Birthday Celebration for Xris

This morning woke up with a headache, probably is some hangover effects and probably after the "sun-tanning" in the afternoon when I walked all the way from Burlington Square to SMU Admin Building for my interview under the scorching sun. The interview was quite fast, started off with the HR person for about 15 mins and with the hiring manager for about less than 1/2 hr. I was out by 2.35pm and supposed to meet sis but she decided she got no mood to come out so I went home and showered, crimped my hair and got ready for the evening.

Also called the florist at Orchard MRT Stn to do up a bouquet for me 1st and then collected it on my way to meet them for dinner. It was quite a nice bouquet and I think this will be one shop I will use often next time :P Supposed to order online for Xris but was very bz on Wed until 4got. Din want to order earlier coz haven't decide to send to her office or dinner place (which we just decided on Wed). So end up I have to go buy personally coz wanted her to have it to take pictures with and to carry around and show off!!


Its yet another birthday celebration...this time for Xris, whose birthday is on 2 Apr 06 so we celebrated in advance for her. After meeting Xris (Angeline gonna be late, as usual) and went to the Wheelock Place Crumpler shop to browse. Angeline then arrived and we bought a green bag for Xris (birthday present from me, sis and Angeline) as she had 10% off from her Apple card. I decided not to get one for myself coz its actually quite heavy before putting any stuff in.


We then shopped around abit before "checking in" California Pizza Kitchen for our dinner. Ordered individual soup (they had the Tortilla Soup while I had the Potato Leek Soup), a Chicken Caesar Salad, a Sweet and Sour Italian Sausage Pizza and a Chicken Tequilla-Lime Pasta (Fetucinne) to share. The food was great but abit too much as Xris got small appetite after the change in her diet (she dunno what she is missing man!!).





Took quite a bit of pictures while chit-chatting and waiting for our food to digest. Left the place as the next table was very noisy, 2 ang mohs talking very loud as if they are deaf. Went to the Royal Plaza Hotel lounge for drinks. We played pool for a while and taught Xris how to play and surprisingly she did quite well for a 1st-timer (although she mentioned she played b4 long ago).



The lounge was quite smoky (some ang mohs smoking cigars!!) and we were the only chinese there. Xris looked extremely tired so we left ard 12.10am to take cabs home. Had a quick bath and knocked out...

Facial at MTM and more..

Finally went for the appointment for facial at MTM last night. We had a short consultation before they could determine what kind of facial is suitable for us (me and sis) and we got a shock when they scan our faces!! Never imagine our face looked horrible under the scan with lots of problems. So being gals and vain in nature, we were convinced to sign up a treatment package. Dun ask me how much coz u gonna faint!!! Anyway I guess if our skin can improve, have to pay a high price.

Went in for the facial finally ard 8.10pm. It was good, except its painful when my beautician tried to squeeze all the blackheads and oil out. After that I had 2 masks and actually dozed off in between. It was very relaxing and dun feel like going off after the session finished slightly pass 10pm. Wow it actually took so long! After that we were advised to purchase their custom-blended products and we spent more $$$!!


Was feeling tired and hungry after the sessions and while chatting online to almost 12am, decided to go to bed and not waste all the treatment I had just done (very ex u know!!).

This morning woke up automatically quite early, before my alarm went off at 6.40am. As its still early, I continue to sleep on and end up waking up later than usual. Not sure if its the after-effects of the facial, was feeling damn tired and drained. Started using the MTM products last night and this morning, and was really tedious!!

Left home around 8am++ (very late! I would have reached office by this time!!) and took a cab. While feeling uneasy about being late, as its month end and I need to get the sales data done by 8.30am, the stupid taxi driver had to take a wrong route, and then suggested another route than my usual one. I dun understand these drivers, why cun they just follow which route we want to go. I have no mood to argue with him so let him be. Not being bad enuf, we had to stop at almost every traffic light (very bad timing and the driver was so slow) and I reached office ard 8.35am. Think it would have been faster if I took the MRT. And you know what, when I reached the office, the network is down and I cun run my sales anyway. Heaven's will!!

Going to pick up some vouchers later before heading for my interview. Erm, no feeling yet except sleepy!! After that should be meeting my sis for some shopping before meeting Xris and Shiqi for dinner, and she meeting Yoki for movies.Meanwhile, hope the morning passes by fast...

Bz Bz day..

