still wide awake. I guess I have just effectively screwed up my sleeping cycle.

Sent from my iPhone

All Set

Yaaay! The grasshopper has downloaded Whatsapp on his phone and now we can sms each other for free! So with Truphone for our calls, and Whatsapp for our sms - we're all set.

Anyway, I'm heading to Bangalore on 4 November over the Diwali weekend, and I'm so excited. Fireworks, here I come! I hope I don't blow off any body parts though. Heehee.

The grasshopper was originally supposed to come to Singapore this month, but with flights and hotel costs so high, we decided to save the money so we can splurge a little on our year end holiday. Whee!

I'm in such a good mood now thinking about it. :D

Nostaglic!

Sama-sama maju ke hadapan Pandai cari pelajaran
Jaga diri dalam kesihatan Serta sopan-santun dengan kawan-kawan

...Dengan hati bersih serta suci Sama-sama hormat dan berbudi
Jaga tingkah pemuda-pemudi Adat dan budaya junjung tinggi

Capailah lekas cita-cita pemudi-pemuda
Supaya kita ada harga di mata dunia

..

Happy Children's Day!

How Hard Is It To Plan A Lunch Date?

me: i cant remember if we agreed to do lunch today or not

Yummy: haha no, not today

cos i already made plans

me: ah

ok

lol

Yummy: we said when you come back from jkt cos you can't make mon

me: ahh

ok

lololol

eh lets set a date now so i can write it down

Yummy: ok

my only restrictions are i only have an hour so you'd have to come here

and i need advance notice

me: yeah

Yummy: otherwise, i'm free any day
me: lets set a day

wed 13 oct ?
Yummy: i'm on leave 13 and 14 for andrea's bday

me: lol

15 oct?

fri

Yummy: yup, can

set

me: set

Yummy: lol

eh can we make it either 12 or 18?

me: 12 cannot

i am on lunch duty

Yummy: seems i already have a lunch that day

me: ok 18

Yummy: ok set again lol

me: hmm wait

18 cannot too

i also got lunch duty

lol

11 ?

Yummy: hahaha

yeah ok

me: eh i cannot find my rubber

u change ur other appt?

lol

oh 11 i cannot

i got a new colleague coming on board

and need to welcome

lol
Yummy: wahlau hahahaha this is getting ridiculous

19?
me: ok 19
Yummy: haha ok
me: no

sorry

20

cos of my travels .. i have to make up a lot of lunch duty
Yummy: yeah i can't 19 also, got seminar

ok 20

set again

eh 20 i'm on leave also hahahahaha

21?
me: LOL

21 then
Yummy: ok SET
me: lol
Yummy: lol

Brinner

Aah brinner. The person who came up with the idea of having breakfast for dinner is a genius.

Got back home last night and didn't have anything to eat. I wasn't feeling to cooking something complicated so decided to open a can of Heinz baked beans and whipped up a portion of scrambled eggs. Ate that with two slices of bread and a glass of soy milk and I was a happy camper. :)

And My Face Goes Slurp!

Slapped on a face mask.

Sometimes You Gotta Be Clear

Yummy: hahahaha

going through database now

someone works at a company called BABI

and another guy's name is Bodo

me: lololololol

last time i had a gang bang

Yummy: HUH

say that again?

me: sorry

i mean

last time i had a name in the database

gang bang

china dude

Yummy: PHEW

Old Blog

I found all the recipes that I posted up on my old blog and OMG I used to cook so much more! Well, actually I still cook these days but have gotten lazy to document my adventures in the kitchen.

Yummy says I should keep at it, but so lazy... But let's see. Looking at these old entries is so inspiring!

Jakarta

Been meaning to blog about Jakarta but have just been too lazy to do so heehee. Anyway I got back yesterday and now on my way to the office.

It was a short trip over only three days, but a good one. Managed to catch up with my agents and got to know a few more people, and all in all had a tiring but enjoyable time.

Had dinner at this place called Social House, which is at Grand Indonesia mall I think. Nice chill out place and great ambience. Also managed to squeeze in some shopping at the Tebet area and bought some stuff for the grasshopper. Had a cheap massage that cost only 85,000 rupiah! Approximately 12 sgd. Bliss.

Anyway I will be going back in 2 weeks time and spending my birthday there. Not too keen on that but what to do?

Ah well.

Listening to Astrud Gilberto now and I'm so happy. I love her music.

Wahahaha

Ok I blogged too soon. Managed to fix it. I feel so smart now.

*pats self on back*

First Glitch!

Hmm seems like I've run into my first glitch with Truphone. Can't seem to make any calls now.

:(

Sleepless @ 4am

Can't sleep.

Truphone Update

The last update, I said that Truphone only works on a wi-fi network. But that's before I discoverd the "Enable VoIP over 3G" option. So now can make Truphone calls on the go. Whee!

Now all we have to do is test if I can receive Truphone calls even when I'm running other applications.

YAY!

An Update On The iPhone4

After a week of owning the iPhone4 and finally getting my 3G activated, I've had some surprising realisations about my usage. Everyone thought there would be a barrage of spam on my facebook and twitter accounts and that I'd be online All The Time.

Interestingly, I've noticed that I get on facebook and twitter less, and spend more time checking emails on the go, playing games (even this is not that much), and listening to music. And I spend the most time on my iPhone4... *drumroll* ... watching videos.

I like the phone but the battery life is not as good as I'd like. I have to charge it every day, and sometimes even twice a day, but I reckon with so many applications running on it, it's not that surprising that the battery drains out pretty fast. I was also disappointed that applications like Skype don't work all that well on a phone, even if I'm connected to a wi-fi network. The grasshopper and I use Truphone to call each other because it's clearer than Skype, but that only works on a wi-fi network.

.. I'd type more but (and I hate to admit this) work beckons. Update later.

My Life Is Full Of Awesome People

And I feel very blessed.

24 Hours Later...

It's been 24 hours since getting my hands on the iPhone4 and all I've managed to do is load a couple of apps (Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Whatsapp and Shazam) and buy a privacy screen and case cover for it. Lol.

I've also added 6 contacts and hmm that's about it.

My data plan only gets activated by midnight tonight and I've been too busy in the office today to get anything else done. So tonight will be dedicated to fiddling around with it more. After I grab some dinner, of course.

Love

How does one learn to love unconditionally? My life challenge, apparently.

I Has iPhone4!

The grasshopper bought the iPhone4 for me today!!! Well, technically I bought it and he's going to reimburse me, but whatever. Same, same!

Whee!

I decided to sign up for a phone line with m1 and here's why. While I've able to get more value for my buck with a pre-paid sim card, my usage has changed somewhat since meeting the grasshopper.

Firstly, international calls will now be free thanks to Skype. Having it on both our phones means that all we need to do is be logged on all the time and we can call each other anytime.

Second, applications like Whatsapp will allow me to SMS other iPhone users with the same application, for free! Of course, if you don't have an iPhone or if you don't have the Whatsapp application, then I'll have to stick to old fashioned SMSes.

Thirdly, I get free incoming calls! So now I'll have to cut down on SMSing and do the leave-a-missed-call-so-you-call-me-back thing. Lol.

I'm excited but a tad lazy to learn how to use the phone. Plus, I'll need to get a screen protector and case cover. *yawn* But apparently the iPhone is pretty idiot proof and is very easy to pick up. So hopefully I'll figure it out soon enough. :D

The grasshopper is the best!!! :D

Doing Trend Analysis

Bored.

My Mom's Nightmare

I think I've just realised what one of my mom's greatest fears is: me having messy hair. Lol. Every time I leave the house, she always checks that I've combed my hair (and of course it's not) or that it's tied up neatly.

Anyway, I washed my hair this morning and quickly toweled it dry. This resulted in a poofy head of maggi mee style hair, which looked quite aunty but I didn't really give a hoot about.

We were heading to the hospital for her checkup and on the way to the train station, my mom mentions that maybe I should get my hair blown at the salon. Waaaa?

So now I've got to fork out 20 bucks to get my hair blown into neat little curls cos my mom thinks I'm too ugly to be seen in public with her. (Just kidding, ma. Calm down.)

I'm sitting here while the guy struggles to tame this crazy head of hair. Ah well. If it makes my mom happy, what's 20 bucks. Heehee.

I Did It!

After months of faffing about and complaining (but not doing anything) about my hair, I finally got a perm. And I have to thank BentoSet, who probably got sick and tired of my whining and inaction and made an appointment at the salon on my behalf. Lol.

He even went as far as giving the creative direction and specific instructions to the stylist (his friend, by the way) and they discussed what would suit me when they were watching Step Up 3. So all I had to do was go to the salon and say I was BentoSet's friend, and that's it!

I like my hair. It's definitely a change from the straight hair that I've had for the 2 years. The only thing I'm worried is how to maintain a neat looking head of hair- it's only been one night (and
not washed either!) and already it's looking considerably messier than when I stepped out of the salon.

