Missing in action

Wow.. have been a long time since I blogged. I guess working has really taken the toil on me.

December was a madness month. Work was crazy with the new policy changes coming up and lotsa testing to do. But it was a celebration month.

My office had a end of year party on 17th Dec but sadly, it was a very busy day so I couldn’t get away to attend the party. The first thing that greeted me when I got to office was lotsa balloons on the roof of the lift lobby. So happy. And I could not resist the temptations of bringing come back to my work station. And I was very happy when my colleagues gave me more balloons. Went for chalet after work and brought 8 floating balloons from Clarke Quay down to Pasir Ris by train. Haha..

Chalet was very wonderful. I simply love family gatherings. So many ppl, so noisy but always fun and happy. I finally got a chance to wear my blades out. I survived the 1st hr unharmed. But I wasn’t so lucky during the 2nd hr. My wheels got stuck in a hole and I tripped, scraping my poor thumb as a result. Well, a lesson learnt. And I really loved the playground at Pasir Ris park and I had a lot of fun with my cousins. Would really love to go back to Pasir Ris park again.

December was a time for my dear as well. Went batam for a short trip. Well, we really nv do anything much except to watch a lot of tv programmes. I have never watched so much tv programmes in a month when I am at home. Nonetheless, it was a very nice and relaxed trip. Except that the stupid custom at Harbourfront spoilt everything.

And finally it was Christmas and New Year. Never really went partying but was very happy to have a lot of presents from my colleagues. The presents were all left on my table while I was away on leave and it was really really a nice surprise to have time. But I feel so guilty for not buying them anything. Will do it the next time round.

Finally it’s the end of the year. Sending Huimin’s birthday away and welcoming Yong Kiat’s bday. It’s a new year so may everyone have a superb year ahead! Time to come up with some new year resolutions.

a pig test

A friend sent this to me and i thought that it was really quite fun. At first i seriously thought that this is only a game but I was surprised to find that it was actually a personality test. Quite accurate but 听听就好. haha..

anyway, here's the link for those who are interested.

Here's my pig!

And here's my analysis:

Your choice of background shows that you are responsible, straightforward and a realist but can sometime appear confrontational and challenging. (okay, this is kind of true. I sometimes come across as too confrontational. But I really wasn't thinking about anything except for the fact that orange suits the colour of the pig better.)

The direction your pig is facing indicates you being direct and straightforward, you will not avoid confrontation when hard decisions are needed. You will play devil's advocate to ensure that all possible avenues have been explored. (very true indeed. i hate to beat about the bush. As for the devil's advocate part, I always think of myself as too critical.)

The amount of detail in your pig means you are analytical, cautious and sometimes suspicious. (well, I dun usually trust people very much. =p)

Because your pig has four legs, some may say you are stuck in your ways but actually this reflects your strong beliefs and your stubbornness in defending them. (haha.. i am well known for being stubborn.)

The larger the pig's ears, the better listener you are. (okay, I admit that I am a lousy listener. But I just thought those small ears are so kawaii!)

The longer your pig's tail, the better your sex life – need we say more! (no comments on this...)

CPF changes

Hey all, long time no update. I am back, with something on a more serious note.

In view of the recent CPF changes that is going to affect all of us, I strongly encourage everyone to read this article. Start saving for retirement now. Meet up with your financial advisor and you will be very surprised with how bad your financial status is and the amount of money you will need to save for your retirement nest.

http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/mom_speeches/2007/20070919-Speech_by_Dr_Ng_Eng_Hen_Minister_for_Manpower_.html

I know many of us are still finding a job, changing jobs and the furthest we can think about is getting a car and a house. But, seriously, it is always much better to start planning for retirement young as compounded interest will result in a substantial sum of money.

Seriously, I am sure those who read my blog are my close friends. As a friend, I really encourage everyone to meet up with a fiancial advisor and start planning your money now.

On a side note, yesterday I was a super duper blur girl. I cannot believe I actually mixed up the date for my exam!! OMG...

long time no see

This is a long mia period. I really think that working can really make someone age very fast and gets very tired easily so I have not been updating. Sorry wor…

October was supposed to be a happy month. It is my birthday month and its signifies the official end of ALL my tuitions. So happy!

