Wednesday, April 30, 2008
:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

I hate the partner of this job.

He's driving me crazy!!!!!!!!

Neverending coaching notes. And does he have to add in so many ????????????????????????????????????? to show that he's pissed? Ok noted. No thanks.

Damn sianz... -_-

Luckily it's Public Hols tomm, but I doubt i can enjoy. should be clearing his coaching notes at home. *cries*

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Labels: ramblings, work

Sunday, April 27, 2008
Post Peak Bash @ St James

This has got to be the best week so far! Had my Run on Wed and now our post peak bash at St James!!!

I managed to get home and changed before heading down to Harborfront. I've never been there but seriously the place is much more spacious than our Christmas Bash at Thumper :)

Everyone was super HIGH that night!! I dun remember me drinking alot although I downed 2 shots and drank 2 glasses of mixtures. Haha Enough for me :P

We went on stage to dance too!!! All 16 of us! Was pretty cramped but it was really super fun!! And we took super alot of pictures together! Some of us can't even remember who they took photos with :P

I was the 'self-appointed' photographer of the night, snapping away for the rest. I guessed Im gonna miss the Aussie ppl loads when they leave in June. Pictures are my best memories of them!


Had so much FUN hanging out with the peeps! I'm glad everyone enjoyed that night too!

Labels: feeling young, friends, work

Saturday, April 26, 2008
JPMorgan Run 2008 - I survived!

I hadn't had much confidence completing the whole 5.6km route coz I haven't been jogging since peak started. I'm so amazed that I actually managed to run continuously from the start to the end! 3 cheers for me!!! *hiphip hurray!!*

Our t-shirt was red this time, kinda feels like it was National Day oreadi :P thanks to dear Andrea and Theresa for motivating me, I really felt like joining the 'walking clan' (clarice and the rest). Somehow, my 'mian zi/ego' was more impt so off I ran! :P

Although my timing was slightly slower, I din stop to rest at all and I actually felt great after the whole thing ended. :)

Labels: feeling young, girlfriends, keeping fit, work

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Japan 2008 - Disneyland!!!

When we finally turned into the carpark of Tokyo Disneyland, I was so excited that I almost forgotten to breathe :D

It was really a childhood's dream come true! I've always wanted to visit Disneyland and after 24 years, I'm finally HERE!!! *skips around* hohohoho :D



Everything was so beautiful inside! The staff, the buildings, food, drinks and the rides!! I did homework with the Disneyland map that our tour guide gave us the night before and we waited no time to start!

It was only 9am in the morning, but there were already bus loads of high school kids and families.

We began in clockwise direction starting from World Bazaar. Gor reminded me umpteen times to get the Mickey cufflinks for him, so we headed on to Harrington Jewellery first.

I was completely lost inside, coz there were so many pretty accessories there! All the hair accessories, necklaces and earrings really dazzled me! In the end, all 3 of us spent almost S$300 there! And it's only the first shop! :P

Next up, Adventure Land. Recommended rides were the Pirates of The Caribbean (which was super duper cool!) and Jungle Cruise! I was obviously in trigger happy mood and began snapping away! :P


The Jungle Cruise was the first one we went on coz we saw a small queue forming. It was like a safari cruise on a boat and the tour guide was very good in engaging us with her animated introduction albeit was in Japanese and no one could understand :P The animals really looked real, esp the crocodiles!


Next was Western Land. This was more of the cowboys stuff and all the old Western films. We boarded the Big Thunder Mountain which was actually a mini rollercoaster (minus the crazy loops). Not bad at all :P (Basically everything is FUN to me! hahah)

I got to take photos with Woody's (From Toy Story) girlfriend too! (Forgot her name :P)

We went on to Critter Country which was much smaller scale than the previous two. But there was the wild and wet Splash Mountain, which luckily there was a family of 4 in front of us to block the splashes as we plunge down into the pool. :P

Fantasyland was much better because there were Peter Pan, Snow White, Mickey, Pinnochio, Dumbo and Pooh! All my favourite childhood cartoon characters! :P

We went onto Peter Pan's Flight. Nothing much except that we are flying inside the ride with Peter Pan and see his adventure with Wendy, Twinkle and Captain Hook. While we were waiting, I noticed that most Japanese families are very young! The mummys look like early to mid 20s and their babies/toddlers are super duper adorable! Marshmallow like cheeks and soft black/brown hair. Feel like squeezing them! :P


There is also the famous Disney Castle here!!! It's so magical even in the day.