I'm also worried about dryness. Perming always damages the hair, and before that my hair has been through 2 rounds of rebonding. Need to ask around on what to do.

Ah well. This is why I don't go to the salon more often than once a year. I can't imagine how people willingly sit there for hours on end. Zzz. The ceramic rollers that they curled my hair around was so heavy, my neck was tired. Lol.

Anyway, the price of vanity. Heehee.

This Is Quite True, Isn't It?

Saw this on one of my friend's FB page and rather liked it. :)

Understanding Before Assumption

Read this quote somewhere on twitter, and while I can't remember the exact phrasing, it was something about being understanding before making assumptions. And I think this is something I really need to learn.

It's hard though, because it's just so much easier to jump to conclusions. But I guess that's not an excuse not to try.

Sleeping Cycle

One of the benefits to consciously making the effort to go home for dinner after work, is that you get more downtime. More time to relax, wind down, and get ready for bed.

I've been going to bed earlier these days, and I must say getting 8-9 hours of sleep every night is quite pleasant. *grin*

The only downside is that I spend less time chatting with the grasshopper. Since there's a 2 1/2 time difference, I'm usually already in bed even before he reaches home. But it's a small matter. We chat during the day, and spend time on the weekends on Skype. :)

Anyway, it's Friday tomorrow. Whee!

A Little Change In My Daily Routine

This is what my day used to be like, before I realised that I was eating every meal out. I'd wake up, get ready for work, rush (ok I lie, I take my time) to the office, order breakfast at the cafe on the same floor, have my breakfast delivered to my desk (oh the convenience!) and eat breakfast while checking my work (and personal) emails.

Breakfast would usually be the toast set - 2 soft boiled eggs, 2 slices of kaya toast and a cup of kopi. After breakfast, I'd potter around the office and then make plans for lunch. Lunch could be as simple as ordering from the cafe again and eating in (spaghetti, curry chicken, fried noodles) or as sinful as having mojitos with a large steak and fries.

After lunch, I'd potter around some more and then make plans for dinner and/or drinks. I'd hang out with friends, saunter around town, and then make my way home in the evening. I'd get online and chat for a bit, watch some TV, take a shower and go to bed.

These days I'm trying to cut down on the eating out part. Partially to save a bit of money, but mostly because it's just healthier to eat at home. So I've taken to having breakfast at home in the mornings before heading out (a glass of milk and 2 slices of bread), and opting to not have my morning cuppa when I reach the office.

Lunch out is inevitable, but I'm trying not to eat at fancy places too much. And then I head home after work- which leaves me plenty of time to wind down and just relax at home, and also have dinner with the folks.

So far so good. :)

Hen Nan Ma?

I think one of the problems (or maybe it's a good thing) is that my ego is huge. I think I'm a genius, and often prove myself right. I also lack a sense of humility. Lol.

Anyway, this is evident by the amount of praise I heap upon myself everytime I successfully cook something. Orh nee, soya bean milk, rendang.. You name it, if I've done it, I've definitely sung my own praises. Heehee.

Few items up on the menu. LGG and I made a fruit cake (from scratch!) for Ching's birthday, and we'll finally get to try it next Saturday. We'll also be making pani puri and vegetable biryani. Slurp. As LGG commented, how hard can it be?

I also want to make har gao, just because. And steamed yam cake too.

It's a good attitude to have, I guess. Cos when you think you can do something, half the battle is won. The next step would just be to actually do it and bask in your success. *grin*

Ka-Piak!

One of the downsides to having really poor hand-eye-leg co-ordination is that I almost always end up with welts on my arms and legs (and sometimes face) from the skipping rope whipping into me.

Ouch.

But ah well, it's raining so I can't go out for a jog. Plus I found the skipping rope (strangely it was in my luggage).

Discipline

I think I'm gonna try to be more disciplined about my life this month (and hopefully it'll stick).

- Go out less and therefore spend less.
- Eat out less. Already breakfast and lunch are eaten out. Go home for dinner.
- Stop taking cabs unless absolutely necessary.
- Exercise more. Try to go jogging at least 3 times a week.
- Save money. Have my eyes set on a 3 month long holiday next year or in 2012.

Friday!!!

It's Friday!!! Whee!!!

Time To Get A New Phone?

My current phone, a Sony Ericsson P1i, is more than 2 years old and it's beginning to show. The battery barely lasts a day and I'm unable to charge it fully, even if I plug it to the charger overnight.

Everyone says I should just get the iPhone, because I'm the sort of person who'd really have a lot of fun with it. But while I've heard all the rave reviews about it, I'm also aware of the shortcomings of the phone.

The grasshopper wants to get me a new phone and he's thinking of getting me one that runs on an android platform. Something about being able to run multiple applications at once, or something. (Ask him, he's my tech support guy. Haha.)

So now I'm wondering if I should pay for a mobile data plan, since I seem to be online all the time. Honestly, I have no idea how come I can get online with my prepaid card, but who cares. But maybe it'd be good to have internet access on the go. (My current connection is iffy. Sometimes can, sometimes cannot.) The downside is paying for a subscription- already I'm having a hard time remembering to pay the monthly bills for my mobile broadband dongle.

Oh well. Need to think about it. And did I just devote an entire blog post to something as irrelevant as whether I should get a data plan? Why yes, I think I just did. Lol.

Hate It When I Can't Sleep

3plus in the morning and I'm wide awake. Methinks it's the green tea I had at lunch (on top of the coffee I had at breakfast).

Blech.

*counts sheep*

Whoosh!

Wow today passed in a flash. Got to the office, chatted with some colleagues, had lunch, started on my trip report, and before I knew it, it's time to leave. Could have stayed late to finish my trip report but naah, can't be arsed.

Am in a good mood today. Need to think about what I want to do career-wise too.

:D

Happy Days

Oh I think I mentioned this briefly but I'll mention it again. Happy days! The grasshopper is coming to town. Yay!

No dates fixed, but he was thinking of coming in September. I looked at the calendar and thought maybe it would be fun to celebrate my birthday together. Plus it'll give him more time to save up for the trip and birthday present (wahahahahaha).

I already have a list of food he has to try when he is in Singapore:

Chee cheong fun & chwee kueh- not because it's on any must eat lists but because I was craving it when I was sick and cribbed about how manchow soup (wtf is manchow soup) just wasn't Chinese.

Crab- chilli crab, pepper crab, salted egg crab. Slurp. Oh and cereal prawns! This has to be a group effort so we can try all the different crabs. He sorta freaked when I said one crab each. Lol.

New Asia Bar- ok this is not a food but I do want to bring him there since I go there all the time and boast about the amazing view. Nice chill out place.

Chinese restaurant- no specific place in mind but I want to bring him to a Chinese restaurant and ask him to find manchow soup and chicken manchurian on the menu. Lol.

.. I'm sure there are plenty of local eats that the grasshopper must try- laksa, chicken rice, nasi lemak, popiah etc but slowly I guess.

I'm so excited!

Back In Town

After 5 weeks of being on the road, I'm finally back in Singapore for a longer stretch of time. My next work trip would probably be in end September.

It's been an interesting time away from Singapore, and honestly I didn't feel all that homesick. Missed my family and friends for sure, but I wasn't miserable at all.

Got to finish watching all 4 seasons of Dexter, and also managed to finish reading a couple of books. It's been a while since I spent time doing me-things, and it was really nice. Staying in hotel rooms was good for a slob like me, you leave the room in a mess and come back to everything nice and orderly. Heehee.

One month and I didn't get sick of the food in India. Well, I had non-Indian food a couple of times, but on the whole I was a happy camper. Especially with the discovery of Elco's in Mumbai- 25 pani puri basket = love.

Time to think about what to do career wise. I realised that my attention span for work lasts about 2 years, and already I'm getting bored. Do I really want to organise yet another Open House? Yawn.

Sure my job is pretty cool and now is the 'slack' period where all we do is travel and attend school fairs, but... It get boring and repetitive. Ah well, let's see how it goes. Have a couple of ideas up my sleeve, but nothing for any immediate action. (Don't worry, Benny. I'm not quitting. Yet. Hahahaha.)

Anyways it's mid-August already but time seems to be moving oh-so-slowly this year. But it's all about attitude, and I'm gonna try to keep a good one :)

Happy days. Gonna plan the grasshopper's trip to Singapore. Yay! Nothing firmed up, but hopefully we'll get to celebrate my birthday together. Whee!!!

Second Wind?

It's 4am and I'm wide awake. It doesn't even feel like it's 4am, save for the grumbling in my tummy that means I've not eaten for a few hours now.

Don't recall having any coffee, not in the afternoon at least. Hmm I wonder why I'm still up?

Think I'll try to read a book and hopefully will drift off to sleep.

I Like Today's Note From The Universe

Young souls learn to accept responsibility for their actions.

Mature souls learn to accept responsibility for their thoughts.

