punkrockclassic

2011-12-11T08:32:00.001+08:00

The most miserable part of all is having to work less than 24 hours after getting back from holiday. On a Sunday morning at that. It's reality smacking you hard on the back of the head, yelling "OEI". Seriously need to start taking a day off each time I get back from overseas. Or two. It's too miserable. And still feeling giddy. Worst of all, it's not that I was "rostered" to work... kena arrowed to do this shizz... how much more miserable can it get??? Seriously no luck at all.

SIGH.

just got back, and feeling like shit. really...

2011-12-10T23:36:00.001+08:00

Touched down Singapore less than 2 hours ago... still have not recovered from food poisoning that affected my entire family while we were on holiday in Bandung. When I got back, I got a huge shock from my $5000++ credit card bill. Like seriously wtf??? My spending on my Citibank cards amounted to only abt $300; the rest was credited by a hijacker who happily paid for his bills, phonecalls etc using my card number. I hope you get your hands cut off for trying to steal. Sigh. So now I have print out 7 dispute letters to send to Citibank. Seriousllyyyyyy... I should just reduce my credit limit to 1k to prevent such nonsense.

Lesson learnt... never place online orders at work.. HURR.

So now, not only do I have to worry about my bloated credit card bill, and getting the dispute letters to Citibank before the 14day deadline (srsly), I have a throbbing headache (which is an indicator of either motion sickness or that I am srsly gonna puke) and I have a stupid work presentation I am minimally prepared for... AND my Korean exam is on Monday. How to study when I'm already stressed and having a headache???

SHITTIEST WEEKEND EVER. SIGH.

lucerne-tainly!

2011-12-03T23:34:00.000+08:00

New beauty buys! weehee! Loves loves loves travel versions because they're so totally cute, and a great way to try new products. But don't let these fool you; I spent about 100bucks on all these.. :s

Biotherm's Skin Perfection toner & moisturizer. Because I want perfect skin! I like the smell of Biotherm moisturizers, it's very soothing (to me, at least). Loves travel size skincare, I have so many different brands at home :S

Read good reviews of Estee Lauder's Hydrationist moisturizer, so thought I'd give it a try too!

Mini perfumes. Cute or what! I've always to get the CK One... I lovelovelove the smell, so I got the mini bottle to try. How cute is that?? It's smaller than a nail polish bottle. The other one is Emporio Armani Diamonds For Men. Not for me of course...

I could not resist buying OPI nail polish laaa since it's cheaper online than buying from local stores. I got Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous which is a gorgeous glittery gunmetal shade. Lovely!

Gift from the boy. Yey to trying out Biotherm skincare hehe :)

Set contains a fullsize moisturizer, a 50ml cleanser and 100ml toner. Awesome or whhats... thank you!

Happyhappy girl to try new beauty stuff :)

painting the town red on friday

2011-11-26T01:05:00.001+08:00

Such a good Friday! I took some time off from work so that I could pay a visit to the hair salon. Decided it was time to go back to my roots - red highlights bebeh!

before cut/color/wash/blowdry

picking my red poison. I liked the middle color, but I went for the darkest... of course. Hard for the public to take you seriously if you have flaming red hair right?

Yey red highlights! I feel renewed wahahaha

Really happy with my hair, even tho the dye job isn't so great (the color only really shows on one side of my hair wth?) As we were at 313@ Somerset, decided to have dinner there as well. I had never eaten at F.I.S.H so we decided to try that restaurant.

they had buffet salad inlcuded for mains... ala Earle's Swensen's eh... but not as good tho and not as much variety.

We had the bruchetta with smoked salmon. The bread was awesome... it was very soft even tho it had gone in the oven. Nice.

The boy ordered what I think is called the "Mojito". Basically it's lime juice and some leaves inside (I believe they're supposed to be mint.. but who knows right?)

His. Codfish with cheese.

Mine. Baked salmon with mushroom cream. Tastes just like heaven. The salmon was tender and melts in your mouth and the sauce was tasty too. LOVES.

It was both our first time, and we had a great experience with great food and good service from the staff. It didn't come cheap of course, but it's a nice change from the usual meals at fast-food/foodcourt.

Finally had a movie date after a LONG time. Has it been months since I last watched a movie at the cinema? It's crazy, work is... but anyway, we went to catch Puss In Boots! I lovelovelove my kitties, especially with those with big round eyes!

YESSS, Puss in Boots from Shrek has his own movie now... and this one incorporated famous children book characters such as Humpty Dumpty (who looks mega evil with his thin minah eyebrows), Jack from Jack & The Beanstalk (potrayed by an old guy??? I thought Jack was supposed to be a kid), the golden goose which was so cute looking crazy, and a play on Jack & Jill, who were supposed to be the evil characters. Somehow, it felt like this was the funny parody of Antonio Banderas' Zorro. Felt the storyline wasn't as good as Shrek, but I love my Puss in Boots anyway! :) Good end to my Friday... from now on, I am living my weekends with minimum stress, and living no room to think about work! Booyaaa!

this is why I don't do events

2011-11-20T22:03:00.001+08:00

Taken from one of the team's FB. It was 2.5 weeks of my life gone just like that, solely dedicating to this event and omg NOTHING went according to how I planned/imagined it to. It was fun, to a certain extent... if I didn't have work piling up by the day. I am still trying to clear the backlog sigh.

My first experience, being thrown into the deep waters, and hopefully the very last. :s

a shopping mall full of outlet stores

2011-11-20T19:38:00.001+08:00

If you live in the East, you'd probably know that there is a new shopping mall that has cropped up in the neighbourhood called Changi City Point. It is probably the first in the Expo area, and probably the one only there since the entire area is a business/industrial area. The boy and I were there over the weekends and although only half of the shops were opened, we're pleased to find that (as my title suggests) the mall is brimming with outlet stores! There's Nike, Royal Sporting House, Esprit and other none outlet stores like C&K, Sasa and the likes... There's also MacDonald's, Starbucks and Coffee Bean, for alternate lepak makan places. Other eating places include BAgus (i.e. Banquet) and Koufu, which I'm sure office workers in the area are glad to have.

Gotten a pretty good bargain on my Reebok pants & Ipanema slippers when I was there. Total was only $38! Too good to not buy anything. Hehe!

firah nak kahwin!

2011-11-13T01:15:00.001+08:00

The boy and I attended Firah's wedding dinner only a few hours ago. So good to see all my girls, and my dearest Firah! What's this, the last few times before she jets off to Australia? I will miss her! I want to tag along too! Looking forward to October already sey..

I brought along my brother's camera, but there was totally no need because they had a roving photographer and instant photo prints! Awesome or what... although the exposure settings could have been better.

Girls

Table 20

With the Bride & Groom!
Too bad this wasn't the main cameraman, thus why so many people weren't looking at the cam

And some other photos with friends:

Firah & Hanafi in their traditional outfit

yey yey both in black!

Another table shot

Zak, SHAWER her with lotsa love okay!

With Firah married and moving away (boohoo!) and another friend recently got engaged and planning for a 2012 date, my friends are all slowly but surely getting on with their (married) lives and onto the next stage in life. It's already so hard to meet with everyone; Seem to only meet people at weddings or during raya... rabaks sey :s Hopefully, we will still be able to meet up once a while to catch up, reminisce the good ol school days and have a good laugh. Keep in touch please!

jepons

2011-11-12T12:00:00.000+08:00

We totally look alike right?

My 2nd brother secretly enjoys girly pleasures and recently, he went for eyebrow shaping o.m.g. So weird okay! Please don't step metrosexual, it doesn't work for the men in our family. You know how the Japanese men do their brows so thin and fierce right... I hope he's not going that direction, I think it's inappropriate for men to have thinner brows than ladies. Please eh!

Still can't get over it!

korean sushi

2011-11-10T00:27:00.000+08:00

We had cooking class for the first half of the class today and we learnt how to make gimbap (김밥). Gimbap is essentially, the korean version of sushi rolls and different kinds of ingredients can go in it. Only that unlike the Japanese who make sushi-making a tradition and artform, gimbap is simple and anyone can do it.

That's my seonsaengnim cutting 3-month old gimchi. Call me a foreigner, but I like fresh gimchi better.

Gimchi mixed with tuna. Not a bad combination, surprisingly.

Tada! Hello gimbap, you are ready to eat!

Some of the other classes made gimchi pancakes and tteokbokki (떡볶이). Decided that I did not like rice cakes, and that perhaps the best food imported from Korea is their BBQ and gimchi. The rest is just weird. :s but isn't Korean class just awesome???

2011-11-09T07:50:00.000+08:00

Desperately in need of a holiday. Or a new position.

loose strings

2011-11-08T00:13:00.000+08:00

I can't believe the Aidiladha long weekend is coming to an end! I spent a good portion of it googling for a good face moisturizer since my Clinique DDMG is finishing. I feel as if I have yet to find my HG, thus why I am looking for a new brand to try. Actually, I have been on a beauty spending spree for quite some time, and I blame it on my "pecah" face, no thanks to the super extended breakout on my cheeks that just refuses to go away. It's been about a year and still no improvement despite so many different facial products loaded on my face and spending alot of two different facial packages. SIGH. I still believe a big part of the cause is the job, but unlike a facial product, it's not something I can change as and when I like (although, I truly wish I could!). Just today, I bought a BB cream because my Urban Decay tinted moisturizer just doesn't do it for me anymore. It's sad, I know... I'm resorting to BB cream boohoo!

Dr Jart's Black Label BB cream has alot of raves online, so I hope this works for me too!

Within the past month, I have also splurge on some other items:

Hada Labo's Lifting & Firming Lotion
It's supposed to be a toner (coz I needed one) but I really find it weird to 'pat' on a toner. :s

Guardian Rose Water + Witch Hazel toner

Alot of online raves from local forumers on how awesome rose water is as a toner, so we'll see how it goes. But it's dirt cheap; less than 10bucks.

Beauty Diary Aloe sheet masks

I had wanted to buy the green apple one, but I mistakenly bought this instead coz both boxes are almost the same shade of green. This one is supposedly for dry skin, which I do not have, but oh well

Superdrug Deep Action Daily Exfoliating Wash

First time I heard of this brand was when Sally and I went to Watson's to buy a cleanser of this brand for her sister. Who knew I would end up buying one too? Apparently Superdrug is a well-known drugstore company in the UK la, and this was cheap, also less than $10. Bought this because I feel like my Dermalogica cleansing gel was drying out my skin. Plus, I have always preferred foaming/exfoliating wash over gels; feels better cleansed!