Labels: family, holiday, Japan

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Japan 2008 - Day 4

After the good weather yesterday, the sky was overcast in the morning when we left our cozy hot spring hotel. I could breath with 'smoke' coming out from my mouth!!

Booo, which means we can't get onto the 5th station of Mt Fuji!!! *wails*

Was kinda disappointed because other than the cherry blossoms, theme parks, I want to go up the 5th station of Mt Fuji too!!!

Too bad the bad weather (no pun intended :P), we only managed to stop at the first station, which was practically nothing, cept twigs and fallen snow on the ground.

Owells, no fish prawn also ok lar *hurhur* :D We had fun posing with the bare little pile of snow there was :P


Then we went on to Oshino Hakai （忍野八海）where the people use the water flowing down from Mt Fuji to make their udon and other products. It was more of a shopping spree for tourists more so than an attraction, so I went back to the warm and cozy coach after awhile.


During our transit for toilet breaks, I noticed Japanese' innovation once again:


See that? It's actually an indicator board that says which toilet cubicle is occupied or vacant! How innovative is that! Hahaha :P It helps to avoid congestion and people can also roughly gauge the approx waiting time and if any toilet is available. Guess Singapore should have something like this for big malls or sth :P

Next up, we were brought to Ameyoko, apparently similar to Hong Kong's Ladies Market or Wang Jiao, where alot of foodstuffs, cosmetics, bags, apparels and accessories were sold. But then again, it was open air and raining, so it wasn't really nice to walk around with wet socks and shoe, carrying a brolly. Luckily I managed to get some stuff for the girls over there. :)

Last stop was to take the Odaiba Cruise, which passes by the famous Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge. Again, the weather spoils any chance of a good shot of the bridge at night, nonetheless, it was quite a good experience. Kinda like sitting the ferry from Harborfront to Sentosa last time :P


Dinner was at one of the Jap restaurants having kamameshi (sth like steamed claypot rice) for dinner. Food was normal, prob coz i had too much of a bento-ish kind of meals for the past few days. Where's my sushi and sashimi??? :/

Check this out:


Almost real!!! I ALMOST want to knock into the display window when I see these salivating delicacies!!! Their food art was almost 100% real! *amazed* All the details were intricately modelled and the handrolls just make their patrons want to eat more of their sushi! :P:P

After a full dinner, we head back to our hotel: 5-star Sakura Tower at Tokyo! The room was huuuuuge, and has a jacuzzi bathtub!! I had a good 30-min soak and almost didn't want to leave the tub. hehehe :P Too bad it was still drizzling outside, else I'd have ventured onto the streets to see how the nightlife in Tokyo is like.

Next up, DISNEYLAND!!! *M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!!!!!* Check back for my final update on the last day!

P/S: You can view my Day 4 album on Facebook. :)

Labels: family, holiday, Japan

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Japan 2008 - Day 3

Another bright and sunny day out!!!

Packed our bags and off we go to Owakudaini Valley!