And old souls, Bona, learn to accept responsibility for their happiness.

Weeeeeeee,
    The Universe

It's August!

Can't believe it's already August. Every time a new month rolls by, I am amazed at how fast time just seems to pass.

Spent the day at home watching TV and just getting reacquainted with my bed. I've just gotten back from a whirlwind three week work trip where I spent a week in Beijing, followed by 2 weeks in India. I should be in a hotel room in Calcutta now, but there weren't enough appointments to justify my trip, so I canceled it and will head to Delhi on Wednesday instead.

There will be lots of traveling in the next couple of months, so I reckon time will pass by very quickly. Need to plan a year end holiday so that I have something to look forward to!

Meeting The Parents

Met up with the grasshopper's parents while I was on a work trip to Hyderabad. It actually went pretty well, I must say.

I bought a super guniang yellow polka dotted dress for the first meeting, which led them to think that I was very sweet (true) and conservative (yes, I can hear everyone chortling away. Shuddup.)

We had dinner at a safari-themed restaurant called Serengeti @ Ohri's and then dinner at their home the next day and the day after again. The meeting went well, and I must say I did like his parents.

His dad gave us The Talk - about how we ought to think things through carefully and really see if being in a relationship is what we want. Marriage isn't a one or two day thing and there are a lot of adjustments that need to be made if we want to live together. Lots of good advice.

Well things are going well between the grasshopper and I, although I'm not too sure how we'll work things out. Currently it seems like it's more likely that I'd have to move to India, but let's see how that pans out.

Anyway, things are good, despite a major fight we had while I was there. Always takes time to work things out, I guess. I'm happy though, and that's the most important bit, right?

:)

One Year On

The grasshopper and I have been dating for a year. :)

To Be Missed

The grasshopper went on a camping trip over the weekend. And as all such weekend trips go, there was lots of boozing at night.

Anyway, apparently the grasshopper had a tad much to drink and was telling everyone at the bonfire that he missed his girlfriend. Aww.

I can't stop smiling. :)

Jetsetting Bunny

Off to Beijing for a work trip tonight. Dad wants me to get in touch with one of his friends who is currently working there and meet up to pass him some booze and ciggies.

Wonder what I'm gonna say to this friend though. 'Hi Uncle! Here's your booze and ciggies. Cheers!'

Lol.

Anyway, I hope I don't fall sick when I'm there. Been having an on and off sore throat over the weekend. Falling sick on trips suck.

Feeling Better

Thanks, universe! Xoxo

How True

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Another Sleepless Night?

Subject header says it all.

Catching The Zzzs

Heehee I think I've found out a surefire way to fall asleep if one has got insomnia! Just watch the soccer! Lol.

Can't Sleep

Too hot. Wide awake. Hungry.

Gah.

5 Weeks

I don't know whether I'm looking forward to the coming 5 weeks or not. I've got back to back work trips planned and I'll only be back a day or two in between. *gulp*

I'm glad to get out of the office though. Always good to be anywhere but there. Lol.

The main highlight of this trip is that I'll be meeting the grasshopper's parents and I'm a little bit nervous about it. Meeting the parents is always A Big Thing. Hehe. I hope it goes well though.

My Sister's Wedding

Mark and my sister finally got married over the weekend. The relatives flew in from all over- Australia, Philippines, Dubai, America, Malaysia... And I had a wonderful time catching up with everyone.

I spent a lot more time with Karen and Darwin- perhaps it was because we were all pretty much on the same wavelength and didn't mind having a few more drinks than the rest. The last time I saw Karen was in 2002 and Darwin, 1991!!!

I also had the chance to spend more time with my brother, which I thought was very nice. I realise that I don't have any more anger towards him, probably part of the growing up process. And it was nice to talk to him like a friend.

The wedding was fabulous. From the gatecrashing in the morning, to the ceremony at lunch. The after wedding party was a hoot and everyone had such a great time. Gotta say it was a lot more fun than my wedding last time. (Nevermind, round 2 will be much better. Wahahahaha.)

Anyway, back to work. It's hard getting back to the grind but necessary, I suppose. We fly to Beijing next week!

Dead Macbook

Oh yah. My macbook is dead. My sis accidentally spilled some booze on it and now it won't start up. Sigh.

My baby is at the appleshop and hopefully they can fix it. So no internet access for me, except for what I can access on my phone (gmail, fb and twitter. Waitaminute, that's all I need. Lol.)

So tempted to get an iPhone.

Hanging Out With The Cousins

Had a great time hanging out with my cousins Karen and Darwin today. The last time I saw Karen was probably 8 years ago and Darwin 19 years ago.

We had lunch, walked around some malls and museums, had a couple of beers and vodka and just spent the day exploring the city.

One of great things about spending time with them was how easy it was to just chat about everything under the sun, and just feel a certain closeness even though we're not regularly in touch.

Gotta love my family. *grin*

Mortinis

Had martinis at Morton's with Limin yesterday after work. Rushed down after completing something urgent in the office and was rather thirsty by the time I arrived. He had already finished his first lychee martini, and had one waiting for me, so I picked up the glass and glugged it all down.

Ordered cosmopolitans for round 2, and even before I finished half of the second glass, I was already giggly.

Magic formula for getting high quickly = empty stomach + potent martini + glugging it down in one shot.

Anyway we had a few more drinks after, chatted the entire evening, waylaid the wait staff for steak sandwiches and generally had a good time.

Got back home, showered, chatted with the grasshopper, had instant noodles, went to bed, woke up in the middle of the night, drank water, went back to bed and woke up late. Lol.

Anyway, off to work. And am super late (as usual). My work trips are starting so I actually have to start taking an interest in my work again. Heehee.

Maybe Sleeping So Late Wasn't Such A Good Idea

Had a late day in the office yesterday because my boss and I had to finish some work. By the time we were done discussing and updating the document, it was almost 11pm.

Grabbed a quick bite after and then headed home. Took a shower and then got on skype to chat with the grasshopper for a bit.

Perhaps I'm in denial about my actual age, but I refused to go to bed despite the grasshopper's constant reminders that it was getting late. From 12.30am, to 1am, to 1.30am.. By the time I logged off it was already 2am.

Don't worry! I said. And kissed him goodnight and tucked myself in.

Fast forward to this morning. The 2 alarms that I set went off. And I was still in bed. The only thing that forced me to wake up was a sharp shooting pain in my belly, probably the result of finishing a bag of chips and a pack of gummies for dinner.

So now I'm on my way to work, my eyes barely able to keep on while I sit on the train. I think I'll nap for a bit.

Zzz.

Taxes!

Argh. Was going through my mail and found my notice of tax dunnowat. Aka the letter that tells you how much taxes to pay and when it's due. And i'm 4 days late.

Gah.

Been spending too much this month, especially on the hotels for my aunts and cousins when they come for my sister's wedding. Sigh.

Ah well, it's just money. Can be earned back.

A Sense Of ... Relief?

Heehee just had a poop. Enough said.

*grin*

Relationships

It's funny how it's so easy to snap at the people you're closest to. I've never really figured out why. Is it because we have higher expectations of them?

Perhaps.

Having 9 Hours Of Sleep Is A Pretty Awesome Feeling

Slept from 10pm to 730am this morning. Hadn't been able to get a very good night's sleep ever since I came back from China, and it was only when I was with the grasshopper that I was able to knock out and sleep all the way through. Apparently I started snoring 2 seconds after saying goodnight. Lol. Of course, sleeping at 2am in India = 430am Singapore time, so naturally I'd be knackered. Heehee.

Feels good to finally be fully rested. Not that I have any intention to be more productive at work today (lol!), but at least I'll have energy while not doing anything at all. Dozed off a couple of times at my desk yesterday.

Anyways. I need to find a dress. My sister is getting married in 2 weeks time (or less?) and I gotta find something appropriate for the occasion. Given that my shopping attention span is only 5 minutes, I really should have started the search for something to wear a little over 3 years ago. Heehee. But no worries, I have shopaholic friends like the Fashion Jeannie who will be more than happy to take over this job from me. (I hope!)*grin*

Alright, time to head to work. I'm awfully late. Yikes!

Weekend Away

Spent the weekend with the grasshopper. It was a nice weekend, just hanging out and spending time together. I like how things are progressing between the two of us. *grin*

Managed to sleep through my flight back, but was still tired in the office. Thankfully none of the bosses were in, so I had the chance to nap a bit heehee.

Heading home now. Gonna have a nice long shower, grab a bite, then zzz.

Back In Town!

Wow so many things happened since the last update, I don't even know where to begin! Heehee. Well, we're finally back and made it successfully to Mt Qomolangma base camp (5200m). Whee!

The train ride from Beijing to Lhasa was ok. Too many China-people on the train though. I found them extremely loud, with little to no sense of hygiene. The toilets were disgusting!