Talking about my birthday, really got to thank my JCs friends for the very pleasant surprise. It was very sweet. Thanks ppl! Also got to thank my family for the nice birthday cake. Thanks Ailing for meeting up with me on my birthday despite not sleeping for 24 hours. Thanks Joven for her birthday wishes from Japan. Thanks Chris, BY and Ju for the nice company and dinner. I especially enjoyed the super hilarious pool session. Thanks my uni ppl for the super early celebration. And not to forget, thank you all those who remembered my birthday! I think I have got to a point where meeting up with people during my birthday is more important then bothering about birthday presents. So far, I only have 2 birthday presents wor. Haha…

But apart from tuition, and birthday, my happy days are limited.

Work was really okay. Apart from having to deal with irritating people who kept calling me, stupid ppl who ask stupid questions and dumb ppl who do not know how to follow simple instructions. Work load was fine but I just get very irritated when some ppl are just so irritating. Already say cannot, then still come and ask. How stupid can they get? Plus I sit in front of the section who have agitated people coz they work with even more irritating ppl. Sometimes, I just get irritated listening to them. If not for my music, I will probably.

To add to my troubles, I had my placement exam this month. OMG.. they all bluff me. say very easy one. Where got loh? Open book not very much use leh. And listen in class oso not much use coz they nv explain much in class oso. End up, I smoked my way through the entire paper. Pray hard that I can pass. In addition, I had my first FA paper. I finished a 2hr paper in 45mins and passed. Heng ah.. coz I did not have much time to study. I speed read 5 chapters in half a day in office. Feel so guilty loh.

I cannot explain why I do not feel happy. Somehow, I simply feel down. Anyway, I hope this feeling will pass very soon. I do not like it when I keep complaining.

Resolution of the month: BE HAPPY!

Some last thoughts: Love is really like a journey. You went on it without knowing what is in store. The further you walk, the greater the inertia to stop moving or turn back because you always tell yourself: I have already gotten so far. So sometimes, even if you know that you are on the wrong track, you might just ignore the signs and continue walking, hoping that somehow there will be a different ending or that this road will bring you to where you want to in the end.

life is so short.

Exactly. So we should be making full use of our lives and do something meaningful with it right?

I have been living on earth for more than 2 decades. But why do I feel like I have not been making good use of my 24hrs a day. I am always rushing from place to place and making use of my time. I always thought that waiting is a total waste of my precious. My life is packed with activity but why do I still feel so empty?

For many months, I have not been able to have a good conversation with my parents. I have never had time to think of what I want to do today because my calendar is forever packed with stuff. I have not been able to play games with my cousin, chase them around the place and read to them. I have not been able to notice the rising bright sun as I am always running off. I have never been able to notice that pretty little flower that was sprouting from the grounds. I do not have time for my friends. No time to go to the gym. And my shopping time is actually time between tuitions.

I simply do not know how to put down everything. But all I know is that I have failed to realize that life is much prettier if I simply slow down my footsteps and give myself some breathing space.

I just feel so tired… I want to be a good friend, good gf, good daughter but I seemed to be failing in everything I do. I am really tired of running around. I want to slow down my footsteps and appreciate all that is going around me. I want to be able to stroll home without worrying that someone will call me and start scolding me for being home late. I want to sit in the library and read my favourite books and drink a nice cup of smoothie. I want to go blading in East Coast. I want to go Hume Park swimming. I want to go Sentosa and sit them and bask in the wonderful sun. I want to try out Settlers' Cafe. I want to go Essential Brews and chat with my friends just like the good old days. I want to meet hz everything weekend like we used to. There is so much so much I want to do but 24hrs a day and 7 days a week is simply not enough.

I wish time can fly faster so that this year can be over. If I was given a choice to start my life again, I will definitely not choose this path today.

Life at work

well.. after graduation is working time right?

I started work even before i graduate and even before i went to hong kong. Well.. most ppl tell me that i am wasting my leave but i am totally okay, because i get a paid graduation trip. Not many ppl do, you know.

Well, first few days of work was a lot of theory. There are so manyyyyyyyyyyyyy policies, new rules and stuff to learn. Den my computer took very long to set up oso loh. Initially it was a lot of reading and learning. After a while the work load starts to come in.

Now I am nearly 2 months into the job and I am swamped with work. Got letters to send, appeals to look into, courses to attend and briefing to go to. To make things worse, I am sick now which means that work is going to be even more on Monday.