Stepped into the office and we had an issue with blackberry from our MD. Dunno how he broke the blackberry's screen and need immediate replacement as he will be travelling next week. Took me almost 2 hrs to get everything sorted out and arranged to purchase a new unit for him.

Was settling some other issues with the helpdesk and then preparing to rush down to the job agency. Had a brief session with the consultant and left to buy some fruits for lunch then took a bus back to office. It was damn hot earlier and now drizzling.

Finally settled down after a bz day.... Going facial tonite at MTM, hope can relax abit then..

I got a weird sister

Met my sis to go shopping at Yishun earlier. We arranged to meet when my train reached Braddell and she boarded. As I was sitting down, she din want to stand around and talk to me but chose to stand near the door away from me. After the next station, someone beside me alighted and I couldn't catch her atttention so I sms her to come and sit. She replied saying nevermind she preferred to stand. Eventually there were 2 empty seats beside me btu she just refused to come over, saying she got no mood. I was like dunno should laugh or what, imagine what's the point of co-odinating to meet when she dun even want to sit together.

I got a weird sister...

Which celebrity do you look like???

Saw an interesting blog and followed the link to try my own "Which celebrity do you look like?". Well I do not have funny looking pictures else I think the results will be more interesting!!

Wow this is good, hope I am as pretty as her!!

Erm a guy???

Do I look like I got dark circles??

Walao, I actually have the same match for this guy using 3 of my different photos!!! Why do I look like a guy??? Maybe its the specs...so its not accurate at all...just for fun la...

I think I have to find more photos (nicer and funny ones) soon... Hope I resemble some Asian celebrities instead. Dunno y chinese can be matched to an ang moh??

I did two for Web, imagine one of which he got the same match as most of my photos and the other one is Chow Yun Fat!!!


Also did one for my boss, and I think no one wants to see her face so I just attaching the matched celebrity. I leave it your imagination on how my boss looks like!!! Hahaha...

Writing your resume 's current and expected salary

Was talking with Web about resume writing when I realised something true and shocking. He was asking me how I state my current and expected salary, I said by monthly and he pointed out something out of my imagination. He mentioned that he read from somewhere, if we state our monthly salary, it should be calculated as annual income (which includes all the allowance, benefits in cash and bonuses) and divided by 12.

For example, if someone's 12 months salary totals up to $24,000 and bonuses at $6,000, the net annual income should be $30,000. When you state in your resume, your monthly salary should be $30,000 / 12 = $2,500. This is done so that you do not lose income due to additional income other than your fixed salary.

I think alot of people including myself did not realise this, and did not know that this can be done. Imagine you are drawing $2,000 a month in this instance and you get $2,300 in your next job, which unfortunately do not offer any bonuses, you actually get a pay cut (compared to $2,500 as computed through annual net income)!!!

Get your resume corrected now and do not lose out in getting what you deserved!

A very warm Sunday...

4got to mention I got my bonus on 24 Mar 05, instead of the usual payday on 25th. Din really have chance to spend it yet, or rather think will save it instead. Perhaps will just buy something nice for myself, and buy my family and Web dinner. If I am going to quit w/o a job, this will come in good use to tide me over for a couple of months, which of coz I hope wun happen. I am still going ahead to open a fixed deposit account but haven't got to find out more info yet.

Went to the Bishan temple, along Braddell Road for the yearly Qing Ming Festival to pray. We usually do it earlier to avoid the crowd on the actual day. This year, most of the cousins are present and we had about 20++ people there. As usual, walked from home and though it was drizzling, its still damn warm. Was talking to the rest, someone should take a solar fan there next time, so we could make good use of the heat and keep us cool. One of my cousins actually took alot of pictures there, dunno what's there to take also. Must check out her blog later...

The last praying part was quite funny coz as dad leaded us telling the ancestors the stuff like all the children and grandchildren came to pray, then bow 3 times, then ended up with clapping. Cun help but laugh dunno why he so funny. Sis was telling us, he should actually rehearse next time, coz he was stuttering on dunno what to say at that time. Being the eldest is truly not easy. Its sad to think if by the time his generation passed on, what would happen. Would we still go and pray?? Will the big family still be in contact?? Sad to think about it...