Looking at the stuff I have purchased recently, that's almost every item in a girl's skincare routine! This is why I don't spend on clothes... by the time I'm done at Watson's, no more money for shopping liao! haha But I really do hope this irritating breakout will go away on it's own. I've tried everything, save for going to a dermatologist, but I doubt going to a doctor will make any difference. I think it had gotten worse over the weekend due to the stress I have been going through due to the event I was involved in the past 3 weeks. Damn irrits with my face, and even more annoyed that the cause of this breakout is likely environmental i.e. there's not much I can do about it. How about a normal sit-in-office kind of work? Preferably one where I'm not doing the workload of 1.5 persons. After my face and my eyebags, my brain will be the next victim of this job if I prolong it further. SIGH.

where would we be without family?

2011-11-03T22:48:00.000+08:00

mum's side. nenek on the bed

dad's side. nenek wearing white tudung standing behind my mum

Both my grandfathers passed away a long time ago; my paternal grandfather before I was born, and my maternal grandfather when I was in Sec 2. My grandmothers survive long past their husbands and they are truly the centre of each extended family. However, we all will age and die one day and my neneks are no longer as sharp as they used to be. My maternal nenek has been battling diabetes/HBP for the longest time and she's been in and out of hospital for the past year. And now, I just found out that my paternal nenek was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. And no, smoking has nothing to do with it as my nenek doesn't smoke, duh. Sigh, it's really unfortunate because my paternal nenek has been healthy for most of her old age. I mean, she can't walk fast anymore and her eyesight isn't very good, but she's a healthy eater and her memory is still great.So, why cancer when she's ageing well?? At 80++ years old, my nenek is really something else. My parents don't show it, but I'm sure they're worried sick now that both neneks are ill with long-term illnesses. For one, we're no longer going for a family trip at the end of this year. Eventually, we will lose our elderly family members, but I hope my neneks will have plentiful years more to go and I hope they'll be well enough to see me get married in the future. After all, they are the heads of both families for as long as I can remember, and it wouldn't be the same (to get married) without them. Pls get better, neneksku :(

needs sleep

2011-10-29T00:28:00.000+08:00

like seriously.

I think this work is slowly killing me.

Mummieh

2011-10-26T19:50:00.001+08:00

Proof pic from Sentosa staycation with some of the TJgirls! Too bad I didn't get to spend the evening with them coz of DnD... but it was fun! Let's do it again! My friends are all getting hitched one by one... let's cherish the memories of our girly innocence and singlehood while we can!

HAHAHA we look so crazy, I love it! :)

my pretty boys does a remake album!

2011-10-10T00:24:00.000+08:00

Remake album! A nice way to call a cover album... I bet they totally got the idea from doing Immortal Song 2. Loved their performance of That Person From Shinsadong on IS2... plus Honggi totally won with that song! Daebak! I don't understand Korean (yet) but I think it's gonna be on the remake album, so yey! :)

pick me up perk up

2011-10-04T23:13:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I miss being able to make my own drinks whenever (I work) and however I want it. It's three years of hard labour, but it's three years of experience that no university can spoonfeed you with. But anyway, bucks now isn't what it used to be; they don't even bother making conversations... what?! I know right.

birthday makan for mummy-to-be

2011-10-02T12:17:00.000+08:00

The grrlriders recently had a birthday surprise for our dear mummy-to-be and although it was a simple makan at Sakura, it was nice to see all my girls again! (well, almost all anyway) Is this like, the first meet in 2011??? Some of us are no longer riding dirtbikes/motards, but sentiasa MotarDirtDivas ehhhhh :) you know we are, coz almost everyone was late! Really perangai divasss.. Anyway! some pics from Deelz camera taken without permission from her multiply!

CB400 & LX150
Some one brought masks and balloons! Happening or what this table at Sakura!

The birthday girl knew her friends were planning a surprise, but she was surprised it was us hehe
(the cake was made of small cubes of oreo cake from the dessert table! cute or what these girls!)

Grrlriders

with mummy's tummy hohoh!
Happy "Sweet 17" Isis!

We already have 2 MD babies in the past year, and looks like we'll have 2 more MD babies being born by the end of the year. My grrlriders are progressing in life too fast! Needs to buy my cls 2 bike real soon then!

The nagging strand behind every thought

2011-09-27T07:59:00.001+08:00

Fact of the matter is, I don't think I will be fully satisfied until I have tried it and decide that yes, that is truly not for me. But will I ever get that chance?

Young and reckless

2011-09-15T23:24:00.001+08:00

Riding past Science Centre today brought back memories. Ah, those young and restless days. When the most important thing was completing assignments and passing exams. Life was so much simpler.

love is, keeping family close

2011-09-05T01:41:00.000+08:00

Nenek with all her grandchildren

For the first time in years, Aidilfitri didn't feel like a joyful event. Not so much that I am working now and thus, will not receive green packets (actually, I did receive one, from one of my aunts. so embarassing!)... but I had been crazy busy with work and preparing for the last week of school assignments and trying to find time to go gym during Ramadhan that the entire month flew by without me being able to make any preparations for Syawal. For the first time in years, I did not have a new baju raya to wear on the first day. And it totally didn't help that I couldn't fit into half of my bajus already wth.

My parents normally plan an open house every year so that friends and family would visit us on only one day; it is easier to gather everyone at one time instead of them coming over every now and then. But this year, my mum said that she didn't want to have one because of my nenek's condition. She's about 75 years old; not that old but she's been battling diabetes and all other sorts of ailments for the past few years now. It's getting worse and she's been in and out of hospital for the past few months. It's tough on my mum because even though we aren't the ones taking care of her at home, being trained as a nurse, she's the one her siblings call when my nenek doesn't eat or has the runs or has a fever, and she's the one who will accompany my nenek to see the doctor. Because of her diabetes, my nenek has trouble seeing and cannot walk anymore. My mum says that she's starting to become a little senile and having trouble with all her recent memories. My nenek is stubborn and will not listen to people; she insists on eating food that isn't good for her condition and she's always emotional. I know it's hard for my mum but she's trying to be strong for everyone since she's the 2nd eldest sibling.

I'm not the type to physically express emotions, but I am sad knowing how my nenek's condition is worsening. In the past, every time I would salam her when we visit, she would try to pull me closer to hug, but I would always resist (because my friends would know I don't like to). Now thinking of it, I feel sad that I wasn't closer to her when she was healthy and well... and when she could recognise me. Now I don't know if she even recognises my voice (since she cannot see). Sigh. If anything, I hope that when I am older, I would be able to stay close with my family and keep the kids engaged in family activities. Because at the end of the day, family will be the one to stay with you to til the end. And even if I will never really say it out in real life, I love my family and all its members. We have our ups and downs, but we will always be here for one another. I hope that despite all odds, my nenek will get better and remember us once more. Sayang nenek :((

korean boy

2011-07-17T23:48:00.001+08:00

About a month ago, I sat with the boy’s family and watched episode after episode of this Korean drama called “You’re Beautiful”. I never understood the whole K-pop phenomenon because I always find it weird how younger Koreans look completely different from their parents (nampaksah cosmetic surgeries). So anyway, this show had 3 really good looking Korean actors la, how can I not watch it right?? Give me any show with good looking guys, I will watch laaa because I’m shallow like that haha… but anyway, I was flipping through channels on a lazy Saturday afternoon and I landed on KBS where they had this “competition” among the young Korean stars and one of them was Honggi! He played Jeremy on that Korean drama (Jeremy’s super adorable + belo how can not be cute right?) So apparently, all the other singers were saying that they were looking forward to Honggi’s performance because he’s very “expressive” (or something like that). I was like, wait a minute, he sings???

Jeremy! He sings in here! omg, which girl will not melt if a boy sings to her??? haish why so cute why so cuteeeee!

SO… I totally searched for him on YT and yey! He’s the vox in a Korean (rock/boy) band and omg, he has an awesome voice and he sings so effortlessly. And he’s actually the voice behind the two main songs on “You’re Beautiful” although he plays the drummer in the drama. So talented this guy (he plays drums too laaa), and if you look into his eyes long enough, you’ll totally fall in love with him too! Plus he’s super cute and super boyboy laaa I just wanna run up to him and hug him sigh… anyway, one of the videos, I had actually seen before some time ago, and I didn’t know it was him laaa! He had funny hair, but he’s so adorableeee

There’s no subs, but if I remember correctly, his mum was saying something like he was very mischievous in school and that he had gotten in alot of fights, and that it got so bad that he was supposed to get expelled or something, so the mum actually had to go to school to beg them not to expel him (or something like that). I don’t remember what he said la, but probably something really sweet to him mum while apologising. But awwwww, he cried! (He totally got the nose and lips from his mum! heh)

Anw, videos to share! This one below is that “Hello Hello” song for my TJgirls who went bowling with me today… HEHEH I know I know, only he can do that hand action and look cool doing it.. bluek

Loveslovesloves this song, even if I don’t understand a single word of Korean :x plus he looks extra hot looking serious here weeee~

Okay I have totally wasted my weekend evenings watching YT videos of Honggi + FT Island wth… But I’m so smitten by this Korean boy la, him and his boyish good looks, cheeky taring smile, boyboy cuteness and expressive eyes and powerful voice… espc his super duper sedap powerful voice pls… can I take him home for one day? :D haha okay I’m totally kidding la okay bb :X SIGH okay stoppit nat. I’m really miserable I have to stop because Monday blues are creeping in! urghhh

to Melbourne, with love

2011-07-12T23:09:00.003+08:00

My family had originally planned to visit Tasmania with my bro and sis-in-law in June since it was somewhere none of us had visited before. It was supposed to be something different, and my brother had even planned for the roadtrip that would take us halfway around the island. Alas, the trip was not meant to be and on the day that we were supposed to leave for Australia, there were news that volcanic ash plume from the Chilean volcano that erupted like a week ago made its way round the globe and was then threatening Australian and New Zealand airspace. So instead, our plane got diverted to Sydney airport, where we were stranded for a day, before being able to get a flight out to Melbourne the following evening. So that is where we settled for, and never regretted going to Melbourne! It's such an awesome place to be in; I miss being there every single day since I've been back.

there's always time for Starbucks in every city :)

At Federation Square. With my buck2 AND Harley Davidson shopping bags. Happy, I was.

family pic while waiting for the tram

where pancakes, is an entire meal AND dessert!

ROADTRIP!!!

at the lookout at the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road

Photos are all uploaded on my multiply. You know where!

ice cream with new friends

2011-07-10T01:30:00.000+08:00

Milk Tea ice cream with almonds is awesome laaa
Btw, I'm not the only one with 'floating'glasses ehhh... boo =p

oh Victoria!

2011-06-26T21:40:00.000+08:00

Okay, this is definitely not the same bay as in the photo from a couple of posts before this, but how gorgeous is that view?? Just miles and miles of undeveloped coastlines and it's just such a great feeling being there where everything is just so natural (not like our reclaimed beaches. booo fakies). I got back a week ago and I have been having withdrawal symptoms since. I've just been moping around and telling everyone how miserable I am to be back here. I know right... sigh. When will my fortunes ever change?