But then, even though work is very heavy, I love my colleagues.

Those who sat near me were very helpful and funny. I am always disrupting them to ask questions but they are always very nice to me. My other colleagues are also very nice. Lunch is usually a lot of laughter. But as we have too many ppl, it wasn't always very easy to find seats.

But still, one has to look towards the future. I am still looking forward to my 10k job. whahaha..

Convocation 2007

Convocation took place on 23rd July 2007. After 41 modules, 7 exams, 4 years of university life, 2 months of waiting, 1 FYP, 1 poster presentation, 1 oral presentation, it is finally graduation time!

Ceremony was boring and most ppl choose to skip it. But to me, a graduation ceremony is the only reason why we need our gowns. haha.. and its a time to catch up with friends and take photos. My only regret is that I nv took much photos with me parents and my ah ma.

My parents, my sister and my Ah Ma who came down to see me graduate. The day my parents have been waiting for.

While most ppl chose to buy flowers, my sister decided to make me a bouquet of flower. So sweet hor...

My dear who came down for my ceremony as well. =) thanks! muackz....

My bro rushed down from school to come oso. The only photo i took with him leh.. haha.. should have taken more. But its okay lah.. I am intending to go take studio shots.

Another pseudo-studio shot. I realised that I really quite looked like my father. haha.. But i dun want to be as fat as him. whaha..

My all time best-est friend. My labmate, tutorial mate, gossip mate and complain mate. haha.. this girl helped me through boring university life. I will miss you girl!

My uni clique. Aiya.. so sian loh.. we can nv get a group photo. This is the best we can get liao... even then, we still have 3 missing heads.

Huishan (my fyp mate), Dr Liang and Me. Finally managed to get a photo taken in Dr Liang's room. haha.. I am really grateful to Dr Liang for all his help during FYP. I really nv thought what my life would have been if not for him. He really made my FYP days much better. Thanks Dr Liang!

And how can i forget my labmates who have gave me so much help? Especially to Rao Feng who has taught me a lot of things and to Kong Rong who is always there to help me pick up my FPLC mess and solve my problems. Thanks guys!

Congratulations to me! You are finally an NTU graduate! Oh.. i forgot to mention that i simply love my gown colour. I think its very natural and nice. Matches our course prefectly.

hong kong trip 15th to 20th

wow.. i TWO months nv post blog liao leh.. anyway.. since i am on MC today, i shall do some work and start posting some blogs...

This Hong Kong trip was the first that I have been where I do not have any buses to bring me around, I have to pay for my own food and I have to think of where and how to get to a certain place. But still, I quite like the trip, despite some unhappiness here and there. Anyway, let’s jus let the photos do the talking…

Day 1
Daddy sent me and willie to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. Den my cute ah ma wants to come along too. I think she bu fang xin her dear granddaughter fly off on her own. Anyway, looking at the photo, I realized that I actually bear resemblance to my Ah Ma leh. Right?

Yeah! Finally at Hong Kong airport. My first meal in HK is not dim sum or anything near. It’s the ramen at Ajisen. I heard that they have different things from SG and it tastes better than the ones in SG. I tot the ramen was really quite nice and I think I should check out the ones in SG. My plane mate, Willie. We were supposed to fly to HK to meet Guan Hua and Huimin and the best part is that we have never met each other prior to this. =p

The hotel which we stayed at. Very small but still.. it is wonderful. I will recommend anyone to stay there. They have free internet access within the room and outside the room. And the place is not too small and very clean. The best thing is that the place is very accessible. Wonderful!

The first local delicacy which I tried in HK was 许留山. And I tell you… I am totally in LOVE with it!! OMG… I wish I could just bring it back to SG… the mango is so thick and nice… omg…yummy… simply heavenly… While we were at central, I decided to try my hands at some artistic photos. I love this. Although I think it can be improved. Can u feel the clouds moving? The sky is always blue in hk and the clouds are always so huge and fluffy.This was the roof of Times Square which I tot was very nice. While trying to capture the roof, I got this very nice photo of huimin. But she insists that its is not nice…For dinner, we went to try 唐朝. I think we had 鲜虾云吞面 which was only so-so. But the 杏仁paste was very nice… Yummy……… At night, we did a night market marathon. We started walking from Prince Edward’s MTR with Fa Yuen Street and ended up at Jordan MTR with Temple Street which was just to our hotel. The best part? We only took like 1hr to walk through.