This valley is also called "Boiling Valley", where the people cook boiled eggs with natural sulphur from the mountains and it'll become black! Supposedly, those who ate the 'black eggs' will extend their lifespan by a further 7 years! I wonder if it's true, but I ate 1 only. I'm no greedy girl :P

On our way climbing up, we can see Mt Fuji from afar!! *beams happily* The weather was superb so it was awesome to see the snow-capped mountain peeking out from the clouds and I was able to snap such a good shot of it! *woohoo* :D:D

Even before I reach the sulphur where all the eggs are boiling to become black, I already felt like puking. The smell was so overwhelming that I found myself in a shit pool or giant sewage. Luckily the smell din venture too far out so I was still able to swallow my 'black egg' in peace :P




Next up, we visited Hakone National Park, with MORE cherry blossoms! *yipeeeee* :D:D


Love it when I can wear my thick jackets and sweaters! heee :P:P

The cherry blossoms were sooo pretty!! So blessed and thankful that God made it possible for us to see them before they all wilt. Was abit worried that we weren't be able to see coz 2 weeks before we left for Japan, the sakura already blossomed in parts of Tokyo.

The wonderful scenery and natural fauna made all my pictures postcard perfect! We were busy snapping pictures away and Mum absolutely fell in love with all the cherry blossoms :P


And highlight of the day: Wearing yutaka and soaking in hotspring bath!!!

Dad didn't want to wear at first coz he scared the robe will fell of midway during dinner! Wahahahah :D But I after I looked fab in it, he was tempted to try too! So the 3 of us trotted to dinner area in our yutaka and looking oh-so KAWAII! :P:P

The hot-spring (obviously u cannot take pics!) was fabulous! Actually I was abit apprehensive having to bare all and see everyone's "ahem", but we were lucky coz the rest of the aunties were scared too, so they didn't go down at the time when Mum and I were soaking, so the whole place was just the 2 of us!!! Shiok! The temperature was about 42 deg Celsius and my whole body felt so relaxed after that. If only SG has such weather and hot spring, I'll def go often! :)

Next up: We reached TOKYO!! Stay tune for more :)

P/S: You can see my Day 3 pictures on my Facebook.

Labels: family, holiday, Japan

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Japan 2008 - Day 2

2nd day of our trip was more of visiting the ancient temples in Japan.

Leaving Osaka, we travelled northwards to Kyoto, where we visited 2 temples: Todaiji Temple with the largest bronze statue in Japan and Kiyomizu Temple, where people often prayed for love and relationships.


Cherry blossoms were aplenty at Todaiji Temple, because of it's proximity to Osaka I guess. This is also where the Nara Deer Park is. It was believed that deers were the holy animals during the ancient times, so one can see deers roaming around freely, eating food handouts from tourists or the roadside vendors and occasionally, their poop pile. :P




Inside the temple, people can purchase wooden tablets and write their wishes on it and hanging it on the wall for blessings. I remembered seeing this in some travel documentary or drama shows, so I bought one and wrote wishes for me and MB. Mum bought one too and wrote wishes of good health and prosperity for the family.

Labels: family, holiday, Japan

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Japan 2008 - Day 1

Finally, I got time to sit down and recollect my wonderful Japan trip!!! :D:D

I'm still lavishing on the thoughts and pictures about Japan, it's AMAZING!!!!

We were so blessed to see fully blossomed sakura when we reached Osaka. Although the weather got abit chilly and eventually rained, we still had our fair shots of snapping happily away with the flood of pink flowers!!


If the weather could be sunnier and brighter, I'm sure it'll reflect the radiance of the cherry blossoms much better :) Nonetheless, I'm thankful they still hold on long enough for us to admire the breathtaking view. I love sakura 'showers' when the wind blew! :P

Oh, being overly excited, my parents and I got abit lost at the Osaka castle and ended up with getting quite drenched and almost FROZE under the single digit weather! Felt so paiseh that we we were late for almost 30min!! :/

Then, we realised that only the 3 of us had chosen to go to Universal Studios,while the rest of the uncles and aunties preferred shopping at the Chinatown in Osaka *dohs*

They sure regret!!! I had so much fun, posing with my favourite cartoon characters such as Ernie, Shrek, Popeye and Marilyn Monroe!! She's so HOT! :D

But bad weather beat her hands down again, as all the outdoor rides were suspended and I din even get the chance to sit on the 'infamous' Hollywood Dream!!! :(

But I did manage to catch the 4D Terminator Show which was awesome!!! hahah there were some points in time, my Mum taught the Terminator was coming for her! (Coz of the special effects glasses we wore, the images felt as if they 'popped' out of the screens!)