It may not be the best holiday (because of the stupid ash plume... more flight cancelations this week because the ash plume made another round around the world. Show off punyer ash), but it was the best city destination I have been to like ever. So I hope I will get to go to Australia again real soon. And this time around I need to save more $$ so that I have more dough to spend there and go crazy with the shopping and eating yey! Anw, upload photos when I have more time...

The thing is...

2011-06-19T21:55:00.001+08:00

Have you ever felt so sure of something that you'd never thought in the life of you, some event would ever be able to change your mind? This trip feels like it... not in the sense that it has opened my eyes, because I hadn't expected anything else... but more so to wonder that there is always an alternative to your own way. More so, I have been thinking about what lies ahead and what kind of future I want to have... I have been so caught up with what I should be and having a stable future, I sometimes forgot that despite the limited opportunities I get in life, the future is ultimately mine to make. It just boils down to, what do I have to sacrifice and what are the risks I am willing to take??? So many choices in life, but the thing with choices is, once you've decided, you don't get the chance to change your mind and every option you choose narrows the opportunities down, according to which path you decide to take. And that is a scary step I am hesitant to take. Do I wait to see which option presents the best value and lose precious time, or do I pick one opportunity and jump straight in and hope for the best??? Urghhh

one week countdown!

2011-06-05T13:46:00.001+08:00

This day next week, I will be getting my butt to the airport for our flight downunder exciting or whats??? I just checked the currency exchange rate and omg, when did the exchange rate get so shitty? I have been to Australia before and it was closer to 1 dollar back in the day… Now it’s like buying USD currency wth. But whatever, still changing a substantial amount because this is my first paid holiday so gotta buy back lots of souvenirs from this trip! weehheeheeee!

two week countdown!

2011-05-31T21:45:00.001+08:00

The next 1.5 weeks is gonna be craaayyyzaaayyy but I'm gonna make this work so that I can go for my holiday in peace!

makan dates

2011-05-22T16:12:00.001+08:00

If there’s anything we end up doing, it’s going for makan. Some photos from weeks back… since I haven’t been so punctual with everything.

Ice Cream Chefs! At some ulu part of Thomson. Because everyone deserves ice cream!

relieve tension uh…

I’m the boring one with Hersey’s chocolate and no mixers. :s

Finally went to Fika! Like everyone’s been there but me. So there… been there, done that! Only thing was, we went to a Swedish restaurant that was actually Halal, and NOT eat anything Swedish! But the meatballs really looked very small uh

The drinks are outrageously expensive laaa. Yes yes, blame it on import taxes and all that jazz

I had the grilled chicken… which was sadly, dry and the sauce wasn’t anything to rave about. Sorry Fika, awak tak fantastic after all. Just unique and terribly expensive for the amount of serving

Choc cake with marshmallow in it (can’t rem the name) at Secret Recipe. Where’s my White Choc Macadamia???

reach for the sky, so you can at least touch the ceiling??

2011-05-19T23:56:00.001+08:00

All those, when I only had an hour at the library before classes started… I know right. Books for both work and school. SIGH. I didn’t bother borrowing them tho, because there is no way I’d actually go through them at home… I have like 1094852 million assignments to finish by end of next week… plus one major excel + powerpoint to do for work over the weekend. Double SIGH. Looks like it’s gonna be a long weekend buried in front of my laptop. Juggling too many things at once??? Only at work… only at work, since I actually enjoy my schoolwork. Wish could say the same for work. :s

Quarter life crisis

2011-05-17T23:40:00.000+08:00

where I'm at.

Universal Studios Singapore!

2011-05-16T00:03:00.001+08:00

Yes yes, we finally went to USS! I was afraid I’d never get to go at the rate we were not going, but hurray for NTUC card promo (SGD50 tix until 27th May go go go!) the deal was too good to resist!

Tourist in my own country, eeps.. :s

We were there bright and early (actually, about 11am laaa… it’s early!) and damn were there alot of people! Alot of people = long lines to the rides, which was a real bummer! No one likes waiting in line, but no choice, pay already right. We went for most of the rides… and it wasn’t that many to begin with really. But it was quite exciting nonetheless and I had fun! Plus the weather was kind, just a dash of sun without the humidity.. so thankful for that. Helps that there were giant fans blowing at each queue la..

JUST.HAD.TO

I love the mummy ride the best!! It was dark, thrilling but without the my-brain-got-smashed-onto-the-top-of-my-skull feeling. Plus it moved backwards! :)

Magick potion… in Puss in Boots design! Likes!

We stayed longest at Far Far Away… because it’s the boy’s favorite place. So fairytale-like.

Got to take picture with life-size Puss in Boots too! I love this cat alot laaa

AHAHAHAHH ULTIMATE LOLZZZ
(supposed to be shrek’s outhouse i.e. toilet, if you’re wondering)

In the Accelerator. I find this ride quite pointless. but it’s the only picture in an actual ride, so there.

HELLO. BEEN THERE DONE THAT.
(Disclaimer: hooman line only uh)

YARGHHH!

I know you wanna…

Okay, so that’s one off my To Do List! What’s next??? :D

aww, my baby boy loves me unconditionally

2011-04-24T19:54:00.001+08:00

The cat got a huge scolding (and slight knock on the head) for scratching the mat on my bike recently and while I regretted being so harsh on a cat that’s only doing his natural kitty thing, I was really relieved that kitty doesn’t hold any grudges against me. In fact, the next day, he looked for me and curled up on my lap. How cute is that???

AWWW!

So much love for this kurap cat! He’s totally cute laaa, even when he’s a total opportunist looking for a soft warm body to sleep on. So tak tahu malu I know, but so precious how can anyone not love cats, right… but don’t get me wrong, he’s only cute sleeping on my lap… because the rest of the time, he sleeps like this:

SO PRECIOUS I KNOW RIGHT.

I can’t wait to get my own cat(s) to fill my home in the future! I even spent a good portion of the morning looking at cat breeders in Australia! Urgh! It is not only super expensive (more expensive to import a cat, of course. And the cat probably cost more than getting from breeders in SG!), it’s so much work… and the websites don’t always show pictures of kittens. I want to see pictures of kittens! It’s easier getting a cat here of course, but if you ever run down the list of cat breeders from the official websites, you’ll realise most of the pages are either no longer active sites or had been last updated no earlier than 2009/2010. Sigh… I want my Scottish Fold kitten! Who knew getting a (pedigree) cat would be so hard right?? Haiyah, at the very most, I’ll force kitty and his kurap self to stay with me la! But first, I’ll have to get this old cat to be potty-trained. Which is like… neverrrrr. But still sayang very much okay. As long as he remembers not to scratch the rubber mat on my bike :)

2011-04-23T23:57:00.004+08:00

School work today, work work tomorrow.

Breathe.

dearly departed…

2011-04-18T22:35:00.001+08:00

I miss my Eeyore! :((

Batam getaway

2011-04-17T23:04:00.000+08:00

The weekend marked a few firsts; The first mini-holiday of 2011, and the first holiday with friends. I am a sucker for deals, so when I saw a good deal for 2D1N at Batam, ferry included, I grabbed it of course. But of course, they’ll never include taxes and all that jazz so I actually paid $98 (hotel + breakfast + return ferry) + $20 (SG sea tax wtf) + $4 (Indo sea tax) = $122. It was a good experience, nonetheless… taking charge of my own holiday for once – no parents, no fighting for the tv… and no less snoring. And, now that I have tested waters with the parentals, HELLO FUTURE HOLIDAYS WITH FRIENDS to awesome locations on Earth! heheh… but back to my weekend getaway…

We had to make reservations via email directly with the hotel, and while they were mostly prompt with the replies, I was quite disappointed when I didn’t get to go on the 11am ferry and got a 1420 slot instead. Uhh, didn’t ask me at all and assumed I was okay with the arrangement THEY made for me. Seriously???? And then when I sent an email asking them if they had an earlier slot, I didn’t get a reply for TWO whole days… when the previous responses were within hours. What’s up with that man??? Really disappointed with that part of the service. But all’s well, I decided to spend the morning at the gym with my PT (last BodyFirst session woohoo!)

Alas… IT RAINED HEAVILY just as I left home and ended up taking cab to the ferry terminal boo.

I tweeted about this on Sat morning… but omg the sea was rough and choppy due to the rain. Would have been fun “riding” the waves… if I wasn’t asleep for most of the ride lol..

Not many pictures as my hp camera clearly does no justice to any view. But I try anyway. We stayed at the (supposedly) 4-star hotel, Turi Beach Resort at the Nongsa region.

Highlight of the day was seafood dinner at Golden Prawn. The cabfare was exorbitant. 210,000Rp for 3hr booking… which works out to SGD 30. Seriously… Go there, 40min… eat 1.5hr… return journey to hotel, another 40min. 3 hours already wth. But anyway, next time we’re here for seafood, I’m suggesting staying at a hotel nearer to Batam Centre.

Apparently there are two restaurants – 555 and 993. Honestly do not know the difference because they looked identical. On the recommendation of our taxi driver, I ended up at 555. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. Some of the dishes ordered:

What’s left at the end of it… PBG TO THE MAX!

After that, went back to the room and spent the rest of the evening watching tv. They have quite a few cable channels so yey! Morning came soon enough and it was complimentary international breakfast at Taming Sari Cafe in the resort:

The view from the cafe. Awesome awesome view of the sea…

This PBGgirl went back to the room and slept all the way till checkout time. I KNOW RIGHT. I didn’t do anything at all besides eat and sleep. Horrible! But it was nice to getaway from work and home and all that back in SG. To just, do nothing at all. :)

I even got to try some dessert at the cafe while waiting for the shuttle bus back to the ferry terminal. Awesome or what??? I need to do this more often… have ala carte dessert at the hotel cafe! It’s nothing special, but it was sitting in an open-air cafe and enjoying the sea breeze and wonderful company.

My SGD 6 Es Campur. Happy nampak!

I tried to mimic the statue, but failed miserably. Hello, wrong hands!

No pictures of the actual room I knowww… but I was busy hiding under the blanket and enjoying doing nothing! hahaha it doesn’t feel lazy when you do it out of SG… if I were to do the same at home, I would feel miserable on Sunday night because it meant that I had wasted the weekend bumming around. Looking forward to more holiday plans with friends! Money, please roll in the front door thank you very much!

stuck in this hole I dug myself in

2011-04-13T00:31:00.000+08:00

Lately, I feel that people are all moving upwards and I'm being left behind. I hate being left behind. I know I am just as capable, if not more savvy... but I'm not going anywhere anytime soon because my degree says I am a borderline student. Why are we so dependent on that stupid piece of paper??? Bodoh, this whole system is.