Food in Beijing and on the train was also unimpressive. Next time anyone intends to take the 45 hour train ride, I'd suggest preparing lots of food for the trip. We had to survive on cherry tomatoes and instant noodles bought from street vendors. Oh, and bring lots of water too (although these can be purchased).

What they say about the view out the window being like watching NatGeo? Only true for the later half of the train ride (from Xining onwards). But the view was well worth it.

We did the usual spot of sightseeing in Lhasa- temples, palaces, and monasteries. Didn't like the oppressive feel to the city where there were Chinese soldiers on every street corner and patroling the streets. Felt much better once we got out and into the countryside.

The drive out was stunning. Clear blue skies, snow capped mountains, farmers working in the fields, herds of yak and sheep grazing. We camped out for 4 nights, and that in itself was an amazing experience. Pitching tents in biting winds, sleeping in subzero weather, waking up
to hot milk. Awesome.

We didn't do the full trek as intended. Trekked for 5 hours on the first day in super strong and super cold winds, and caved in to the warmth of the land rovers after. Took the cars on the second day too. Heehee. Trekked for 2 hours on the third day and decided to conserve energy for the last stretch on day 4. Heehee.

4km to base camp and 4km back. We took it slow and made it there with ease. It was rather anti-climatic when we got there though. Instead of a sprawling campsite, we were greeted with a military camp and tonnes of Chinese tourists who took the bus. Pfft.

All in all, it was a good trip. :)

The Trip So Far

Greetings from  Beijing! This is my third day here and what an adventure it's been so far (and we haven't even made our way to Tibet!).

Ching and I met early Friday morning to head to the airport for our 6 hour flight to Beijing. The plan was to arrive at 3ish, make our way to the hotel by 5ish and then maybe head on to town and try the famous Peking duck (yeah, even though they are only 12 days old and chock full of steroids). We also wanted to walk around town and try some of the local foods.

Plane ride was pretty smooth- lots of Chinese people going back home. An hour to landing at Beijing, the flight captain comes on the speaker and announces that there is a thunderstorm at Beijing and that he was unable to land there and that we had to land in Wuhan "for an hour or so". WTF?! Ching and I laughed out loud though, Wuhan happens to be the hometown of our massaeuse. LOL.

Anyway, one hour turned to six and it was amazing how much patience we had. Perhaps it was because we were together, and that we were in a holiday mood. We finally made it to Beijing, landed at 10pm and arrived at the hotel at 10.30pm or so. Was too tired to do anything so we showered and slept.

Woke up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel. This hotel caters to local people and the food was so unappetising. We headed out to see the Great Wall (we went to huang hua chang cheng) and then to the Summer Palace (yi hua yuan). I had a horrible heat headache at the end of the day, but I think it was quite worth it. The portion of the wall that we went to was unrestored, so everything was in its original form and all crumbling, but so beautiful.

Checked out of the hotel (it was too far from anything) and checked in to a hotel nearer to town. Had dinner at a restaurant within walking distance and then went back to sleep. Now it's time to head out for breakfast (dou jiang and you tiao!) and then we'll go to the Temple of Heaven (tian tan), Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City. Then we will go to the train station tonight and then 2 days on the train. Whee! Oh man, the getting the train tickets in itself was such a nightmare. Wen had to call and call and call and call, a million times, before we could get our train tickets.

Anyways, time to leave. Will probably check back in when I'm back in Singapore. Taa!

My Holiday Mood Has Officially Started

Stayed back late for a little while to finish up some work. Settled
what needed to be done, and now I'm officially in holiday mood! I have
a couple more emails to send out from home and then I'm ready to
party!

Whee! I'm so excited! (Can you tell? A telltale sign is my excessive
use of exclamation points. Yeeaahh!!!)

Anyway, gonna start packing tomorrow. Also have a massage planned,
trip to the army market and a belated birthday lunch/dinner (can't
remember what we agreed on).

I've got a huge grin on my face and just can't stop smiling. Whee!!!

China and Tibet, here we come! *twitches in excitement*

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

2 More Days In The Office

Gah I have a tonne of work that needs to be done but absolutely no mood to do it. Lol. The story of my life. Heehee.

Got most of my stuff ready, just need to pack it all up and hope they fit into the backpack. And also hope that I packed warmly enough for this trip.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna spend this week stretching and maybe doing a couple more rounds of steps. Don't wanna push too hard physically and risk getting sick. Gotta rest more too.

Apparently we need to drink about 4l of water every day to try to stave off altitude sickness. I wonder how we'll manage that.

Still Counting Down

We fly off this Friday! Whee! Am I packed? Of course not. Lol! But most of the stuff I need, I already have.

Need a day backpack though. Hmm.

Countdown: 4 more days!

Whee! In 4 days this time, I'll be at the airport with Ching, probably getting some breakfast and all excited about heading to Beijing. I'm not packed (no surprises there) and I only took the stuff that I need out to wash. Yikes. I hope they dry in time, but with the crazy hot weather we've been experiencing, it shouldn't be a problem.

I really need to make a list though. Of the stuff I should bring and pack. And then, I should go and pack it. Lol.

Anyway we did our usual walk yesterday and walked from MacRitchie all the way to Bukit Timah hill. The route was a gradual incline, and now my legs are aching. *stretches* But it was a good workout and we discovered a new trail that had a good mix of climbs and descends.

I've got 3 days in the office, because I decided to take Thursday off to pack my stuff. Tonne of stuff to be done before I go for my holiday.

Alright, time to get ready to get to work.

Countdown!

Less than 10 days to our trip! Whee!

And Good Triumphs Over Evil Once Again

The rotten apple has decomposed completely and has finally tendered his resignation with the company. He obviously wasn't happy once all of us wised up to his sneaky ways and guarded against him taking advantage of us and stealing our credit.

I'm tickled. Did he really think he could cruise on by without having to put in a single iota of effort? Lol. The department has claws, you know.

Anyway.

I went to see TKFKMM yesterday at Ruq's place. She has named him Kunyit (I think that's the spelling. It's Malay for tumeric) and he's been getting better under her care. Although he shouldn't be putting too much stress on his leg, he can now run around quite well.

The cat is so manja though. Had him on my lap for almost 3 hours and he was content to just lie there be scratched and massaged. He's got the most adorable face ever, and it was so hard to stop and leave him. *love*

Ah well. Ruq's gonna bring him to the vet to get the bandage changed. It's getting a little tight around the belly, which is good cos that means he's putting on some weight. And the cutest thing ever- if you scratch him under the bandage, he'll start licking you! So. Cute.

Hehehe. Ok, off to work. I scratched my eye yesterday and this morning it's all swollen. But it's ok. Won't miss the rotten apple's last day. Whee!

And The Countdown Begins

Woot! 2 more weeks (well, 15 more days) before we head off to Beijing and then Tibet. How exciting! I think our physical fitness has improved loads since our last trip to Mt Kinabalu, but of course, we need to keep on training to make sure we're fit as fiddles (cannot remember if this is the right term LOL) for the trip.

I really need to take stock of what I have and do not have, and make sure I get everything in order. Minus 15 degrees celcius is no joke!

Anyway, I'm really thankful for the friends I have. Most of the cold stuff I have are borrowed- sleeping bag, windproof jacket with fleece lining, erm.. hmm is that all I have? Does not seem enough. LOL.

Ok moving on. 2 more days to the weekend! Yay!

Early Bird, But It's So Dark

Eeps. I think I'm gonna leave my exercise routines to times that I'm
actually familiar with. Early morning walks in the weekend with the
girls, and night time jogs and climbs up the stairs.

Woke up at 6am this morning with every intention to climb the stairs,
but it was so dark. The lights were turned off and while the sun was
slowly making its way up our horizon,I was feeling too chicken to run
along the stairwell all alone.

Excuses? Yeah maybe (hehe). But I think I'll stick with what I'm
comfortable with for now.

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

18 More Days!

Woohoo! 18 more days before our China/Tibet trip and things are getting more exciting. I've got most of the stuff that I think I'll need- just need to figure our where I'm gonna get my gloves from.

Our training has become more pleasant. I think our stamina has improved heaps since we started our walks, and we can easily walk for hours on end without much effort. We should do the Bukit Timah hill more though.

I have a good feeling about this trip. As much as all our holidays are enjoyable and fun, I think this trip will be epic. Lol.

Of course, with the countdown to our trip, I'm more distracted at work. Heehee. I need to buck up on my personal discipline and start hitting the stairs!

18 more days!

Updates, Or The Lack Thereof

Haven't been blogging very regularly cos there hasn't been much to write about. And in a way, I guess it's a good thing. Life is simple, peaceful and calm.

Weekdays are spent in the office. There's no more office drama, and my days pass by rather pleasantly. I have an awesome boss, great colleagues, a job that I enjoy, and a comfortable working environment. And the one person that I really couldn't stand? He just quit. Whee!