It's a REAL pity I din get to sit the rides, but I compensated myself by playing for 8 straight hours at Tokyo Disneyland! More on that in later entries ;)

PS: Check out my photo album for Day 1 on Facebook. :P

Labels: family, holiday, Japan

Sunday, April 13, 2008
Happy Birthday darling!!! :*)

Before I update on my wonderful Japan trip, let me wish my dearest MB a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! *pompoms* :D:D

Having slept at only 2+am this morning, I managed to lug myself out of bed to meet MB and family for his birthday lunch at a restaurant near my office (I'll be going back to work tom!! :/)

Then we hung out at City Hall where he FINALLY got my Coach bag *wheeeeees* I also lugged 2 BIG boxes of Gundam toys from Japan for him!! Look at his gleeful face!


MB has to go back to his lab for awhile so I followed him! It was really interesting seeing the place where he has been working for the past few months. He showed me the zebra fishes which he reared for his experiment purpose and the bacteria that he was cultivating. Pretty cool! Reminds me of my bio lab lessons back in sec school :P


Then I treated him to a sumptuous hot seafood platter at Greenwood Fish Market, highly recommended by my couz Tif. It's a huge spread with clams, mussels, oysters, lobster, prawns and calamari! But towards the end, I felt it was quite jelat and almost puked! :/ But the seafood was really fresh and tasty. :)


Check back here for more updates on my Japan trip during the week! :)

Back to work =_=

Labels: birthday, love, relationships

Friday, April 11, 2008
to the REAL girl

Labels: girlfriends

Sunday, April 06, 2008
the 'new' God's child

Labels: God

Saturday, April 05, 2008
a day to remember...

I've been eagerly anticipating for this day to arrive because it's our 5th year anniversary and our 'little' engagement with mutual exchange of our promise to each other :)

And so days before, I was already preparing for the 'event of the year' and asked MB what are his plans besides dinner at Prive. So he was all hushed up and kept all secretive and refusing to leak out any clues for me. Now I know why...

A surprise was awaiting for me at Mount Emily!

Little did I know that our cosy gathering of two would turn out to include my dearest girlfriends!

I was really, really touched because all of them came to celebrate our anniversary with us! I can only say "oh my gawd!!!!" a million times, and I couldn't contain my emotions and all the surprise I had from them.

And there was this:


Awwwww.... :') The masterpiece by the scrapbook junkies, Theresa, Lala and Hoi! And they actually stayed over at Theresa's to rush through it and only slept at 3am! Sooooo 感动!!!

They actually went to my Facebook, blog archives to download all our pictures and created the collage. Seriously, it was really really very sweet of them to do that. I'm so blissed :):):)

It was really the sweetest thing I can ever imagine happening to me and it did!

Earlier on, I was still self-reproaching for leaving our rings at home and forgot to bring it out. Then I prayed to God and ask Him to bless that we will have an enjoyable and unforgettable anniversary together. And He showed me His blessings once again. Amen!

Then I presented MB his anniversary present, which I've painstakingly made it over the past 1 month, burning some weekends and a small hole in my pocket for the materials :P


Memories of the wonderful times we had together, for MB to bring it over when he's in Aussie :) I made the cover page like yesterday? :P

MB complimented that it's my BEST artpiece so far! But i'm better in Photoshop than papers, scissors and glue!!!

After bidding farewell to my wonderful girls, we adjourned to Vivo to spend the idle time in between before dinner at Prive.

Been wanting to visit this little island of it's own at Keppel Bay, where luxurious condominiums and yachts overlook the Keppel Marina and the scenery at sunset was really awesome.


Prive owns the entire first level of Marina @ Keppel Bay, which has a al fresco gastrobar, deli bakery cafe and a high class New York style dining restaurant that is concealed from the outside.