2011-04-10T22:04:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, the solution to a problem is not finding a solution but finding acceptance.

gentle yoga

2011-04-06T00:08:00.000+08:00

(source)

Today was my first ever yoga class. I decided I didn't want to be ambitious so I started with the class called "Gentle Yoga"... which the name implies, is supposed to be gentle and excellent for a newbie like myself. It was an hour session, but it honestly felt must quicker than that. But they don't kid about the gentle part - there were no twists and body contortions in this class. In fact, the "poses" were mainly more like your usual after-workout stretching exercises. If you did sports in school, you've probably done a few of those... although not as extensive as this. All the moves were focus on the lower body; hamstrings, thighs and hips. I must say, it is pretty doable. Not a calorie burner nor does it does anything for my mental focus (seriousslyyyy), but I think this will stay in my gym routine just so that I can stretch the muscles a bit more and improve on my flexibility.

productive Monday, right??

2011-04-04T23:22:00.000+08:00

I don't normally like Mondays. but today was an off (in lieu) day so I spent the morning at RPM/cycling/spinning class and afternoon polishing one bike and degrease/wash/polish the other bike. I managed to catch bits of Monday Night Laughs and in the past 2 hours, I have bought vouchers and make reservations for my short getaway trip. I would have put up the ad online too, if they'd let a new signup place an ad (which I couldn't la bodoh sey). I am super productive today... however, there's so many other things I actually need to do before I head to bed... like re-arranging all the clothes that I've emptied from the closet, as well as pack for tomorrow's work AND flow session. gosh... I had an extended weekend, and even that isn't enough. SIGH.

Guess closet will have to wait till tomorrow. urgh.

enter the dark side

2011-03-27T23:58:00.001+08:00

Loving my new free helmet. :) It looks like those fighter pilot helmets.. heck, the model is even called by its namesake. If only I could wear the tinted visor with it. But knowing how often I come across TP (cars, bikes or otherwise) on the road during work, I think it’s best not to risk it after having gotten a ticket for using helmet with tinted visor back in the days (successfully appealled of course pasal mamat TP tu wasn’t very smart). First thing’s first, needs to get a few scarves/ or those buff headwear kind of thing because I get so much dirt on my face from riding alongside trucks and lorries than spew out dirt, grime and lots of pollution.

Quite excited to NOT have to bring so many bags to work / for work! yeyyyy!

zesty

2011-03-26T21:34:00.001+08:00

My induction group was tasked to organise a healthy lifestyle programme for staff and while I was an unwilling emcee and I grumble all the time about being arrowed to do something I didn't volunteered for, I must admit that I had a bit of fun. I didn't help organise per se, but besides (reluctantly) stepping up with the mic, I did help out here and there on the actual day. At the end of the day, it was a lovely stop at the quarry. I didn't even know BT had a quarry!

Reluctant organisers.

a girl and her stray kitty

2011-03-19T23:47:00.000+08:00

(please don’t read the title some other way. I meant it to be quite literal, like the picture below.)

My stray kitty don’t normally like you to pat him/stroke him/ sit within arm’s reach of him… unless he is hungry and demands kitty food from you. But recently, I found that kitty has an affinity for cuddling on my lap and unabashedly dozing off and making cute kitty snoring-purring noises. How cute is that right??? Right, that until I start to not feel my legs anymore.

Muka steam stoppit eh.

This time around, I didn’t sit cross legged, and he still settled with sitting on one thigh wth

And then today… was slightly different, but he still made it work for himself..

going…

GONE.
This one is epic since I wasn’t wearing jeans, he decided, butt on the floor and head on thigh is better than sleeping on the cold plastic container that we’ve prepared for him. Tak tahu malu nyer kuching! And he really dozed off too.

Cats do the darnest things. I spent a good portion today watching kitty videos on Youtube and omg WHEN am I gonna get my own kitten??? I want either a munchkin or scottish fold please! They are soooo adorablezzzz!

A couple of videos of this cat called Cooper coz the cat is so intelligent, he does tricks! Plus, how adorable is that grumpy face right!

The owner even has his own blog featuring all his cats and dogs. So many cute kitties!
http://sweetfurr.blogspot.com

let you put your hands on me in my skintight jeans be your teenage dream tonight

2011-03-06T13:01:00.001+08:00

I watched Glee s2 recently, and omg, did I mention how great Blaine is??? He plays the confident gay guy from the all boys school… and he has a super smooth singing voice that I love. There must be something about the slick hair, jacket and laughing smile. Because he doesn’t look as good in real life (he has curly hair actually. Does not like boo). Plus I love love love the Warbler’s version of Teenage Dream.. The Warblers are awesome! Boys who can sing well (and harmonise) are hothothot laaa

And here’s a scruffy Darren Criss doing a piano acoustic of Teenage Dream:

And one of him performing live with the Warblers and Katy Perry! A bit sketchy live because he’s moving alot, but still so much love for curly-hair Blaine! I mean Darren Criss! haha

the week, in a post

2011-03-06T00:41:00.001+08:00

Beware the Ides of March, they say. No shit, I say. So many things happening this month… me being mad broke… having to do the equivalent of two person’s work (because we can plan as best as we can, and then people start unloading other work and projects onto us just to make themselves look like they’re a success wtf). Looks like I won’t be posting as often as I like to, as often as I used to… But anyway, I try to cope as best as I can, because there is so many things to look forward to right? Like payday, and PB woohoo! Pro-rated, again… but better than nothing! Plus, do I hear right, pay adjustment??? gagagagaaaa Gotta pay for my upcoming holidays, right? :)

So! Just a recap of what has happened in the past week, in brief.

I was at SGH for work and omg! They finally decided to allocate a few more bike parking at Bowyer’s block.

And they had to build them after I left, right? I miss this place. Working there, not so much.

Went for some service excellence course, which didn’t really make sense… didn’t add value to my work… and thus, isn’t useful to me. Maybe perhaps spending three years learning the hard way at buckbucks gave me relevant experience I could lean on in my current work.

We got to play with big legos, tho!

Burgers at Botak’s Favorites with the family over the weekends

Got to play with the HTC HD2, which runs on Windows OS.

Neat stuff or whats.

Unfortunately, the HTC Sense display only lasts for a brief moment before it switches to work interface. Yes, the phone is for work, but we can’t use it as a phone. Go figure. Cool beans, nonethless.

Saw this Vespa GTS300 omg so pretty! I want so bad :(

Bought this because was really upset with work and doubling workload. And ice cream is supposed to make a depressed woman, less depressed… right???

Received my third Citibank card in the mail. I will have to cancel 2 of them next year. When I decide which one to keep :s

And then we’ve arrived to today! (it’s still Saturday on my watch). It’s my mum’s birthday so I went to look for a birthday present with my brother. We settled on this for her present:

Braun Buffel bag

Omg, that’s the most I have spent on a bag, and it’s not even for myself. And this is even after I’ve split the amount with my brother. Why do I keep spending money I do not have, I do not know. I’m not being paid enough to start buying people expensive presents urgh. but I hope she likes it la. She said she’s gonna use it to work on Monday, so yey I guess.

And what’s a post without photos of my melly kitty right?

Melly kitty sleeping on my lap!

Kitty is not impressed with bad hp camera skills

Decided it is not possible to get the whole of me with kitty, so whatever… free advertising for SM.sg! haha

Gonna be a busy Sunday, out the whole day… so this is probably gonna be the only post for the next few days… or probably until the next weekend. Being busy and having to bring home work sucks! Because I won’t end up doing them, and then I’ll feel bad about it! Why I even bother, I don’t know!

2011, year of the broke

2011-02-27T21:45:00.000+08:00

Just back from Natas travel fair, and no, we didn't purchase any travel packages there because my mum can't remember her June course dates. The original plan was to go to Japan but then it'll be summer in June and we wouldn't get to wear our new expensive jackets so Japan has been pushed back to December.

And then we thought about going to Hong Kong, following a muslim tour group but after getting some brochures on Friday evening, we decided that it was simply too expensive to go on a muslim tour to somewhere like HK, which is in Asia, but costing at least 1.5k seriously... non-muslim tours were going at sub-1k for similar number of days/nights, it was so totally not worth it.

And then we thought of going to Gold Coast. Omg I totally want to go to Gold Coast and visit all the Worlds. Seaworld, MovieWorld, DreamWorld and what other worlds they have. And I want to learn to surf there (or in Bali). So, quite relieved that mum consulted with my eldest brother, who informed her that the Brisbane/Gold Coast area would still be recovering from the floods... which means Gold Coast is out for now.

So now, my mum decided let's go Tasmania! It's at the Southern tip of Australia, and it's supposedly following a more temperate climate so yey, cold weather. And that was what we were looking for... a flight + hotel package because it'll be more fun exploring the place on our own. But since Tasmania is kinda a small island by itself with only domestic airports available, we have to make transfer flights... which makes it more expensive. And gawddamn aussies why are your taxes so bloody high??? Like $450 per pax, which is just so incredulous. So after taxes, flight + 6N accommodation + car rental would cost 2.1k which is :O for Aust omg.

I suggested going to Bali instead because omg, that's an entire month's pay gone in a week, and my dad's a retiree, who's gonna pay for him! But my mum is pretty insistent. I regret even suggesting Australia now... should have just gone with one of the Asian countries (minus Msia, of course). Imagine 2.5k spent in June, 3k in Dec for Japan trip, if it happens... my beach vacation with the girls want to scrap money from which wishing well??? SIGH. What bonus, again? I should be saving up to get married right??? ARGH. This totally sucks. I should have won that 1mil Changi Airport lucky draw instead of a mini-celeb like Ivan! Ex-radio deejays don't need the extra money! I do! :(

CNY extended weekend holiday part 1 (Golden Palm)

2011-02-27T12:19:00.001+08:00

So CNY fell on a Thu/Fri which meant that it was a super extended weekend for all of us! We had planned for this since December so we were quite excited to go. Despite how frigging expensive it was… :s Pic intensive!

our destination.

But before we got there, we made a pit stop at our Johor home and I finally got to see the water feature my dad had been working on for months. Malaysian contractors don’t have the same urgency as contractors over here, you see.

Water feature + sink area in master bathroom. I like!

We actually have furniture??? and omg retro tv… I don’t even know you could buy those anymore.

We got stuck in a jam because a bus from the opposite lane made a dive onto our side of the road. My mum will never let me take a bus up to KL like this urgh.

Thanks alot bus driver for the massive jam on BOTH sides of the road

Bus jumped the railing like it was paper ribbon. urgh thankfully, no one got hurt and I think all the cars on our side managed to avoid the bus in time.

But we managed to reach the resort in one piece thankfully… and before sunset. My uncle and aunt were there before us and we got bumped up to VIP status because of them. Which meant buggy rides to and fro our villa, even though they don’t provide buggy from the villa… eh hello, do you know how bloody far it was from the main lobby??? And my grandmother can’t walk as well as she used to because she’s like 85 so yeah… they SHOULD provide buggy service for us.

Weehee so fun!

backseat people!

our room… which was the furthest point out at sea… my mum gatal, go and ask for such a room :s

From the villa entrance.