Day 2 We went Ocean Park today! Wow… so nice.. I felt like I was a child all over again. The rides were quite fun. I had a virgin ride on a roller coaster that turns 360° turn. I oso went on the free-fall drop. Wow… tt was shiok… but it was so high up that I dun dare to look down.

Our first stop was to visit panda bears. So cuttteeeeeeee……And their souvenir shop has this very cute panda bag. Well… since I cannot foresee myself carrying such a cute bag, I shall take a photo as a souvenir.We also went on the cable car which was built along the mountains and right beside the sea.

Look at all the other cable cars! And the drop below… We got magnificent view of the sea on the cable car…so pretty… At night we went up the peak. Very wonderful view! But my night vision still not too good so I cannot really see very well.We also went to the wax museum. Here's huimin and me or rather only me, trying to act like a star.. wahah...Here’s me as the acting president. Whahaa…And this is my fav photo. I think I merge really well into the painting. Dun you think so? Well, realized no photo of food? Coz today’s meal was boring… morn was hotel breakfast. Lunch was mac at ocean park. This was slightly interesting though, coz I get to eat sausage mcmuffin in the afternoon. Dinner was burger king up at the peak, since we cannot find a decent eating place.

Day 3
Today’s a nice and peaceful day coz we went to Lantau island to visit the big bronze Buddha. *ew.. i look so fat....* The view up there was so super wonderful! And it was so windy!

Since we were there, we decided to try out the vegetarian meal at the temple. Surprisingly, the food was quite nice… look at the spread! To make our trip more interesting, we went in search of wisdom along the wisdom path. No regrets, although it was a long walk. It was very very very comfortable and cooling. So much so that I dun want to get down.

Can you see the wonderful view behind me?Oh, and I love this group photo. One of the very few that we took. Look at how insignificant we are posed next to the gigantic wooden sticks onto which the words of wisdom were engraved upon. Dinner was back at Citygates and we had fastfood again. This time it was KFC. Well, at least this meal was interesting as their KFC sell different things from ours. They have a greater variety of food apart from chicken. But I think the chicken in Singapore still nicer.And it was the start of a series of shopping. Wahaa...

We shopped at citygates and while we were going back, we did more shopping IN the mtr station. Wow.. if I was living in hong kong hor, I think my salary forever not enough for me and I will nv reach home. Oh… and we spotted this very pretty hello kitty cabin on display in the MTR. If only a real train was so pretty. Wahah…Total damage done:
1 jacket, 3 tops, 1 bag, 1 piggie cushion for my seat in office and 1 packet of sweets.

Day 4
Today is a feasting day.

We slept till 12 noon! Whaha… and we went out to have dim sum and roasted pigeon. Hmm… dim sum okay lah. The fried stuff quite good, but the rest only so so. And the pigeon very salty leh. But I love the porridge! Very nice…

See.. its so small...... Tsk tsk.. pigeon oso want to eat spring roll...
Den we went to kum tong to visit a factory outlet. Majority of the shops were not around already but I managed to buy a nice superman t-shirt.

After that, we went tsim sha tsui to shop around. Well, all the super high-end shops lah, nothing for me to see oso.

At night we went to see the symphony of night. Haha.. actually quite boring leh.. coz no fireworks. And quite confusing oso… trying to follow the lights.

But the view was very nice...

And there was a lee xiao long statue right in the middle of the avenue of stars. ah ta!!It was a super tiring day so not much photos taken. But we made an attempt to take a group photo while the four of us were squeezed on the same stretch of bench and trying to catch our reflection in the mtr. Our dinner cum supper. Well, coz we dun have time to have a proper meal lah. Only had a sandwich. This bowl of wanton noodles is pretty nice and its only S$2 wor. Yummy…
But the place is actually quite small.. very typical of the hong kong eateries we see on tv.. Day 5
For breakfast, we finally broke away from the hotel and went to try café de coral. Not bad leh… too bad we dun have time to try it again, other than a super rushed dinner at the airport.

We went macau today! We were all so broke (at least me and huimin) that we decided to buy the tickets online.. hwahaha...
And the others were so tired that they slept for the entire journey. Leaving me alone to take photos and to watch tv.
The ferry terminal was super duper packed lah. Wah lau.. the immigration at macau felt like a fish market. I wanted to take photo but was told that immigration cannot take photos. Too bad loh...