Evenings are spent catching up with friends over dinner. Either that, or I head back home and just spend the evening chatting on msn and surfing the net. On days that I feel hardworking, I'll go downstairs for a jog and climb up the stairs to train for my upcoming China/Tibet trip. More often than not, laziness wins though. Lol.

We've bucked up our training on Saturdays and Sundays, and head to walk along various trails in Singapore. Bukit Timah hill, MacRitchie reservoir, Dairy Farm quarry- slowly but surely we try to cover these places. After a couple of hours of walking, we head for a meal and then back home. By the time we're back, we've still got half a day! Hehehe.

I chat with the grasshopper when I'm at work for a bit, and then we have longer sessions in the evenings just before I go to bed. Marathon skype sessions are usually delegated to the weekends. And of course, we speak on the phone every day too (even though it's a brief call).

I'm happy. Things are going well and I like how there's no drama at this point in my life.

I have several goals that I'm working towards, but I think I'll start on them when I come back from China/Tibet. Hehehe.

Friends

Gotta say I feel really blessed to have the bunch of people in my life. People who are on the same wavelength, who have the same beliefs and seek to grow in the same direction. People I feel absolutely comfortable with, not having to worry about them getting upset or offended over small and seemingly minute matters. People whom I can learn from and who give me advice, without making me feel small or unimportant.

I love that we travel together so much, to the oddest of places, enjoying ourselves and having memorable and awesome experiences. I love that we're not fussy travellers, that we gel so well and compliment each other.

I feel blessed and so thankful.

Ironman2 and Other Stuff

Had a couple of free tickets to a sneak preview of Ironman2 last night. Benny, Fey, Shini, Juncong, Ching and myself went.

Typical storyline but an entertaining movie nonetheless. Wonder why they never let the bad guy win though. Sure, he had bad hair and wasn't a looker, but his weapons were much cooler!

Got back home and spent the next hour or so chatting with the grasshopper. We were supposed to go to Wayanad (in Kerela) over the weekend with some of his friends, but decided driving for 20 hours just to spend one night there wasn't quite worth it.

Apparently one of the girls who tagged along on the trip was a right bitch and everyone has been complaining about her for the past 4 days. Lol. Part of me wished I went so that I could see it for myself, but I'm mostly glad that we didn't go. Imagine being stuck with someone you didn't like when you're on a holiday!

I don't get it. Why do some people do the things that they do? Traveling is meant to be fun, not stressful, and everyone is supposed to enjoy themselves.

Ah well. 28 more days before we leave for China / Tibet. Whee!

It's All Out Of Whack

One of the downsides to coming back after a weekend with the grasshopper is that my eating and sleeping cycle goes completely out of whack.

Although the time difference is only 2.5 hours, the late nights and different meal times just confuse my body and now I can't sleep or sleep at my usual hours.

I'm not too worried though. If all it takes is 3 days to screw everything up, all it'll take is 3 days to get everything back to normal. Hehehe.

Ah well, I'd gladly screw up my sleeping cycle anyways. The weekend was great, and like the grasshopper said, we have fun even when doing nothing.

Anyway, I bought the iptv dongle for him and it worked beautifully. I was a little worried because it didn't work in my office laptop, but I guess it's because we have all sorts of firewalls and security whatnots set up. A billion channels and movies and dramas, all waiting to be watched. The grasshopper will never leave the house any more! Lol.

Alright, time to head to the office. 3 more days to the weekend. Whee!

Time Goes Zooming By

I'm not sure how I did it, but my peak period is already over. Heeheehee. A huge bulk of my interviews are already complete and most of the calls have already been done.

This is much better than the same period last year where my peak period stretched all the way to mid-end May. Whee!

Anyway lunch with Yvonne today and shopping with Chui Hua after. Yep, I'm taking the afternoon off. *grin*

Training!

Gotta love my friends. It's about 5 weeks to the Tibet trip and recently when I told Chui Hua and Claire about it, they grilled me on how well prepared I was.

'Base camp is no joke!' was a phrase that was repeated many, many times during that chat. They gave me plenty of advice on what I needed to bring (warm windproof clothes, chocolate bars for energy etc etc) and how much training I needed to do (run up a 20 storey flat ten times!).

Knowing that I'd probably just nod and agree and slack off, the girls have now made plans to train with me. *heart* On top of the Japanese dinner at Claire's favourite restaurant, and on top of the let's get Chui Hua drunk session, we're going to walk along the Southern Ridges- all 15km or so of it.

How hard can it be? As long as you have good company, a 4 hour walk is really nothing. Hehehe.

Well, now to make sure I have enough clothes to keep me warm in -15degree weather.

Ring, Ring!

I've been brought back to my teenage days of yakking on the phone nonstop. Ever since I discovered that international calls could be so much more affordable with free idd, I've been speaking with the grasshopper on the phone almost every day.

Most days it's just a simple wake up (hence my latest nickname: snooze button), and other times we chat on the phone for much longer. Combine that with instant messaging and skype, and we're actually in touch with each other as much as, if not more than, most couples.

Of course, the only difference is that we're in different countries, but with cheap budget air tickets, this long distance relationship really ain't *that* tough to maintain.

I'm happy and thankful. *grin*

Mid April

I'm into my second week of peak peak period and I must say that everything seems to be settling pretty nicely and that we've got a good momentum going on. My temps have a better idea of what to do, and things are running pretty smoothly with minimal fuss on my end.

*grin* Anyway my tickle-word of the day is: manscaping. Lolololololol.

Monkeys!

We decided to finally go to the Bukit Timah Hill for a climb yesterday morning. Picked Wen and Ching up on my way there, and met Jeanne at the carpark.

As per all our Sunday morning jaunts, Ching bought some coffee and bao for breakfast, so we'd have some fuel before setting off. I was innocently standing there with Wen, and grabbed a bao from the plastic bag that Ching was carrying and had already peeled off the paper skin, when I noticed two monkeys (macaques?) STALKING me and greedily eyeing my bao.

In that split second I had to decide what to do. Run? What if they chased after me? Try to hold the bao away from them? What of they attacked and tried to grab the bao out of my hands? Stuff the bao into my mouth? What if they attacked and gouged the bao out of my mouth?

So I did what any normal person would do. I screamed and threw the bao at them. It was in self defense!

Soon after the monkeys gleefully ran off with their loot, we saw families of monkeys eyeing us, as if to check out if we had more food. Omg.

While still in shock, an elderly park warden came up to us and pointed to the 'Do Not Feed The Monkeys' sign. He said had he not witnessed us being frightened and throwing the bao as a reaction, he'd have to take down our particulars and that the consequences would be very bad. He told us that the monkeys were human beings too, with emotions and that we had to treat them like children. Er ok. He even pointed out a mating pair of monkeys to prove how similar they were to us.

Anyway we asked what the correct reaction should have been, and all he could say was that we should have eaten before heading there. Ok. Doesn't answer my question though. (According to Reuben, you just walk away with your bao. He also says I have no balls now. It's SELF DEFENSE!)

We started the climb up and the initial part was really steep but it was still quite manageable. 15 minutes into the climb and we were at the summit already. Wtf? It was so anti-climatic! We walked back down, decided to explore some of the other paths for another hour or so then headed off to have breakfast.

Yay Me!

This time last year, I woke up for the first time as a divorced woman.

Amazing how fast time has passed and how many things and changes I've had in my life since.

Life is good. :D

Teeheehee

I know I'm not supposed to feel gleeful over negative events or situations but I just realised that an initiative that we spent lots of money on last year was a giant flop.

Despite the large amounts of money that was poured into this initiative, the returns were disappointing. Not only did numbers not increase, they went down! Lol.

Of course the blame will somehow trickle down, but who cares. Teeheehee.

My Eyebags! They Be Very Large!

Waaaah! My eyebags! They be very large! :(

Ah well.

I had a pleasant evening last night having dinner at Khansama with Chui Hua and Claire. Got back home at about 11pm (which is *way* past my supposed bedtime now). Chatted with the grasshopper online- a combination of talking on skype and on the phone (free idd calls rock!). Got off the line at almost 1am, and then drifted off to sleep.

It's nice to be able to talk endlessly about everything and anything- I'm sure the nonsense could have gone on for much longer if I didn't have to wake up early. A mutual friend commented that things between us seemed so effortless, and that's the way things are supposed to be, no?

I'm not saying that everything is easy peasy and that zero effort is required to make things work. Of course you need to make things work- the phone calls, making time for each other on skype, the trips to visit each other, being understanding when trips have always been one way so far (hiak hiak, yes, this is a dig.).

But I guess my point is, hmm do I even have a point? *thinks* Hmm. I guess what I'm trying to say is, even though our late night chats leave me with giant eyebags, it's all worth it. Lol. (No, I didn't have a point. It's too early in the morning! Lol.)

Meeting New People

Had dinner with Chui Hua today at Khansama. She asked another friend, Claire, along and we met up to have our fill of indian food and drink.

For three gals we ordered ahelluvalot of food: pani puri, aloo tikki, palak paneer, something kofta, raita, and a naan basket. It was waay too much, but oh-so-delicious.