Everyone was thoroughly impressed with the villa, of course. It was a 2-bedroom villa that comes with a study which they converted to an additional bedroom. All of that for RM1,500 /night, before taxes. No, I kid you not… and I can lament about the price because I paid for my share of it boo.

living area was small but cosy.

bedroom.

Study, which doubled up as an extra bedroom.

master bedroom.

Master bathroom, and yes, the bathtub is in the floor how delightful!

We had dinner with my uncle & aunt at the chinese restaurant in the resort and we even got the CNY menu. And omg, it cost almost as much as a night’s stay :s:s:s extravagance much… it only happens when my uncle & aunt are around of course. But I must say the dishes were pretty yummy.

Yusheng and yummy salmon sashimi

Shark’s fin soup?

Prawn fritters with dragon fruit. Go figure

They call this chicken. I call it bird.

Fish. Really nice, but salty.

Vegetables + really really really yummy shitake mushroom. Too bad it’s only one per bowl. but my uncle and dad “donated” their shitake to me yey! haha

Dessert. Don’t know what it is…probably some sort of red bean soup.

And because my dad poor thing, didn’t enjoy his chinese dinner, we went to one of the seafood restaurants by the beach for dinner the next evening.

Get to pick your own seafood! best or what.

Makan time!

Even though the seafood wasn’t too fantastic (I’m starting to believe Malaysian roadside restaurants don’t do it so well after all), it was incredibly affordable at only RM100 for the 5 of us. Value for money, if you’re not too fussy about how they cook it. The seafood was fresh so my dad was happy. lol

Morning sunrise!

CNY extended weekend holiday part 2 (Putrajaya)

2011-02-27T11:33:00.001+08:00

The original plan was to stay at the resort for 2 nights, then go back on Saturday to avoid the anticipated jam on Sunday. But that didn’t happen because my uncle insisted we stay at his new place in Putrajaya.

This colossal place btw… the last time I came here a few years back, it was an empty plot of land. :s

Look at the unobstructed view of downtown govt buildings… and the bridge and of lake below it…

Say hello to princess! She’s getting old, and not as white as she used to be… but she still has so much love for me!

Yes… they have an empty swimming pool LOL… apparently this is the last bit of construction left so after that, can go swimming here! And it’s 3/4 enclosed by the house so it’s quite private too.

Massive living room to entertain guests.

Their dry kitchen, which doesn’t get used because they have a separate kitchen beside this one for cooking :s but so pretty! And I want an island counter like this in my future home!

Antic + console game in my uncle’s private sitting area.

Yes… my aunt has a walk-in handbag rack closet how cool is that?? To the left of the closet space (not in the pic, of course) are racks for shoes. And this is separate from their walk-in closet for clothes. BAHHH

Dinner with his family, my family, nenek + cousin’s mum-in-law.

We didn’t do much else besides dinner. I spent the rest of the evening trying to finish my school assignment which sucked because I didn’t really get to enjoy my weekend abroad. And that’s that... and I’m finally done with this post!

productivity, what’s that?

2011-02-24T22:50:00.001+08:00

I think I’m one of the least productive person at home everrrr. I go home, I have dinner and take my shower, watch some tv and by the time I sit in front of the laptop, it’s close to 11pm and I want to fall asleep and not think about having to do anything like ever. Is time really that short in the evening or am I just not doing things fast enough???

I see how people try to fit in their lives in that 4 hours after work and make it work - the same 4 hours I spend to get ready for bed. Bargh. So today I am going to do something different; I am not going to do work, but I will read about it. I have that book on food safety I borrowed from the school library like 2 months back… I have renewed it twice already since then and I’ve yet to move from the first chapter lol. Story of my life right? So, I’m taking and stand and doing something about it – I am going to complete reading that damn book.

In the mean time, YEY it’s almost TGIF and I can smell the weekend already! Especially since I am on course tomorrow and it’s gonna be at ma ghetto, Tampines yey! :) And then it’s NATAS Travel Fair for me, because I want to go on phantom holidays with my monopoly money! haha

okay I am off to read myself to sleep, good night!

wonderful Saturday

2011-02-20T23:53:00.001+08:00

First time on the Helix bridge & Marina Bay Sands shopping mall with Firah dearest! Took many2 photos and hopefully she will fasterly upload them on FB..

And dim sum for dinner with the boy! Loves the beancurd in Thai chilli sauce!

boy manje

2011-02-19T23:47:00.000+08:00

I have a stray cat that doesn’t like to sit within arm-range, but sometimes he likes to be manja and cuddle on my lap and let me stroke him to sleep. Go figure.

Shiok feeling…

testing waters…

Falling asleep… cute for the first 5 minutes… before my legs starts to go numb :S

Ini seriouslyyyyyy.

But still loves him to bits :)

Sem 1, all done!

2011-02-18T23:39:00.000+08:00

The classmates who turned up for the last microbiology lecture for the semester! And if you’re ever wondering, the lecturer is the Chinese lady in orange/red. Could have fooled you right! She’s the head of clinical microbio lab in a private laboratory company andshe’s quite knowledgeable too :)

I was initially very nervous about attending this course because I didn’t have a real background in biology (first 3 months of JC so totally do not count), but I am glad to know that despite being very blur about bio stuff, I have learnt a great deal about microbio… and really enjoyed it. And now, I am totally looking forward to semester 2 where we will be learning to use the molecular methods yey! Lab sessions have been so so fun I wish it wasn’t confined only to school.

But so glad for school holidays right now! About time, too!

hello, evenings at home

2011-02-18T00:26:00.000+08:00

Finally! Polytechnic vacation period is hereeee! For 2 whole months, may I add! So so so looking forward for some ME time... and SLEEP time! :) And maybe this time, I will actually do the work I bring back instead of letting it be a dinosaur in my bag. And YES, it has come to the point that I HAVE to bring back work... which sucks because I'm so caught up with trying to finish my operational work during office hours, it leaves me with barely anytime to do my paperwork :((( But hopefully once this quarter is over, things will finally settle down (at least for the next couple of months following that, then havoc again... which will totally suck!)

But yey! Let me enjoy my school holidays for now!

so many things, so little time (and money)

2011-02-13T22:21:00.000+08:00

Okay, I have been devlin busy (watch Just Go With It! then you'll know) and I have a test tomorrow to study for but I'm gonna take a breather just to blog about my thoughts. Or else I'll never get it off my mind. 2011 hasn't been a walk in the park - I have been juggling work and school, and it is not the least bit easy... it doesn't help that they're all at different corners of the island so going from one place to another takes abt 40-45 minutes each time. But nonetheless, despite all the lack of sleep and the neverending things to do, there are certain things that I look forward to achieve:

First, being to take some sort of Masters degree and/or study overseas. This is my first priority and the most difficult one because 1) I barely scrapped thru my first degree which is so miserly no right-minded professor should consider me as a postgraduate candidate. 2) I'm not working in a position directly relevant to the study I want to do which sucks, because I'm so close yet so very far. I know it's the most unlikely case that I will be able to take a Masters in SG at all, but I tried and failed once, and I think I have enough shamelessness to try once more. Sad story of my life, I know. It's not like we have PG dips that lead to Masters programme here in SG, which is a shame... because look at all the many people who have degrees but never used them except to get to their jobs which isn't relevant to their specializations anyway. but I digress.
Getting back to some sort of fit! I have put on ALOT of weight in the past two years and it is hard trying to lose them when steamed fish is unappealing and exercise is a distant memory. But I'm working on that! And the first step is getting a new gym membership! This time at FF Tamp, which is so much closer to home! It is worth twice the current amount I'm paying for gym membership that I haven't utilized in about a year (because I really really really hate True Fitness boo!). The boy made me take up the 3x session of PT so it better get me back to shape! But I'm most excited about going for spinning classes because it's the kind of cardio I need, without having to run! :)
Have a more radiant skin. Honestly... I don't know since when I started having bad skin, but I have bad skin and a few breakouts and the pimple scars and discoloration refuse to go away :( my skin is so patchy and oily, it's more depressing than being fat... because if you're fat but have beautiful skin, you can still look pretty. Sigh... I have a facial package to go for but omg the extractions are so painful :( it's only a temporary measure tho, I hope this cleans up good so I don't have to go anymore once my 10x sessions are up. I love facials, but only when it's relaxing not painful. But the price for beauty?? Only if it gets me back my not so blotchy skin.
Get married and get my own home omg. It's like, the official lease of adulthood in Singapore, because you're still your mummy's kids until you finally move out. Which by the looks of how much I am able to save, isn't looking very bright and cheery at all. And I'm saving alot already. And at the rate I'm going, I might probably have to sacrifice getting my KTM 530 at all because let's face it... 2k for coe, 1.2k/annum for insurance, and gosh knows how much maintenance cost, isn't very cost effective or practical. I would love to get one... but my job doesn't allow me to keep such a high maintenance job because of the travelling I do everyday. I could get it, but it's pointless to be able to ride the bike only on the weekends, where the boy fetches me anyway. And it's not like I'm earning enough to buy an expensive bike, just because it's my dream bike. It sucks real bad. Sometimes I wish I had a different job so that I can get the bike but haiyah, I'm just thankful I even have a permanent job even though no one seem to think it's so great anymore (and I'm talking serious shit dah melampau kind).

Okay this is looking to be a depressing entry but whatever. My blog my rules. Now that I've let it out, time to go back to mugging for test... sigh. Wish I was doing what I study for work so that it'll all be so much easier. But life isn't supposed to be easy, right..

oh RITA…

2011-02-11T23:16:00.000+08:00

I KNOW RIGHT! hahahhaha I’m so honored to be part of this research project… or ANY research project for that matter. Padahal, padahal… don’t get your feelings cheated, I’m not doing any REAL research; my part will only come when it comes to the testing/validation when the prototype has be developed. In the mean time, whether or not this happens depends on whether or not the NUS prof gets funding from NRF. But it’s a little bit of excitement because I have never done a real research project in any form before so yey! This will definitely be an eye opening if it pans out. Plus the Honkie prof is really nice and funny too.

Funny thing was that while I was registering for an account, I couldn’t find my birthday year! WAH!!! HOW can this be possible? What, 86ers can’t do research now??? Thankfully it wasn’t compulsory so I didn’t have to put a date for my registration to go thru. But please eh!