Went off to meet Web after a cool shower and proceeded to our usual routine. Played pool and was kinda fed up when it became more and more crowded. I hated those tables where there are 4-5 people and everyone will crowd around and blocking the miserable small space between the pool tables. There's one gal who actually knocked onto my cue and din even say sorry. I shouted quite loud out to Web saying some people really got no feel, hit people also never say sorry. Her partner should have heard it and was whispering to her. You see la, when the weather is hot, the place also so warm and crowded, made me heated. Was telling Web play until very pek chek.

Finally left ard 5.30pm and proceeded for swimming. Swam 20 laps as usual and did not feel so hungry after the swim. Ate at A* again and watched abit of EPL soccer match but not the teams we support so left before full time.

The Hills Have Eyes...and more

Went for a show "The Hills Have Eyes" with Web at Great World City 2day. Seriously I dunno what is it all about as I haven't been keeping up with the latest movies nowadays as there's no blockbusters or anything worth to watch.

The show was unexpectedly gross. Its rated M18 so we thought its just scary, but turned out its pretty disgusting as well. This blood-thirsty mutant family actually are people who were affected by the after effects of nuclear testing, living in a testing village which has since been abandoned. Only 3 people and one baby from the traveller family survived, out of 7. There's alot of killing and bloodshed, not excluding the deformed faces of the mutant people. Erm, if you've got better things to do or go, pls dun waste time to go watch....not worth it.

Extracted from the GV website: "THE HILLS HAVE EYES is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travellers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carters soon realize the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family...and they are the prey."


Well, we almost lost our appetite after the movies but luckily our stomachs were strong and were quite hungry after the show. Walked to a nearby chicken rice/ zhi cha stall for dinner before taking a slow walk (about 4-5 bus stops) all the way to a temple at River Valley Road(near UE Square) and then Robertson Quay.

Settled down at a pub located inside Robertson Walk to watch the Liverpool Vs Everton match. Its really an interesting match whereby the Liverpool captain was sent off by the 18th minute. which was a shock and disappointment to all. 2 more members got the yellow cards thereafter. Everton scored an own-goal for Liverpool at the extra time of the 1st half, which was a leading point for a second goal by my favourite Luis Garcia (see below pic) at the 47th minute. Two players from both sides were then given yellow cards coz they were juggling each other and delayed the free kick. It was so funny when they were doing that as everything was a stand still waiting for the free kick by Liverpool and they were moving here and there (so obvious!!). An Everton player was also sent off at 73th minute and the teams were equalised to 10 players each. Another goal was scored by Kewell at the 84th minute and it finally ended with Liverpool winning 3-1. Best match (entertaining) ever...

Bz day...

Its TGIF and a bz day for me. Its probably one of those days when you have mood to work coz its weekend anyway and no mood on the other hand coz ITS WEEKEND!! Nevertheless, Fridays are usually quite relaxing. Actually was feeling quite tired after last night's KTV session, which ended ard 11.20pm.

Well, no time to blog this morning coz was bz with some issues and had a short complain session from boss again. Was then forced to attend a meeting with boss, colleague and vendor to discuss something which is of little concern to me. I played mahjong game on my handphone through the meeting....haha

Had to see a user b4 lunch and obviously the morning passed by quite quickly. Had lunch at Swensens with my vendor (the same one who came for the meeting) and colleagues. Went Cold Storage to stock up on supplies of instant noodles for rainy days before catching a ride from my vendor back to the office.

The afternoon passed by quite fast too coz was looking for users here and there. Also one of those days when I will move my butt off my chair and walk around. Sometimes just too lazy to move anywhere...

Went shopping with sis and Xris at IMM after work coz Web got D&D tonite. I din really buy much after spending like an hr or more in Daiso - the $2 shop in IMM. My heels and legs were feeling very tired so when we reached the ground floor, I sat somewhere and waited for them. Left ard 9.45pm and realised the last shutter bus had gone at 9pm. We walked slowly to the Jurong East Mrt stn and was feeling so warm when we boarded the train. It was a quite long 45 mins ride b4 we finally reached Braddell.

女人是很容易被感动的...

You know how a simple thing or gesture can touch a gal? Just receive an e-card from my beau and I am really touched!! He dun do this kind of stuff often thus I am really surprised!!

女人是很容易被感动的...

Shopping spree!!

Me and sis went shopping and tried on many clothings at OG yesterday. I was commenting that never knew OG has such nice clothes. End up I only bought one piece and sis bought 2 pieces (which one piece we agreed to share). Had the chance to also use my $20 rebate voucher for every $100 spent I got together with other vouchers from my Valentine's Day bouquet.