We had dinner at their atas restaurant, with pricey ocean trout for him and fois gras stuffed chicken breast for me. It was TOO atas that I din dare bring out my camera to take coz it would have been kinda embarrasing :P

The food was absolutely delicious, but only go when you have special occassions or spare cash to spend :)

Then we stuffed ourselves silly at their bakery cafe, with champagne sourdough, mixed berry milkshake, camomile garden tea and tiramisu. MB is a bread-ish person so he kinda regret NOT eating at the bakery instead. :P


And then we took a stroll round the little island to nurse the bulge at the waist. The place was really really quiet and romantic.Albeit the lights were abit blinding, it was really nice taking in all the night view. Wished I had the monies to buy an apartment at the Caribbean or Reflections :P

It has been 5 years, and everyday has been so blissful, knowing that you will always be with me.

Labels: anniversary, girlfriends, God, love, relationships

Thursday, April 03, 2008
for Miss Lala

Labels: birthday, friends

Wednesday, April 02, 2008
What's your friendship style?

Kop-ed this from Theresa's blog, who painstakingly typed off Simply Her's April 08 issue

I'm a mix of Cs and Ds, what's yours? :)

1. What's the best thing abut having friends?

(a) Having a full social calendar
(b) Occasionally meeting up with the few people I can tolerate
(c) Sharing life's journeys and experiences, both big and small
(d) The joys of sisterhood and growing old together
(e) Having like-minded peers to have an intellectual conversation with


2. Which group of friends do you see most?

(a) Everyone - I make new friends easily
(b) My one or two childhood friends
(c) The mum's support group at my child's kindergarten
(d) My small group of close-knit girls
(e) I'm very busy so I don't see my friends a lot


3. At a party, what would you most likely be doing?

(a) Going from table to table, group to group to say "hi"
(b) SMS-ing away in a corner, or talking to the only acquaintance I know
(c) Chatting to friends and their spouses about their lives and kids
(d) Trading gossip with a circle of trust
(e) Getting waylaid by people who haven't seen me in a while, and exchanging business contacts


4. In a perfect world, how often would you meet your friends?

(a) Almost every other day
(b) Once every three months
(c) Once a month
(d) Once a week
(e) When I have the time


5. When a friend is in trouble, she...

(a) Asks if I know anyone who can help her
(b) Usually doesn't call me
(c) Shows up at my doorstep unannounced
(d) Buzzes me immediately for an after-work meeting
(e) Text messages me first to check if I have the time to talk


6. Which TV/movie personality best describes you?

(a) Glamour girl Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) in Legally Blonde
(b) Moody Heather Mooney (Janeane Garofalo)
(c) Flustered mum Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman)
(d) Likeable and dependable Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) in My Big Fat Greek Wedding
(e) Workaholic career woman Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) in Murphy Brown


7. Can you recall your friends' phone numbers offhand?

(a) No, there are too many and they're all in my PDA
(b) Yes, I only have a few close friends anyway
(c) I don't have to, they call me all the time
(d) Of course, all their numbers are etched in my memory
(e) I'm starting to forget as I hardly call them anymore


8. The last time you were at a friend's place, what were you there for?

(a) A gathering
(b) To borrow a few DVDs/books
(c) Our children's swimming lesson at her pool
(d) To hang out on her couch
(e) To attend to something important, like a housewarming or something


9. You didn't pick up a friend's call last night because...

(a) I was having dinner with friends and didn't hear my phone
(b) I didn't want to be disturbed and switched off my phone
(c) There was too much going on at home - I couldn't even get to my phone until the next day!
(d) I had a late meeting but called back as soon as I caould
(e) I was busy. Maybe I'll call back tomorrow


10. Among your friends, you're known as...

(a) The cheerleader
(b) The quiet one
(c) Everyone's mummy
(d) The rock
(e) The one who disappears a lot


11. Your friend is having a birthday party this weekend. How are you involved?
(a) I'm rallying the trooops
(b) I'm showing up
(c) I'm baking something nice
(d) I'm in charge of picking her present
(e) Oops, did you say birthday? This weekend?