Life is unfair. much.

rain's a pain

2011-01-30T12:41:00.000+08:00

The weather has been crazy mad of late. It's been raining almost every single day the past 2-3 week it's crazy. I mean, I love rain I really do... but this is bordering 'too much'. I do site visits (using my zee) so I can't get work done because I'm always grounded at the office by the rain. I've been caught in the rain more times this year than I can count. So in conclusion, I need to either get a job near home, or get a car. Only that, I don't know which is more achievable :s

It's been a tiring week, thanks to the red red (non-edible) wine. Hope it gets better next week because yey! EXTENDED WEEKEND IS ALMOST HERE! So so so looking forward to it :)

multitasking on the next level

2011-01-25T23:38:00.000+08:00

My colleague taught me how to use both my monitor and laptop screen at the same time! Awesome or what, now I can have two displays and move windows across them! I feel like a total noob, but this has been really useful!

ignore the clutter, I was copying down stuff

And speaking of work, I am so bogged down by work it’s not even funny. I thought rushing through December was exhausting but worth it before starting the year proper with the new job. I was hoping that January would be kinder to me… but noooo, not only did our workload got heavier, we are also expected to do projects now and later on, organise workshops. Seriously??? I like my job (for now) but I’m starting to think I’m not being paid enough for the increasing workload we will all have to do. And snowballing backlog is not doing any good to my stress level either. Sigh… patience, and lots of hardwork… better have a good payback at the end of all of this.

Sankunthala’s part deux

2011-01-23T10:46:00.001+08:00

Remember my birthday makan @ Sakunthala’s entry just a few posts back? Well, yesterday was round two over there but with friends this time. I made sure I ordered the right chicken too :)

We had assorted naans with chicken masala, chicken tikka, kheema and this green spinach puree w/ cottage cheese cubes thingy which name escapes me now. Awesome kaper, everyone PBG. It doesn’t look alot actually but I was full by the time I was done. :s or maybe because I ordered 2 naans while everyone else ordered 1. Totally PBG I KNOW :D I wished they had chicken tikka masala tho because it was such a drag having to peel the chicken in the masala dish from the bone, not that I had to do it yesterday because someone else did it for me… but still.

Matin recommended the green spinach puree thingy, which was quite nice despite the weird green color. Plus, spinach makes you strong like Popeye right? Can’t say the same for the cottage cheese cubes tho… looks like tahu but didn’t taste like tahu OR cheese. I can’t really pinpoint the exact taste, but it wasn’t particularly tasty.

Total damage? $45+ for 4 pax, which works out to about $11 per person. Not too bad since naans + masala never come cheap and it’s a slightly more posh restaurant. Most importantly, sharing dinner with friends/family is always nice :)

grillz at home

2011-01-21T23:52:00.000+08:00

So the boy’s family bought a new griller, in line with healthier eating at home and the first thing that comes to mind?? SEOUL GARDEN! hahahha and yes! That’s what we did over the weekends – have “Seoul Garden” makan right at home. With healthy seafood and no oils, of course.

Masterchef at work, while Nyet the cat looks on.

Setting up the grillz.
We gots black pepper marinated salmon & chicken, some prawns and scallops too.

Grillz time! Food for 3 only pls…

I must say, the salmon was DELISH! It was simple and tasty – just a bit of ground black pepper and a pinch of salt was all it needed for a lovely spicy flavor, coupled with the salmon’s sweetness. The scallop tastes sweet too, if you don’t leave in on the grill for too long. The chicken however, wasn’t a little too dry for my liking. Not too sure why tho, but I’m sure that is a work in progress hehe. I was quite full when we were done, but totally not guilty because it was a healthy fill. And with relatively affordable ingredients too since I used my NTUC vouchers so the salmon, prawns and scallops cost next to nothing! yey!

My two lovelies. :)

because ‘I told you so’

2011-01-20T23:34:00.000+08:00

I had this guy in my microbio lab who insisted on doing things his way (which I totally disagreed with and was really upset about it, but he was really stubborn and adamant, and I am non-confrontational so yeahhh) and when the first experiment failed because there were no growth on the culture plates, I thought it was enough to convince him that maybe if he had consulted with other people, we would have the best possible outcome. The week after, we had a second shot of getting it right and I was really hoping we would get it right this time.

And then he emailed saying he couldn’t make it for school and sent the procedure steps he had typed out. Great, hardworking dude right? Except that he only included half of the things we discussed we would do and insisted on doing his expt from the previous week, but TWICE this time with the concentration of microbes used being the variable between the two. Dude… if nothing grows at 0.5mL diluted in 100mL, what makes you think 2.0mL in 100mL will achieve??? 4x factor sure, but I seriously doubted that it was going to be much of a difference because the dilution factor is still very much significant.

So on the actual experiment day, there were 3 of us out of the 5 people who were supposed to make up the group… and I was the only person who was actually present in the initial discussion phase. Two chemistry and one biochemistry trained people trying to attempt to do microbio experiment… very good. But they listened to me thankfully so we changed one of the experiments but not diluting the conc of microbes while keeping the 2nd part i.e. diluting 2.0mL in 100mL the same… just so I can prove him wrong… And prove him right, I did!

This was OUR experiment. Dilution was to 0.5 McFarland.

His. Dilution was to 0.5 McFarland, and then taking 2.0mL of that and diluting it with 100mL of water. Seriouslyyyy.

You can clearly see that ours had quite good growth in 7 out of 9 plates and his only had growth in 3 plates. What can I say, except for I TOLD YOU SO. I may have no lab experience and absolutely no bio background before this course but this doesn’t make me incapable of providing ideas that are practical and that produce results. So beat that, and amek kau ubat! Hmph! Darah ups man during that 2-3 weeks but so glad that is over and that we did a great job tanpa si dia. Only left the daunting task of writing a report with 4 other group members *groan*. Reports should never have more than two people working on it… otherwise it becomes such a hassle sighhh.

2011-01-20T23:29:00.001+08:00

Too busy being tired to even post an entry. Shitloads.

birthday makan @ Sakunthala’s

2011-01-16T22:45:00.001+08:00

The family decided to have lunch at Sakunthala’s @ Race Course Rd to celebrate my belated birthday. We eat out at some restaurant during everyone’s birthday so just to try something different, we went there instead of the usual Carousel / Eatzi / Swensen’s. Would love to go Hei Sushi, but my dad refuses to eat Japanese food boo.

And since this place is known for its fish head curry, why not order it right…

The garlic naan was nothing to rave about, but the butter naan was moist, sweet and full of flavor. The picture just don’t not justify how awesome it was.

Everyone tucking into the food.

I decided to be adventurous and tried this dessert, the Asli Khulfi in Hazelnut flavor

The food was alright, but I don’t know why… I feel like the one near Mustafa Centre is much nicer. Plus, our servers were not very prompt and had poor understanding of English even though they’re were Pinoys. Or perhaps they had poor understanding of English because of that. OR… they’re just deaf. I asked one of them whether their dessert, the Asli Khulfi was some sort of ice cream. She replied, “ice cream, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry…” Seriously…. wth???

My “forever-21” brothers. Macam paham, ah!

My family did not forget about me… They got me presents! My mum got me a sling bag, that also doubles up as a handbag compartment-aliser (you get my drift, right??), my 1st bro + sis-in-law got me MAC skincare from the latest Cham-Pale collection (thanks, sis-in-law!) and my 2nd bro got me a Isetan vouchers.

And despite how understated this year’s birthday has been, and how shitty it was to have to work AND go to school on my birthday, it’s nice to know that my family still bothers with something trivial, like my 25th birthday. We may not be close knit, but we always have each other in our hearts and in our thoughts. Sayang skali my chubby family :)

twenty-fifth

2011-01-15T11:03:00.001+08:00

Off day on TGIF yey! I can finally wake up late and not worry about it. And wake up late I did! I was out of bed at 0930 but that is a luxury in itself. I called the hair salon at Tamp and booked an appointment for the afternoon, because my hair deserves some pampering. It’s not as good as my usual cute hairstylist at Parkway, but I’m too lazy to travel all the way to PP just for a haircut. Same goes with gym… bleah

I have been wanting to bring the boy for makan at Eatzi and what a better occasion than our 25th 14… and of course, my belated 25th. So apparently the one at Eastpoint shifted to Bedok Point already, so we had lunch at Banquet instead and dinner at Eatzi.

First time eating Korean. Looks more like Jap food actually (teriyaki chicken & unagi korean meh??), save for the kimchi. I miss my Jap foodstall at EP Banquet, which was replaced by the korean foodstall. I bet Korean food only gained popularity because of the current trend of K-Pop & Korean dramas… seriously..

Finally here for dinner. They need to update their serviettes because you know, no more Eatzi at EP boo…

What we were there for: Steak! Extra sauce, please.

I had the black pepper ribeye steak while the boy had the T-bone steak with mushroom sauce. I honestly can never remember which part of the cow each part is taken from but apparently each part is different texture and flavor. My ribeye is supposedly more juicy and flavorful while the boy’s T-bone was drier. I could taste that it was definitely not as juicy, but other than that, no difference to me :s

With our steaks… mine was like 200g or 250g and his was a massive 350g. Tak nak kalah sey!

I got my new Citibank CC on my birthday so it was a good opportunity to break it in at a restaurant. Since I actually got it to consolidate all the restaurant purchases I would have to make for work. Might as well collect points along the way, right?

Such a lovely black color, I like!
Can’t say the same for the diminishing number of participating merchants tho.

Another Visa to add to the collection. What happened, Mastercard??

And because it was also my birthday, I decided to give myself a treat and bought some skincare stuff from Fancl. I have been struggling with breakouts from gosh-know-what and I decided I need a better cleanser to get rid of all the bacteria crawling and multiplying on my skin.

Both Fancl’s Washing Powder (which is a cleanser) and the Fancl Oil Control Powder has gotten good reviews on skincare forums both locally and internationally so I decided to give it a go since my other skincare doesn’t seem to help alleviate all the blemishes that’s sprouting from all corners of my face. Will post a review on the 2 products soon. Can’t wait to try!

Sad that my no-work Friday has come to an end. Glad to spend the day with the boy, and to get to spend my hard-earned money lol. Good night, friends.

Review: Stage

2011-01-14T22:29:00.001+08:00

This is waaaay overdue I knoww. But anyways…

I have never used Stage products until I saw that they were selling for dirt cheap during the Robinson’s expo sale and since my current EDM powder and concealer from-dunno-which-century were running out fast, I thought I might just give these products a go. If you thought why this brand sounds familiar, it is because they have a store located at Bugis Junction.

I was looking for a concealer that would give a natural look and she recommended me the Picture Perfect Liquid Camouflage in 04 Diva Doll (discounted price SGD 8). I also picked up the Photo Finish Dusting Powder in 03 Sandy Dust (discounted price of SGD 12). Dirt cheap right?!

Ingredient list and description of both products (click on image for bigger picture)

Photo Finish Dusting Powder
Initial thoughts: I can’t believe how finely milled the powder is. It’s soft and a breeze to apply on the skin. Some people may have problems with some of its ingredients tho judging by the list (i.e talc and mica, as well as titanium oxide which may give a white cast when taking photo using flash).

Overall review: It has good coverage and it gives a flawless finish. No white cast either which is great because I don’t wear makeup on my neck. The color that the SA matched for me is also a good match. Only gripe is that my T-zone still gets shiny after an hour… I don’t think ANYTHING will help that :s but I like this product nonetheless :)

Picture Perfect Liquid Camouflage
Initial thoughts: product is a little runny and is a nice beige color which is slightly darker than my skin tone. The product seem to apply better using a concealer brush than using fingers.