Anyway, it was my first time meeting Claire and I have to say, it's been a long time since I met someone new. It's always easier to hang out with people you're comfortable with, but it's so refreshing to get a new perspective on things.

Tonight was a blast. I'm glad we got along and we were laughing and talking and having a good time. And between the two of us, we're already planning Chui Hua's debut drunken session- in a hotel room in Sentosa and a bottle (or two) of Grey Goose no less! Lol.

Need Sleep

It's only been three days of going to the office early and already I'm exhausted. Waking up so early every day is just so tiring. *yawn*

But I'm glad my hours aren't as long as last year. At least my days are longer than 12 hours, compared to the 14 hours we were pulling the last round.

I've been trying to sleep earlier, but the body is just used to sleeping late. I lie in bed tossing and turning and only end up falling asleep a few hours later. Sian ah, but what to do?

Anyway need to pick up on the exercise!!! Well, maybe not. Apparently we can hire a yak on our way up. Hmmm I've never ridden on a yak. Lol.

It's April, My Peak Period Has Started And It's Unnatural To Be Up So Early

I'm on my way to work. I woke up at 6ish, snoozed all the way till it was 5 min to 7, woke up and got ready and rushed out of the house. Gah. So early.

Now I'm one stop away from the office and on normal days, I'd be pressing the snooze button at home for the first time. Zzz.

Anyway this will pass. The long days, the 6 day weeks. Having done all this for one round last year means I'm better prepared this time and know what to expect. I also have 2 teams, which means I can shift my manpower around. Which means, I don't have tay back *too* late to finish all my reports and stuff.

Am in an OK mood today. Hope it'll improve once I get my coffee. Also I need to figure out what cold clothes I should get -5degC weather. Hello, base camp!

16x2

Feel so proud of myself. Climbed up the flight of stairs this evening, all 16 storeys, and then went back down and climbed up again. So don't say I'm not training for base camp hor.

LGG

Since Wen is blogging about me now, I thought I'd do the same and blog about her. Except mine isn't so cheem and I'm lying on my side and typing with one hand. I suspect I'll finish this entry before she does though. Lol.

Can't imagine it's been 6 years since I met Wen. From being my boss, three times over, to now msn buddy/ travel companion/ fellow sari-wearing Indian housewife in India/ BFF. (Uh oh, my hand tired liao.)

Ok I think I write in point form. 

- she rocks

- anyone would be lucky to have her as a friend

- amazing the nonsense that comes out of our mouths when we are together

- supportive through tough times

- willing partner to all my crazy ideas

Hand. Pain. Continue another time. But Wen, I love you. Thanks for being such an awesome friend. *gush*

Not Getting Any Younger, You Know

Gah. I am so tired. Met up with LGG last night and she was out with Johnny and his new colleague, Kennedy. Ching and Alfred joined us later as well.

3 jugs of margaritas later, we were talking about going to KTVs, 'tea parties', dancing girls at Indian weddings, and Johnny was going around from table to table telling everyone that he was a bitch and a slut. Lol.

Was back home by 11pm and conked out. Woke up at about 3 and had some food, then went back to bed at about 5.

Feeling knackered now and I think I've got a pinched nerve on my left shoulder blade. Ugh.

It's Gonna Be Legend-... Wait For It... -Dary!

Was chatting with the grasshopper yesterday and ended up talking about doing a roadtrip some time next year. He's always wanted to do a cross country bike trip but apparently life got in the way, and now he's lamenting the loss of his prime years. Lol.

As always, I was keen on the idea and we started researching countries as potential destinations. Our criteria was that the place had to be generally safe, the scenery breathtaking and the people friendly. After googling about for a bit, we decided that New Zealand sounded like the right place.

Woot!

So now we've got a little more than a year and a half to plan and start saving up. I'm going to be a biker chick!

Back From Bali!

Woot! I'm back from Bali, and like all holidays, I had an awesome time. What could go wrong when all you do is eat, sleep, drink, and laze around?

Had some rather interesting firsts during the trip. First time to Bali, first time trying a shake, first time in a gay club.

I think I'm a fan of gay clubs now. It was so liberating to be able to dance and smile at people without having to worry about anyone who is going to try to pick you up, or grope your ass. Whee! And where else can you get a bunch of men dance along to Barbie Girl? Lol and Single Ladies too. *grin*

Am glad to be back though. (Ok ok, I ran out of money, that's why.) Headed to the office after I landed, got some work done (why!) and then met Ching for dinner after. Went to bed early and here I am right now.

8 more weeks to Tibet!

To Do List - Update

Hahahaha it takes me a really long time to clear my To Do List huh.

1. Backup stuff on macbook.
2. Read up on cheap massage places in Bali.
3. Change money.

Let's see. So far I've only updated stuff on my macbook. And the Bali trip is tomorrow!

Someone On The Train Smells Like A Car Freshener

..you know, that fake pine scent? Eww. Anyways, the clock turned to 5.45pm and all of us left the office in a flash.

I'm now on my way back home and have had a fairly interesting evening yesterday and afternoon today. Today is the day of the revealing, where the grasshopper tells his folks about me. Yep, everything about me, even down to the dirty little details of my divorce and *gasp* age.

It's going ok so far. His mom just cautioned that we might be rushing things (what exactly we might be rushing, I don't know), and that we ought to take the time to really get to know each other before deciding on committing to a lifetime together (a lesson I have already learnt and a mistake I care not to repeat again).

He's told her a summarised and somewhat censored version of how we met, they know I'm older, but he's yet to drop the bomb on my marital status. I'm not too sure how they are going to take this information, but I hope it's openly and without any judgement.

Ah well.

His mom wants me to call her, and I'm not quite sure what to expect or how I should behave. Lol. I'm asking him to repropose a Skype session instead, with him around just in case. Methinks that might be better (yes, I'm worried about getting a grilling from her).

If she's agreeable, we'd do the Skype chat tonight because my macbook is going to the shop tomorrow. Let's see how that goes. :D

My Brain Works In Mysterious Ways

What I said to LGG: I think I'll go skip.
What I actually did: Take off contact lens.

Now I can't see. How to skip like that?

So Much For Having A To Do List

I had 3 simple items on my To Do List today.

1. Backup stuff on mackbook.
2. Read up on cheap massage places in Bali.
3. Change money.

Number of items I completed on that To Do List? Zero. LOL.

Spent the day in the office doing nothing much. Sent out a couple of emails. Made a few phone calls. And then I decided to take a couple of hours off so I could come back home and read a couple more emails and make a couple more calls. (Why do we need to go to the office?)

It's 7pm. I've had my dinner. Chatting with the grasshopper and waiting for my food to digest before I go for a jog at 9pm.

Bali, Baby!

Woot! How exciting! 3 more working days and we'll be off to Bali for 4 days of eating, drinking and lazing around. Shiok.

Anyway, despite it starting to get busy on the office and peak period starting, I'm not as kan cheong as I was last year and I think my interviews will be managed much better and smoother this time. I'm aiming for less late nights and less weekends. *grin*

I should be getting my interview schedule soon and will pretty much know how many weekends I'll need to sacrifice. Hehehe.

Anyways, I'll probably send in my macbook to the shops while I'm in Bali. They need to send it in for diagnosis, cos according to the guy at the apple center, whatever is happening to my macbook is just weird. Lol.

To do today: backup stuff on mackbook. Read up on cheap massage places in Bali. Change money?

Cutting Down

The grasshopper and I have an agreement. I'll cut down on my meat and booze intake, and he'll cut down on smoking.

It's been sightly over a week, and I must say it isn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Well, actually I didn't really think it'd be all that hard, cos I'm cutting down, not cutting out. My problem was just that I kept forgetting that I was supposed to be cutting down.

The problem was solved when the grasshopper suggested putting a daily reminder on my phone- the one thing that I always have by my side. So i did that. Every day at 1155am (just before lunch), my phone beeps and a reminder that says DON'T EAT MEAT comes up. Lol.

And of course, it helps that the one person I hang out with the most (LGG) is vegetarian.

So I guess I have to say I'm doing so far so good. And it's interesting, once you start paying attention to what you put in your mouth and start making more conscious food choices. Hehehe.

White Blood Cells, Painkillers And A Lot Of Sleep

Woke up yesterday morning with a headache that seemed to go all the way down to my neck. By the time I got to the office, I was feverish and feeling light headed.

Couldn't go home early because I had a seminar, but went home immediately after and hit the sack. Took some painkillers, chatted a bit with the grasshopper, then slept.

Fever finally broke and I feel much better already. Props to my white blood cells (good job, guys!) and the painkillers. Hehehe.

3D Glasses and Me

Watched Alice in Wonderland with the girls last night. We only confirmed watching the movie in the afternoon and I was too lazy (ok, I forgot) to change to my contact lenses.