Had dinner at Fish & Co. as sis had craving for fish n chips which I dun mind too. It was a long walk from OG to Wheelock Place but worth it coz the fish was fabulous!! We had New York Fish & Chips (new special on the menu with cheese inside the fish!!). Citibank card got promotion for free drinks so we each had a glass of passionfruit soda.

We were walking around Wheelock place checking out the Apple shop and Crumbler boutique. The Crumpler bags me and Xris initially wanted (for Xmas!) were finally replenished but we dun really want now...hehe. We finally check out MTM skincare showroom which is also located there. Had a short consultation there for my oily skin and sis' dark eye circles. We decided to do a trial facial treatment for each of our problem and fixed appointments for next Wed. We were assured can see immediate results so are now quite excited about it. The treatment facials were surprising less expensive than buying products alone to use. One time facial is around $150 to $200 which you can see fast results whereas products for basic correction is around $300++ to $500++ (especially for my sis' problem) and it will only cure physical outer layer (not inner). So we will just try 1st and see if we will continue if the results are good.

We left shortly and realised the shopping centres are slowly closing as its almost 9pm. Managed to shop one round at Isetan Orchard before a salesgal actually told us in the face so rudely that they are closing in 10 mins. So we left shortly and headed for home.

Woke up suddenly middle of the night and realised its raining quite heavily. For a while in my half sleep mode, I had though it was some drilling sound then listened carefully and concluded its raining. Fell asleep very fast soon after and woke up feeling tired again ard 7am+.

Supposed to meet up with the job agency consultant today but she changed the appointment to next week instead, before my interview. I dun mind coz scared will rain again. Might end up going shopping later...see how..

I am going for an interview!!

Yeah...the job agency called me earlier to inform me I have been shortlisted to go for an interview at SMU next week for the position of a Communications Admin Executive. More or less know the job scope but need to find out more. They are willing to pay me up to 10% more of my current salary and its worth a try. Will drop by the job agency tomorrow during lunch to have a brief interview with the person at the job agency 1st. Wish me luck!!

Looking for jobs

Spent almost the whole morning surfing JobsDB for job openings. Sent about 6 applications out, mainly secretarial posts. Was feeling tired again this morning, probably din sleep enough so dun really have the mood to work.

Heard from a HR colleague (HR Manager), that the job market is pretty good now as alot of people are changing jobs. By this month, most of the people have gotten their bonuses and thus its time to move on I guess. We had a few resignations just this month alone. Although the HR tried to dissuade them, they have already signed the new job appointments (which the terms are obviously much better). Hopefully I will be able to find something soon and get out of this place.

I heard from another fren the other day that she also changed job just last month. She had a 40% pay increment from her previous job. How lucky she is. Now her pay is almost ard 4k, which I got a shock. She was my pre U classmate and it never occur to me she actually can accelerate so fast. The last time I know, she was only paid like 2k+ doing some accounts and admin work. Some people are just lucky in their lives I guess. However, come to think of it, there are bound to be sacrifices when you move higher in terms of salary (and positions of coz). More work, more responsibilities and committments, not to mention putting in extra hours for overtime work.

For me, I just want a simple well-paid job. Need not be like 4k la...but enough to survive and go for tours yearly. At this moment, there is still no place that can be as good (with many benefits and good bonuses) as my current job but I am getting sick of this place coz of the sickening boss. Unless she is moving on, else I think I have to be the one to go. I like my job here but working in this shit place with completely no career advancement/ promotion, miserable increment and constantly receiving nagging and reprimanded for things beyond or not under my control is a complete waste of my time (youth too, although not any younger). I hope, really hope I can find a good job and get a new life soon.

美丽的缘分

End of a weekend again...

Woke up ard 10am+ but fell asleep soon after washing up. Finally woke up at 12 noon and showered when my family just came home. Watched vcd until almost 2.30am. Din realise the time until my eyelids starting feeling heavy. The series is quite funny until sometimes its damn ridiculous. Nevertheless its a good way to relieve stress.

Went to meet Web and played pool, followed by swimming. The pool was not as dirty and crowded as last week, probably coz it rained earlier while we were playing pool. Din quite see but heard people saying its quite heavy. After completed 20 laps (usually try to set as my minimum requirement), we switched over to the medium pool. Din stay long coz the water was full of insects!!! The same type me and sis saw at the Toa Payoh Swimming pool last time. Its always the lights there that attracted these insects (flies, bees and dunno wat else) into the water. Its not as bad as TPY pool but its still quite creepy and some stings!!