Overall review: I have been having breakouts for the past few months and new zits popping out every day so plenty of opportunities to use this. Definitely better with the brush because then can concentrate the color. The coverage isn’t as good just dabbing with fingers. It isn’t very long lasting either even with makeup primer under and powder over it. Will be looking for a new concealer once this finishes. It does help a bit with brightening up undereye area and it works better to even the tone under the eye than to cover blemishes.

Final thoughts…
I can’t be certain as to whether I will repurchase the loose powder, but the concealer is not something I won’t repurchase again to conceal zits and blemishes. I am not sure as to what are the retail prices, but they’re probably cheaper than MAC. Their packaging reminds me of MAC too… I can’t compare to MAC because I’ve never used MAC powder and concealer but when I do, I will give a thorough comparison :). Likes the loose powder, can’t say the same for the concealer.

courses schmorses

2011-01-13T23:42:00.000+08:00

This week has been super unproductive because I was effectively only working for 1.5 days. I had a half day seminar on Tuesday, CEPP course (which is basically some fire safety + first aid talks) on Wednesday and the 2nd part of my basic law course on Thursday. And since I couldn’t take leave on Thursday, I applied for Friday instead so there… one whole week burnt just like that. When I come back on Monday, I bet my work email will be flooded and I will have so much backlog work to clear with only 2 more weeks left in January. Sigh.

CPR module… which I obviously did not volunteer to participate it… But you know, I’ve seen this demo already back when I was working at the hospital so I am familiar with the procedures.

I love getting certificates… even if it will probably not be of any use. At least, I hope it will never be of any use la..

We were noobs in an auditorium filled with industry leaders in food safety and even representatives from regional partners and govt bodies. Partly because it was part of some ASEAN food safety stds workshop. So.out.of.place. But a good learning experience, and at least it was indirectly relevant in my line of work.

I usually love courses because it is a break from work… but this has been really bad timing. I do hope the rainy weather that has been affecting most of this week doesn’t drag next week because I need to get my work done! Be nice, okay?

Cycling weekend

2011-01-10T23:43:00.000+08:00

In line with trying to keep fit, I went cycling at Changi beach on one of the weekends…

And then we had nasi lemak at Changi after that…

Keep fit kebabai… I think I ate more calories than I “lost”. There is no way I can cycle at the speed at which people jog and still actually exercise because it’s not a cardio workout at all… Lol… tried and tested now… so, what’s next?

“who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you”

2011-01-03T00:21:00.000+08:00

I love this Glee version of Bruno Mars’ song. And I love love love this video! Weddings should be fun, light-hearted and crazy memorable like this… Reminds me of an older Youtube video someone took of a wedding that was something like this where they had some friends who did a similar kind of entrance but to a different song… followed by the bride & groom of course. Aww!

matin & farhana’s engagement

2011-01-01T23:57:00.001+08:00

The boy’s good friend got engaged today (1.1.11 yaw!) and we were supposed to be there! But it not only rained (I ended up cabbing to Woodlands urgh), the orange kitty took a dunk in his room (that story, for another post). So yeah… we obviously didn’t make it to the real event which was really unfortunate, but we dropped by afterwards.

Wah someone got new watch seyyy

Boys

I even got a small cute diary free! Moleskin somemore don’t playplay uhhh

This is the first of more engagements to come, I bet. And the few weddings already planned for this year. Let the good times roll…

ushering 2011

2011-01-01T00:00:00.000+08:00

At home with 5 minutes to go before the start of the new year. Honestly I don't really see the need to reflect on the things I have done in 2010. It has been an okay year, but only good things to look forward to every tomorrow. Like more holidays yey!

Batman??

2010-12-30T22:27:00.000+08:00

But those are huge ears on very small things.

I want a cute kitty!

2010-12-27T22:11:00.000+08:00

Yes I do! I keep going back to Shark's fb album of his 2 kittens... so ugly and so cute at the same time! I mean... just LOOK at the super adorable grumpy face!

How can ANYONE resist that kind of face... the orange one is the prettier one :) but the white one has character. I love my stray kitty, but I would like to "raise" my own kitten one day. Preferably furry, adorable and loves to nudge at my feet without being irritating heh...

go fly kite… maybe not

2010-12-26T22:04:00.001+08:00

Kitty being adorable, and finally using his cage! Albeit, without the top half that is…

Went to catch a movie today at DTE and on the way back, we stopped by the open field nearby to watch the kite-flying action!

Kite flying has recently gained popularity once more and the open field near DTE is a hotspot for kiteflying. Today was no exception only that there’s this family which came which hugeass octopus kites that were bigger and taller than one man and look how many they were flying! 5 different kites! Madness. Some other people were trying to fly the more traditional waus, which looked extremely hard to control… but probably awesome to cut other people’s lines ala The Kite Runner. Not that I know anything about kite fighting/flying or whatever… It’s not that you’ll see me flying kites anytime soon. Looks like alot of work… under the hot sun :S

But thankfully, the sun disappeared behind the clouds for a brief moment and we manage to sit by and watch the people fly kite, literally…

Sayang comot, suka maggi goreng :D

Running in my UD BoS3 eyeshadows (week 2/3)

2010-12-26T08:25:00.001+08:00

It is down to week two of my trials. This week, I tried a few more funky, glittery colors on the Urban Decay BoS3 eyeshadow palette.

(7)

Money is a lovely light teal color that is easy to wear with anything and still look bright and cheerful. Kinda like a light blue-green. And yes, it looks like the color of (American Dollar) money.

(8)

Smog is a darker golden brown. A nice glittery neutral color.

(9)

Maui Wowie is one of those barely there colors. It is a light tan color - almost yellow, but not quite. And it suits us Asians quite well as it blends with our skintone and makes the eye look brighter (at least, that’s my opinion =p)

(10)

Haight is such a gorgeous turquoise color. It bright, loud and much more intense than Money. The boy thinks it’s Chinese Opera makeup. His mother thinks that it’s nice and that it’s my eyes and my makeup and who cares what boys think right… I love this color, but I don’t think I will wear it to work again. Lol.

(11)

Bordello is a fair pink color that has good color payoff on the lids. It looks darker on the lids than in the palette actually. Pink is a safe shadow color that goes well with any outfit and this is one of those sweet-without-being-gross pink. No picture of me wearing it because I was in a rush that morning. But the swimming pool personnel(s) who accompanied me on my work rounds thought I look sweet! So there, testimony that this color is good on me… hahahha

Technically, I have not completed one week’s worth of eyeshadows since I plan to wear the bright purple one today… but had to blog now since I’m wide awake so early in the morning. Get this blogpost off my agenda so I can get started on other things! :)

Xmas eve dinner with the family

2010-12-25T20:58:00.000+08:00

We don’t celebrate Christmas, and it was such a huge mistake to have dinner out on the eve because it was an hour wait before we could get a table… but whatever, my brother was buying :) Some people got bonus number 2 from MOE right, thus the treat. We would have gone to Carousel/Strait’s Kitchen, but apparently they were fully booked right up to New Year’s day. So it was Earle’s Swensens at Changi Airport… with 204928593 other like-minded Singaporeans who were there for Christmas eve dinner.

I had the chicken (can’t remember what’s the name of it, but it was with brown sauce, extra sauce please)… My mum ultimate terror of the table; she had a chicken burger (because I told her it looks real good in the menu) and the mayo cheese lobster in the picture above (bye bye $40 heh). Ultimate PBG sia! hahaha but I didn’t like the lobster because the mayo tasted funny and extra sour.

And speaking of airport, I recently went to collect my airport pass for work! Not that I think I will actually have to go there for work since I don’t cover airport area.

Don’t know why, but I never fail to look extra chubby in passport photos sigh…

chubby sticks

2010-12-22T21:35:00.000+08:00

This is too cute! I WANT!

Running in my UD BoS3 eyeshadows (week 1/3)

2010-12-20T00:50:00.001+08:00

I have 16 shadows to wear and I plan on trying all of them at least once this year so I have been wearing glittery eyeshadow to work the entire of last week (and inadvertently coming to work later than usual boo. That partly coz I’ve been waking up later too). I decided that these shadows are better for evening wear/ for going out but will trying to finish all 16 in the remaining 2 weeks of 2010!

(1)

Snatch actually looks more peachy in real life, but you know… cameraphone quality isn’t very accurate, image color-wise2

(2)

Suspect is a tan color that kinda looks a little brown-green on the lids. But I like :)

(3)

Kush is a lovely bright green that reminds me of my Covet green UD 24/7 liner! Will definitely use this in the future as I have quite a number of green color baju raya :)

(4)

I was afraid that the magenta color, Last Call, would make it look like I’ve been punched in the eyes, but no issues there!

(5)

Midnight Cowboy Rides Again is a skin-tone color that totally disappear on my lids, save for the glitters. Or perhaps I needed to apply a more generous layer :s

(6)

And this is Rockstar. I already own the UD 24/7 liner in the same shade and I absolutely love this dark plum color. Hates when the glitter travels down from my eyes tho (last pic). Plus I totally look awesome in the last 2 photos haha =p

Guess?

2010-12-18T23:24:00.000+08:00

YUP. I am now a proud owner of a Guess blouse, thanks to the boy! Thank you very much! And best of all, they brought the price down even further to half the original price. Awesome, or what??? All you upper-middle-crust people may think, “Guess, so what?” But this is probably my most expensive (at least the original price la) and most branded top I have owned. I don’t usually invest in tops because I wear t-shirts out back in school. Punkrock mah… And then I have a selected number of work shirts I invested in during the course of my 1-yr at the hospital. But now that I do fieldwork, I have chucked all my long-sleeve shirts and I am opting to wear tops more suited for our very humid climate. Which means, shopping for more tops! And hopefully, much nicer tops! (yes yes, I’m trying to move away from t-shirts because I’m classy like that)

It’s a girly color, but whatever! Me likey very much! :D

Half price waffles

2010-12-14T22:19:00.001+08:00

You know what Tuesdays are good for… Half price waffles at Gelare! The boy PBG insisted on getting individual waffles… by the end of it, both of us were feeling super muak and he wants to golek2 on the floor pasal kenyang. HAHAHAHHA

Nothing much… just spending quality makan time with the boy, 2 years on… PBG awak punyer pasal uh. =p

what bonus???

2010-12-13T00:24:00.001+08:00

December pay is in, and so is the supposed good bonus payout we’re supposed to receive this end of year. Not that I think 1 + 1 months is alot even for government service because apparently some government agencies get 2 months, on top of their 1 month AWS. Unfair? Life is never fair. For one, I only got pro-rated bonus as I have been in the new job for only a few months. Better than nothing? Better than being miserable in the old job. But yeah, $$ is never enough.