Sat down and put the 3D glasses on, in front of my spectacles. What I hadn't counted on was how short and flat my nose was, there wasn't enough to hold the 3D glasses in place!

They were heavy too, and kept pressing down on my nose, making it hard for me to breathe. Pfft.

Anyway, I spent the entire movie holding up the 3D glasses and balancing it on my nose just so. Lol. The movie was OK, nothing to shout about, and I don't think watching it in 3D was that much of a big deal.

Have a headache today though. :(

In A Good Place

I take stock of my life right now, and I'm so thankful for everything that I've got today.

Family. Friends. Work. Relationships. Travels. Finances. Love. Self.

:)

Run, Bona, Run!

Wah what a healthy 2 days it's been. Decided to go for a quick jog around the block, seeing how it's been such a long time since I did any running.

Took it slow and managed 1 3/4 rounds around the block, which I reckon is about 3+ km, which took me about 20something minutes to complete. Walked up all 16 flights of steps too, in preparation for our June trip to TIbet. Woot!

Met up with Jinfu after work today to jog. We made plans yonks ago to go for a run and I was so tempted to cancel on him because my legs were aching some due to the earlier run and climb.

Went anyway and I'm glad I did, even though I had to stop and walk after about 4km of the route. It was very scenic running along the river, although passing the restaurants and pubs were rather distracting. Lol.

My legs feel like jelly now and I wish I could get a full body massage, but I'm heading home. Quick meal, shower, and then to bed. Heehee.

Anyway, on a somewhat related note, I promised the grasshopper I'd cut down on my meat intake. Apparently he wants me to live for a long, long time and cutting meat and booze is the way to go. Lol. I've made him promise to cut down on the smoking in return too. Haha.

It's been 2 meat free days. Unless I have meat for dinner. Lol.

Popiah!

Finally got to satisfy my craving for popiah, not once but twice yesterday! So pleased.

Had lunch with Hera yesterday and she brought me to QiJi at Funan. One thing I really ought to remember more often is not to order when I'm hungry cos I often tend to overorder my food. Lol. So I had 2 popiah, 1 plate of chee cheong fun and 2 otah. Lol.

The popiah wasn't too bad but it wasn't homemade. I took the afternoon off and headed to Hair Mechanics and rebonded my hair again. Bianca was there and I was surprised she remembered my name because the last time I went there was a year ago!

Got a trim, rebonded my roots and did some leave in treatment thing. All for a hefty price of $318. *coughchokefaint* The trim was $48, the rebonding $230 and the treatment $40. *coughchokefaint*

This is why I only get my hair done once a year. Lol.

But with a neat hairdo on my head, I made my way to LGG's place and had homemade popiah. No hellos when I stepped in her house, just 'Let's eat'.

I think I had 3 popiahs, 2 half-popiahs (no skin, just the fillings wrapped with the lettuce leaf) and several spoonfuls of filling (no skin, no lettuce leaf). It was GOOD.

Topped off our meal with some jelly and chng tng and headed up to chit chat, plan our Tibet trip and just laze around. Hehehe.

I feel full just thinking about how much we ate. Lol.

Got home, chatted with the grasshopper for a bit and then finished reading my book and went to bed.

Bimbo Post Alert

I'm bored of my hair. I had it rebonded some time in April or May last year, and now it's growing out. I've never been the sort to go for trims and such regularly, so the last time I had my hair trimmed was probably some time in November last year.

Now I don't know what to do with it. Sure, I could chop off a few inches, but that would leave wavy roots and straight ends. A bit odd, no? At least the length and weight of my rebonded hair 'pulls' the wavy hair straight.

Perm? I like the natural waves in my hair and I'm not too keen about having to maintain permed hair. Twirling my hair between my fingers? No thanks.

I could always colour or add highlights, since I've had black hair for quite a while now. Not too sure what colour to go for though. Lol. Decisions, decisions!

So I'm bored with my hair and have no clue what to do with it. How like that?

The Weekend

Spent the weekend with the grasshopper. It was a weekend filled with laughter, lots of nonsensical talk, chillin' and just hanging out.

- made mac and cheese from scratch. Very yummy but can't eat too much before you start feeling jelat jelak.

- the grasshopper made egg battered shrimp. Forgot the breadcrumbs but improvised using flour and it was still very good.

- cooking together = fun :)

- ordered mutton briyani. So tasty but so spicy. I couldn't eat much.

- drank 2 bottles of wine and chilled at home listening to music. Had a shot of absinthe too.

- made sunny side up eggs with the silicon molds i brought over! Heart shaped, train shaped and chicken shaped. So cute.

- went out and ate chaat. Need i say more? *slurp*

- stocked up on my lip balm, bought the foot stone and bought 2 books.

- cuddling = very, very nice.

Anyway, I got in to the office early and thought I'd walk around and grab breakfast. Am sitting at the MacDonald's near the office, eating a big breakfast meal. *burp*

Busy week ahead. And then, Bali!

Bored

At work, but my laptop is down and I can't connect to the internet. Going to buy lunch for a couple of kids who helped me host a group of students on very short notice.

Have I mentioned I'm bored? And sleepy. And hungry too. All I had was a glass of milk this morning. And a cup of coffee. (No wonder I'm hungry).

On a brighter note, 3 1/2 more days to the weekend! Whee!

Friendship First

The grasshopper reminded me of something while we were chatting last night. We were having a little discussion about something and he said, 'Aren't boyfriends and girlfriends friends first before anything else?'. And it made me think.

It's so easy to take your loved ones for granted. To yell at them when you're in a foul mood, to pick on them and generally dump on them just because they are there. I look at the friendships that I have with the girls around me, and I don't think I've ever had a yelling match with LGG or Ching or any of my close friends. Sure, there were definitely times where we got annoyed with each other, but we've never actually fought. Why can't it be the same with the relationships we have with our partners?

It's much easier said than done, of course. But still, it's something to think about and try to work on.

My Day In Five Sentences

This is a cute idea from the blog, passport in my pocket. She writes about her day in five sentences. Here's mine. Lol.

> Woke up at 7am and walked for 2 hours at the Tree Top Walk with Ching.
> Had a yummy breakfast (eggs royale!) at the Green Room after.
> Headed home, lazed in bed, and finished reading James Patterson's 1st to Die.
> Snacked on edamame beans while chatting with the grasshopper on Skype.
> Gonna surf the net for a bit more before starting on a new book to read.

:)

Something To Look Forward To

Weekend is almost here! Yay!

The Aftermath

So much for my enthusiasm doing 100 squats yesterday. Woke up this morning and had to hobble to the bathroom.

My legs. Oh how they hurt.

I'm supposed to go for yoga today but I don't know if I can. I wonder if it'll be easier to try walking on the treadmill instead. Hmm.

Anyway we (LGG, Ching and I) have decided to go jogging every Sunday at Bishan Park. We'll meet in the morning and have a jog around the park and then have breakfast at that place that we like. Cos you know, one always needs some motivation to get moving. Lol.

Feeling sleepy and have a slight headache now. Finally dozed off at 4ish and before I knew it, my alarm clock was ringing. Didn't get much (if any) deep sleep.

Thankfully we're already mid-week. Hehehe 3 more days to the weekend!

Time For A Little Bit Of Self Praise

Since I can't sleep, I decided to read some of my old blog entries, and I must say that I'm quite funny. Hehehehe.

It's nice to look back at some of the posts I've written, and remember the silly things that made my day.

Anyway, I'm tempted to whip out my macbook and start watching some videos. Maybe I will.

It's All Wonky

Ah, one of the downsides to having a (super) long weekend is that you end up getting used to sleeping late and waking up after 12 hours of sleep. In other words, ones sleeping cycle gets screwed up big time.

It's now 2am and I'm wide awake. I've tried everything I can think of to help me sleep- read a book, put on some lavender scent, drink warm water (too lazy to heat up the milk) but my mind is still alert and body pumped. Even the 100 squats that I did earlier in the evening doesn't seem to tire me out. (Unless it's because I did squats that's why I can't sleep? Hmm.)

Had a lovely day out with LGG and Ching today. Went to the temple and I burnt one of the curly incense cos the guy who was writing names had beautiful handwriting and I wanted to see him write my name. Lol.

Grabbed lunch at Sakae Sushi at Icon, had coffee (oh no wonder I'm still up!!!) at Tom n Tom's, bought lottery tickets, walked to Chinatown, then walked to Clarke Quay, had dinner at The Tapas Tree, then walked around Meidi-ya. An awesome day just eating, chatting and doing absolutely nothing.

Hmm now I know why I'm still so wide awake. Lol. Totally forgot about the 2 cups of coffee I had just now. Yikes.