12. When you meet up with friends, it's usually...
(a) Drinks with the first group, then dinner with the second
(b) A quiet dinner with a good friend
(c) A homecooked meal at my place
(d) Dinner and teh at our favourite kopitiam from years ago
(e) A quick drink at the cafe near my office

Answers:

Mostly As - You're the social butterfly
You're vivacious, interesting and have great contacts. Always the one planning gatherings and parties, you're the livewire who can be counted on to make things happen. As you're also very well-informed, people will come to you for contacts, information and gossip. But because you have such a wide network of friends, some of your friendships can be superficial and shallow. It's important to differentiate between the ones who will watch your back and the fair-weather friends. If you've neglected your old friends, make time for a quiet dinner or drinks to show you care what's going on in their lives. But be careful not to get carried away - a person with your power and charisma could either get sucked into the bitchy world of social-climbers, risk turning into gossip central, or become the subject of envy and rumour-mongering.

Mostly Bs - You're the lone ranger
You're the private, reserved and shy and have a few friends whom you see as your soulmates. The rest are more like acquaintances, former schoolmates and colleagues. You are perfectly comfortable being alone and when you do meet up with friends on occasion, you prefer intimate, one-to-one conversations instead of large group outings. Realise that despite your belief that friendships last forever, friends do come and go. Some may drift away due to a change of priorities, while some may gradually evolve into different people. Try to expand your social circle and forge new friendships with an open mind - you never know what they may bring into your life. Attend the next class reunion and chat with schoolmates you have lost touch with, join your colleagues for a chat in the office pantry, or ask to be introduced to your friend's friends. Remember, give others the benefit of the doubt (that they'll be interesting or worth befriending) and smile more.

Mostly Cs - You're the saint
You're the nurturer, caregiver and shoulder to cry on. You love to see your friends happy and try your best to see to their needs. People are always comforted in your presence, and they instinctively trust your kindness. It's likely that you have a warm and happy family of your own. We say, good job! Continue to be the dear friend everybody wants to have. The only thing is, as family and work commitments get heavier, you'll have less time for your old pals. Don't forget to stay in touch with friends who haven't had time to seek you out. Your only weakness could be that you wear your heart on your sleeve, and your empathy and desire to help could lead friends to be over-reliant and even take advantage of you. As you're also a magnet for troubled souls, you must not allow others to sap your positive energy and drown you with their negative vibes. Be sure to make time for yourself - you deserve it.

Mostly Ds - You're the old faithful
You're not a shining star in your group, and that's why they love you. You're smart, unassuming, easy-going, reliable and most of all, a very loyal friend - which makes for excellant company. Because of your level-headed nature, you're respect by those around you who often seek your advice or ask you to mediate. And because you've known all your friends for such a long time, they rely on you for the final say on group decisions. However, it's very likely that you're a small-group friend: meaning you're faithful to and comfortable with just this bunch and no one else. You don't tend to make very close new friends, not because you're unsociable, but because of inertia and laziness. With a friendship style like this, you may feel neglected and taken for granted when your friends get caught up in their own lives.

Mostly Es - You're the magician
With all the disappearing acts you've been pulling, it's a surprise your friends still bother with you. The problem with you is not your personality (you're not an ungrateful, insensitive friend), but your lifestyle. You're probably working long, irregular hours in a demanding job that requires frequent travel or last minute change of plans. When you do show up, you're highly-strung and more interested in talking shop than relaxing and fooling around. More often than not, you'll be on the phone (to settle more work issues) or have to leave early, either to go back to the office or home. Friendship takes effort. If you don't try to stay in touch, they may not stick around for long. Your friends may not ditch you but when you're in trouble or need help, they won't be jumping in to offer their time and resources. Even if you're really busy, you could perhaps send them an occasional sms or e-mail, which is all it takes to show them that they are still in your thoughts.

Labels: friends, ramblings, relationships