I had lovely plans on how I wanted to spend my bonus money. Well, half of what I got anyway since the rest goes to paying for that uber expensive leather jacket I bought that I don’t even know where my maid kept. I will have to make use of it one of these cold nights right. But anyway… I went out both days this weekend, shopping and omg I totally want to buy something from every shop. I bought a cheap SGD 20 long-sleeve top from Zara to replace my old one that had tear on it… since everything else there was so expensive.

Then today, we went to Orchard and omg SGD 80 Guess tops I really would like to have! I need new tops for work, but I don’t think I want to wear SGD80 tops for work since I will be sweating bucketful in them, thanks to SG’s notoriously humid weather… But still… SIGH. They were really pretty and totally worth it, if I had the extra cash… which I don’t. I did end up buying some other things…

Like 8 for SGD 40 undies from La Senza woohoo! such a steal, and even cheaper than online!

Purchased their Prestige card too because I believe I will be buying more undies from here in the future… no more online purchases for undies because they take forever and I always miss the sprees anyway because I’m so indecisive. :s

My big purchase of the day:
The Urbay Decay Book of Shadows Vol III

The whole thing. SGD 88. So. Very. Expensive…
but that works out to $5.50 per shadow, if you discount the rest of the packaging…
so it’s a worthy investment :)

Such a pretty popup of the NY scene.

16 shadows, 1 mini black liner and 1 mini blue liner. plus a mini size UDPP that I really doubt I will use. Such pretty and wearable colors! I plan to wear one a day whenever possible, subjected to color-matching with clothes la… so exciting! I was undecided between this and the Black Palette, which has 6 really gorgeous dark colors (SGD 63). So based on which has more bang for bucks I got the BoS3… But I totally will get the Black Palette when I have the extra dough!

Now I have no money to go overseas! Boohoo! So much for CNY extended weekend travel plans. :( Sigh.

back to reality oops, there goes gravity

2010-12-06T23:35:00.000+08:00

Yes yes I am back in sunny, humid 30deg Singapore and I haven't had the mood to upload photos yet! Then there's the process of editting, converting and selecting the photos for a blog post. Looks like an update will only seem most likely after I'm done with my mini-test, my assignment and a friend's wedding I plan to attend this Saturday.

I bet the boy will be going "whaaaaattt wedding..." Yesyes I would tell you but you're happily asleep I bet, boo!

Sigh... so many things to do and catch up at work... and so totally lost in class! It was totally the wrong time to go on a holiday, but whatever! I've been to Turkey! What's next?! :D

Holidays 2010

2010-11-25T02:09:00.000+08:00

BACK NEXT WEEKEND =]

going on holiday is expensive…

2010-11-20T23:32:00.000+08:00

… especially when you live in sunny Singapore and it’s your first cold weather trip in this lifetime. The weather over there is said to range around 7-13 degrees Celsius and I will have fun freezing in my thermal underwear (which I will refer to as long johns from now on since that sound less crude. hurr).

A few weeks ago, the whole family tagged along to the winter shop at Eastpoint and we spent a collective SGD 1,000 there. And that was only for the three of us because my dad refused to buy anything, not even long johns. Step hero uh. Tsk.

My name is apparently of Russian origin, and on good days, I might look Russian too. But no, I did not buy this hat because I would look like a very cute Russian joke.

Jacket = SGD129, grey cashmere turtleneck = SGD189. And yes, I bought both… o.O SIGH

Then sometime during this week, I decided that there is no way that I was going to lug my entire skincare collection and that I HAD to buy travel-sized products for my trip. Plus I wanted to try new skincare products…

Total damage for cute mini bottles? SGD 62 omg.

And today! I made the boy follow me go buy more coldwear items because I don’t think anyone could wear just 1 pair of long johns for the entire 10-day trip. That would be very poor hygiene :s So!

Today’s purchase…

Yes, almost SGD 100 for a pair of long johns, 4 pairs of wooly socks and 2 sets of disposal undies. Someone shoot me for spending so much on clothing items that won’t even see the light of day.

So glad that I’ve gotten almost everything for the trip, save for a conditioner and probably some other nicknacks like sweets or snacks. Looking at the amount I have already spent even BEFORE going for this trip, it’s without saying that I will need to go on more cold weather trips so that my new clothes will see its fair share of use!

But super stoked to go on this trip! Only 4 days to go! Shaking in excitement! :)

school is hysteria, and so is bacteria

2010-11-18T23:19:00.000+08:00

So microbiology is alot of microscope work because well, bacteria is micro biology right… We did our own throat swab this week and it was so nasty! It’s like poking your throat and trying not to barf at the same time. But I rather that than taking a nasal swab :S

My smelly cultured plates! It’s not perfect, but whatever!

Microscope pictures of two isolated bacterial colonies I stained.

A picture from a practical a few weeks ago

Microscopy work is so hard! And it’s hard on the eyes too – I think my eyes are getting cross-eyed from trying to see through the microscope viewer omg. But it’s fun because we’re all in the learning and discovery phase and yes, I am still very jakon. Rushing to school 3x a week is tiring but I know I will prevail and I hope this will be useful in the future. :)

family treat

2010-11-14T22:52:00.000+08:00

My family has this little tradition thingy whereby when you start working, your first paycheck goes to treating the family at an expensive restaurant. I finally gotten around to giving my family a treat this week went pay came in. It’s technically not my first paycheck since I had been working full-time since last year, but first paycheck for this job so whatever, it counts.

We went to eat at Eatzi @ Eastpoint because I am tired of eating buffet at a certain very-expensive hotel restaurant that charges exorbitant rates (hello SGD 70+ is a new high. Shame on you!). And plus I am budget conscious. That is usually a good thing, right? HEH

Baked mussels in tomato sauce. Gone in 20 sec

Seafood salad.

Parent’s lambshank. Yes, they both ordered the same thing…

My ribeye steak with extra black pepper sauce. Brother also ordered a steak. We’re all so predictable.

Total damage. Not too bad, thankfully.

Finally gotten this treat off my list. What’s next?

new family

2010-11-09T21:29:00.001+08:00

My “day family” for the past month.

Beauty buys from Robinson Expo sale

2010-11-06T18:54:00.001+08:00

It is coming towards the end of 2010 and the sales are just about started! There is the Robinson’s Expo sale this weekend and the next and even though pay is still a good one week to go, I couldn’t resist going there early to have a look at what I could grab and buy. I was actually looking out for casual wear that I can wear for work but I felt that spending 30-40 dollars on non-branded clothes is just not justifiable so I only bought 1 top which was a cool $10. How awesome is that??

I also purchased a cuff, my Loreal makeup remover as well as a few new products I want to give a go:
Eucerin Dermo Purifyer Toner (apparently dermatologists recommend this brand)
Olay Regenerist Serum set (I wanted to try the micro-sculpting one but there’s no promo and I’m not ready to spend $60 on it)
Stage Photo Finish Dusting Powder in 03 Sandy Dust (normally use mineral loose powder, but this was $15 so just giving it a go)
Stage Picture Perfect Liquid Camouflage in 04 Diva Doll (concealer, because my EDM powder one cakes like mad)

I am quite excited to try out my new products and I really hope they work wonders for my skin. When I find the time and effort, I will do a review on the Stage cosmetics. I also bought my Fancl MCO which I love. I even splurged on the travel bottle, in preparation for my Turkey trip in 3 week’s time. So exciting!

The current design on the bottle. It’s pink and ballerina-ish, but does not care.

There was a wedding expo in the adjacent hall (I think it’s called Kawin-Kawin, Makan-Makan. or something like that. Yeah, not very innovative but whatever) so Sofi & I decided to be brave and entered the hall! hahahah I know right, we’re totally going to be bride-zillas in the future… it doesn’t hurt to do a bit of recon before any plans gets written in ink. Sofi fell in love with one of the wedding displays, which was that of the very famous Fatimah Mohsin. If you may recall, she was involved in a few celebrity weddings here in Singapore so I guess you could consider her quite well established in the industry. The prices are quite established too, but like the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

I didn’t get a clear pic of the decor packages but I actually find the prices reasonable... that is, if there are no extra add-ons la which will incurr additional costs. But of course, with any other products and services in sg, the prices will not remain stagnant and it’ll probably increase over the next few years when some of us really start planning for that big day. I bet the lady who talked to us was probably thinking, “these girls, no plans as yet for weddings and yet they’re visiting wedding expos… meh”. haha but it was a bit of fun. I feel so grown up now! :D What next, investment seminar? Let’s go!

home away from home

2010-10-25T22:16:00.001+08:00

It’s not much, but I try to put in little touches to make it comfortable and homely. It is afterall, my home away from home. At least for now.

badminton

2010-10-24T21:00:00.001+08:00

It all started with a want to go back to my previous, leaner, more energetic self. I casually told the boy "hey, let's go play badminton next weekend". Next thing I know, we're Mustafa Centre looking for badminton shoes. Lol...

And play badminton, we did! I thought it was next to impossible trying to book so late yesterday evening, but there was a 1-2pm slot today at Woodlands (I KNOW RIGHT!) and we booked it right away.

OMG I can't believe how long it took for me to get back into the groove of playing badminton. I couldn't lob as much as I used to before getting tired, but we all need some adjusting before doing something we haven't done in a long time right?

I must admit that the boy was better than I had expected (unlike how alot of other guys without school training, play). It helps being the natural athlete that he is, but his technique impressed me, even when his laziness to run for the shuttle thoroughly annoyed me.

I really hope this will become a weekly routine for us, and that just maybe, I have found someone who shares my interest and who can spar with me regularly :)

day before school commences

2010-10-17T21:57:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I am certainly a little excited. It's been a good two years since I left school so this is going to be a new start for me and my brain probably needs a little lubing to get the chains moving smoothly. I am still a little nervous that I may not be able to catch up with what the tutor is going to teach. Next week will be crazy busy and tiring juggling both work and school, but I will persevere and prove myself that I can do this. YoosH!

10.10.10: first official post

2010-10-10T11:30:00.000+08:00

What a lovely numbered date to start on my first official post of my second blog. Yes, I have "migrated" to a new blog (but keeping the same name) because well, I am big on "starting anew"s. And I feel like I am starting a new... I got myself a new job; I am taking part-time studies (mostly to keep myself busy) and hopefully next year will bring many new experiences and joyous occasions. My quarter-life crisis growing a head or two? Maybe. Although it's not so much of a crisis, but embracing the adult that I have become. But I feel that after thousands of posts on the old blog, it's time to move away from my old teenager blog to a new one with a more 20-something feel. I mean, have you seen an emo post in the longest time??? :)

I am still in the midst of reinventing my blog and trying new blogspot designs and layouts as I type this entry... I am new to the design feature, having mostly picked out my templates from online and cut and paste the codes... but hopefully I will be able to roll this out in the next couple of weeks.

test post

2010-09-29T11:02:00.001+08:00

This is a test post.