CNY Greetings

Haha I didn't realise I've already done the mandatory "Gong Xi Fa Cai" post and was going to do it, but since it's already been done, I guess I'll have to blog about something else. *grin*

This is my 6th day on "holiday". Was actually on MC on Thursday and Friday, thanks to an unexpected topshell (yes, very specific) allergy that left me with congested lungs and a really swollen puffy face. I was taking pictures all day and sending them to everyone I knew- it wasn't a pretty sight. Recovered by Friday afternoon and met Wen and Ching for Turkish food at Far East Plaza and then martinis at Mezzanine.

All of us got so sloshed that night- I think I easily had 8 martinis or so. But they were good, so good. Got back home, broke a glass, had some noodles, threw up, spoke to my dad in Hokkien (probably the most hilarious part of the evening), told my dad I was not drunk, and chatted with the grasshopper till I pretty much sobered up.

Spent Saturday in recovery mode, lazing in bed watching How I Met Your Mother and just bumming around. Had our reunion dinner, sang songs on the KTV and struggled to stay up for as long as possible (something about kids having to stay up for parents' longevity or something). Stayed in most of Sunday, watching more of How I Met Your Mother and finally got up and showered and put on a new dress and enjoyed a lovely lo hei (we did it twice lol) and dinner with the relatives. Played some blackjack, drank lots of choya and then crashed.

Woke up yesterday to a call from Wen and then met up with her at the supermarket. The queues were too long so we decided to ditch plans to make tom yum soup and headed back to her place to chill and stuff ourselves silly. We made egg muffins, drank the lychee martinis, ate the lychees that had been stewing in vodka for over a week, cooked japanese curry, ate that, ate chips, drank homemade mulled wine (a winner) and ate cheese and crackers. A non-stop eating fest for over 8 hours.

Finally watched Goodfellas and then don't know how many episodes of Gilmore Girls. By the time I left her place, I was thisclose to exploding and so so so so so full.

Slept early, which explains why I'm up so early this morning (was up at 4.45am haha). Probably going to go back to sleep after I'm done with this. :)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

And so we usher in the year of the Tiger. Spent all of yesterday watching "How I Met Your Mother" and singing karaoke with my mom. Our reunion dinner was a simple affair - we had chicken and fish maw soup, steamed fish, steamed prawns and (no vegetable dish? wow) rice. Caught the CNY show on tv and counted down to the new year, and then continued listening to them sing CNY songs for about 5 minutes before we got a bit sick of it. Lol.

Anyway, Gong Xi Fa Cai and Wan Shi Ru Yi to everyone! I'd write in Chinese but don't have the necessary software. Hehehe. May the year be filled with blessings of wealth, happiness, joy, loe and success!

It Runs In The Family

Ever noticed how sometimes I say something that just seems like I wasn't listening to the previous conversation? I guess it runs in the family.

Me: Wow, it's already 9 Feb. Oh and yesterday was SY's birthday.

Mom: Her birthday is on the 6th huh.

Me: ???

The Grasshopper and I

I just finished chatting with the grasshopper. We had a fight earlier in the evening and he messaged to apologise and we talked about why he got upset, clarified some stuff, and now I feel much better. :)

I'm so glad that we are able to talk about issues that bug us, and being in totally different countries actually help a lot as we're a lot more calm and rationale online than we probably would be face to face.

It's still early to see how things will pan out for us, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying things the way they are and I'm liking it very much. *grin*

One Month Down, Eleven More To Go

We're already in February, where did January disappear to?

Anyway, apparently it's 立春 today, or the first day of spring according to the lunar new year. Was chatting with LGG who said that we had to start the lunar new year on a happy and positive note.

And so we planned out what we were going to do tomorrow and so far everything seems awesome. Woot!

Happy days!

Has It Already Been One Month?

Omg. We're already a month into 2010. How fast time flies! (I keep saying this, but it's true. Lol.)

Work has been piling up and the pace in the office has picked up quite considerably. It's all good though, the projects and campaigns that I've been working on are really interesting and the people that I've been working with have mostly been quite fun.

Anyway, I did a spot of spring cleaning in the office this week and my desk is so much cleaner and neater now. It doesn't seem to last very long though. Heehee.

Now to work on the mess in my bedroom. *groan*

Lessons From The Wise

Ki was accusing me of keeping all the valuable lessons that my colleague shared with me, and hoarding all the wisdom he imparted. Lol. Well, most of the stuff he told me was very specific to my work, but here are some general things he said that's worth thinking about.

1. Office politics. No matter how much you avoid it, as long as there are people, there will *always* be politics. You can't hide from it.

2. It's nice to be helpful and all, but one must *always* weigh the pros and cons of doing so. Don't help someone out if it means giving less attention to something you ought to be focusing on. Help only when you really have extra time / resources to spare.

3. Make sure that you cover your ass in everything you do.

4. Always do the best you can in whatever job that's been given to you so that people know that you're giving it your all. Even if you make a mistake or weren't the best person ever employed to do it, you can't fault someone who is doing their best and wanting to learn how to do it better.

I'm sure there are more but I'm gonna nap. Heehee.

Two Too Many

Had to be in the office really early yesterday and decided to have not one, but two cups of coffee to wake me up.

Happily slurped up my caffeine laden beverage but somehow it didn't seem to work and I was feeling lehargic and sleepy the whole day.

Well, the timing is certainly off, but guess what's kicking in now and who's wide awake? Argh.

Please Do Not Lean Against The Door, Thank You

I'm on my way to work and not feeling as pumped about it as I think I should. Well, not like how I felt when I wrote the previous blog entry, at least.

Perhaps it's cos I'm headed to the office more than an hour earlier than I usually do, perhaps it's cos I've not had anything to do, or perhaps it's cos my body is still recovering from a recent bout of flu. Who knows.

Had an interesting chat with a colleague yesterday about work and office politics. He was giving me advice about how to protect myself at the workplace and how I seemed to be rather naive about certain things. He had a very different perspective, coming from a different department, and really gave me a lot to think about.

Finished up yesterday at 7pm and even though it was 'late' by my office standards, I couldn't help but be thankful that I left the office while it was still light. I've had far too many late night OTs and that just made me appreciate how lucky I am now.

Anyway, on the way to the office and for some reason there is an announcement at every station not to lean against the train door. Lol.

Peak Period Is Here!

After half a year of ambling along and not having to rush for deadlines, my peak period is finally here. Suddenly I'm always out for (real) meetings, rushing from place to place, going for photoshoots, video filming, proof reading brochures, checking colour proofs, approving ads, giving presentations, taking part in career fairs and organising mock seminars. My email inbox has a constant stream of new messages and my phone is ringing off the hook.

It's fun though and that's what I like about my job. I have a balance of lull and peak period, putting in my long hours now and traveling in the second half of the year. I enjoy what I do and the people I work with, and it's no wonder that we have such a large number of long service awards recipients in the company.

As I rush (haha ok, not really. I'm only going as fast as the mrt can take me) to the office and think about the upcoming days, I can't help but be thankful for the entire string of events that have led me to where I am today.

I'm in a good mood and I like it.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Went to visit Shiny and her 2 week old baby (aka Baby lol) last night after work.

And like all babies, Baby was so tiny and cute. All he had to do was lie there asleep and my heart started melting and biological clock start ticking. Tick tick tick tick tick.

Went back home and was chatting to LGG. Told her about the ticking and she told me what Junie said to her when her clock started ticking too- got baby how to go Tibet?

Lol.

Making Resolutions

Hmm ok I know I said that I didn't make any resolutions for the new year, and that I was happy and content to just wish every well. I lied. About the not making resolutions bit, I mean.

So I sort of made 2 resolutions this year. One was to cut down on my drinking. The idea was to allow myself to have one drinking session a week on weekdays, and weekends were free for all (hello, champagne brunch!).

I've been able to keep to this resolution so far. The only boozing I've done so far since coming back from my holiday (heehee yes, I'm conveniently not counting that absinthe filled evening) was the champagne brunch and fake meeting at Harry's. Then again, I'm pretty sure the only reason my drinking has cut down is because LGG hasn't been in town. Hmm. Lol.

Anyway, the second resolution was to go to bed by 11pm every night (Fridays and Saturdays not included) in a bid to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep at night.

Unfortunately with the difference in time zone between here and where the grasshopper is, it's been a little tough keeping to the bedtime curfew of 11pm. Plus we've now got video-chat (skype = love) and our conversations have been getting longer and longer. Eeks!

Had supper on Sunday night at Jalan Kayu with my brother and sister, so by the time we got back and I went to bed it was already 1ish. Then I can't remember what was up on Monday night but I eventually went to bed at 2ish. Chatted with the grasshopper till 1ish but was reading till almost half 3.

So much for sleeping at 11pm huh. Yikes.

Anyway, LGG has been complaining that she's been boozing even more heavily than usual ever since she resolved to cut down on the drink. And I've been going to bed later than normal as well. Hmm maybe it's a sign that we aren't meant to make (and keep) resolutions? Lol.

Ah well. 2010 is going to be an awesome year, no matter what. At the end of the day, that's all that matters, whether we stumble into bed drunk at 3am or not. Hee.