But anyway, it was a nice shopping cum eating trip. Although it was a very hot day..

Our first stop was to go shopping for almond cookies, rolls and peanut sweets. But apparently, even though i have already bought a lot, there was still not enough to go around leh. But they are very nice...... and the egg tarts were wonderful.. omg...

After that we made our way to St Paul's church. This was a way we had to pass by on our way to the church. I dunno its name but I just thought it looks very nice. see the clouds? so pretty...
St Paul's church. Or rather, the remains of the church. We managed to squeeze in time to take photo while we were waiting for a cab to go for our lunch. End up, we had to walk out to the main street to take a cab. 2 handsome and 4 pretties all in shades. haha.. only goes to show how sunny the day was...
This was the very very nice crab porridge which we had for lunch. For after lunch "dessert", we also went to try their renowned pork cutlet bun. Hmm… the pork too salty but the bun was pretty nice. wow.. tis looks really good in the photo right?

The last part of the trip was a visit to the casino. I tried my hands on jackpot and managed to won a little bit of money. And we shared money to bet on Big Small. We lost the first round but got back our capital on the second round. Den me n huimin backed out. whaha... we are very broke lah.. 50 is very precious to us leh...

We made our way back to hotel to put down all our biscuits before we went to try a seafood restaurant near our hotel. Hmm.. other the fish which was super super nice, the rest of the food was only so-so.

The highlight came when we went night market shopping. OMG.. Fa Yuen street is super nice to shop. We stopped at ladies’ street coz huimin cannot find her toilet den we have to go back to hotel. Den we continued at Temple street.

We really bought a lot of things and the guys were really nice enough to help us carry out stuff. They were helping me with my biscuits while we were in Macau (they were very heavy leh) and they still have to help me with my shopping.

Lesson learnt: always go shopping with guys around. Whahaa…

Total damage done:
8 tops, 1 skirt, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 t-shirts (presents for ppl), 3 bracelets and 1 necklace.

Day 6
We are going home today! We should be, since huimin and I are running super low on cash.

Breakfast was hotel breakfast since we were super broke. Wahhaa…

After which, we went to visit Wong Tai Sin Temple, a very big temple in HK.
After temple sight-seeing, we made our way to central in search of a very big LV.

For lunch, we went to eat roasted goose. The century egg very nice...The roasted goose was not too bad. the skin is very crispy but i still prefer duck though...
And on our way to the restaurant, we passed by Nine West which was having sale. As usual, huimin and I cannot resist walking in. End up, we each bought a bag from the same series but different designs. Very cheap leh, on 60% off loh. Wahaha.. so happy.

After lunch, we went to Mong Kok to buy 恒香 wife biscuits which was supposed to be very famous. Its really quite nice leh. I dun usually eat wife biscuits but this one is very very nice.

Since we still have time to spare, we went to try my 许留山 for the last time. As huimin and I needed the toilet, we went in search for it. At the same time, we went shopping and I was tempted to spend my last bit of money on clothes… whaah…

Sigh… after eating, it was time to go back to the hotel to pick up our stuff and to go home…

Shopping haven end yet. Haha.. it continued at the airport where I bought crispy kreme and some small stuff from the Disney store for my students and my cousins. No money to buy key chains for myself so I am going to ask my sister to buy for me when she is back in hong kong…

Time to go home!!
After a 4 hours flight, I am finally home!!

Total damage done from the trip…

Tonnes of food which I painstakingly hand carried up the plane.

Lotsa clothes, bags and shoes.

All these were bought at Fa Yuen Street. OF which 5 tops were bought at the same shop.
More tops accumlated from days of shopping. haha.. The t-shirts at the bottom were presents for ppl. They are very nice and damn cheap...My nice white nine west bag and my esprit bag. I oso bought a very nice esprit jacket...
My cute piggie!! And doremon sweets!Small trinkets for myself and a name card holder which i bought for hz at Lantau.And last but not least, stuff for others from the Disney store. The lollipops taste horrible although they are very cute. A bit waste money... but i thought the pens were very cute. I enjoyed this hong kong trip, esp the shopping! Wow… I am pretty sure that I will be back in hong kong next june or july for another shopping spree. Hong Kong, wait for me!!