Had dinner at A* (suddenly occured to me its should be called 甲星 in mandarin...hehe) at AMK central. Had abit of hor fun, yee mee, bee hoon kway (面粉果) and guo tie (锅贴). Also bought peanut paste (花生糊) to try from the hawker centre earlier. Its not as nice as the sesame paste (芝麻糊) coz abit watery. Saw a lot of peopl eating curry puffs from the western food stall and looks nice. Shall try it next time as we were too full.

There's a Liverpool match tonite but we din stay to watch as it will finish almost ard 11.30pm. Managed to peep when we walked past S11 hawker centre just now when the score was at 0-1. They were surprising quite good today, finally won 1-3 with Newscastle as away. Too bad they are still behind Man U as the 3rd place in EPL ranking. Pity I dun get to watch, especially when I am at home. Would have been an enjoyable match.

Its almost the end of another Sunday. Its back to work again tomorrow, hope will be a peaceful week and really looking forward to payday on 25 Mar 06 (with our bonus of coz!! Excited!!).

Home alone

My whole family went Changi Village (including a trip to Pulau Ubin) and staying over for the night at the Changi Village Hotel. I din join as already got plans with Web.

Me and Web as usual headed down to East Coast and cun think of anywhere else to go. This time we shifted 3 times before we settled down. It was almost 8pm++ when we left and the walkway to the underpass was quite dark as the street lamps were not working. While walking, heard squeaking and loud noises among the bushes, almost screamed. We suspected they were rats and walked faster. Had Mos burger for dinner after combing a few places (all so crowded!!).

Reached home around 11pm+ and after showering, settled down and now going to watch vcd (贫穷贵公子 - bought years ago but haven quite got the mood to finish the 15 discs-dunno how many eposides series).

Actually feels kinda weird home alone coz suddenly its so quiet except from the noise from neighbours. I always feel strange when I have no one to talk to, even just for a while.

Just a Friday..

Kinda bored so started this blog. Seldom blog at home coz using laptop and not very used to typing here. Fingers almost cramped the last time I finished a few blogs here.

Went Suntec Food Fair earlier and as expected, the hall was full of people (人山人海). We sort of had our dinner there as we ate few things like cheese chicken sausage, satay wrap, teochew fishballs, fried ee fu mee, mixed fruit (mango, strawberries and kiwi fruits) dessert with mango ice cream and lastly, spicy (麻辣) fishballs. Wasn't exactly very full but nothing else to eat so we left as its just too crowded.

Shopped abit around Marina Square and went to Esplanade. There was an outdoor local band performance but I seriously dunno what the crap they are singing. Heard them saying they are singing their own composed songs but I think I just dunno how to appreciate (their kind of) English songs. There were surprising quite a large crowd watching and applauding and we stepped away to take a seat along the stretch of very crowded stone chairs after about 2-3 songs.

The air was kind of foggy 2day and can feel the heat and smoke while outdoor. Sat there for quite some time until we were both itching all over. Probably there were some "ka ka" on the stone chairs I said... and Web laughed. Cun be ants coz we tried looking but cun see any. We left shortly but at the wrong time as a show just finished around that time as we walked through the huge crowd back to the City Hall Mrt Stn.

Its end of another day... which I hope tomorrow will be better. No matter what will be, coz no work and no need to see the sickening boss!!! Yeah!!!

Where are all the taxis!!!??

Woke up quite on time 2day despite feeling really tired. My eyes practically have to be forced open and dragged myself to wash up.

After dilly dally for some time, realised was already like 7.50am when I was leaving home. Usually I will leave home by 7.35am (which seems like hadn't happen for quite a while). I had to accidentally knock that stupid trash bin down while walking out n had to pick e rubbish up (wasting more time).

Once outside, decided to just take a cab and din bother to walk to the taxi stand coz no q anyway. While waiting there, an earlier couple got their cab. Few minutes later, still no cab. Then suddenly a man came out of nowhere and was standing far right of me (naturally cutting my q for cab). Then another idiot man (whom I have seen before) walked towards and after me to my right. Obviously cutting my q!!! (Damn this man coz he's cut my q b4 n he's done it again!!) What the f*** when time is getting late and u have these spoilt brats with completely no manners at all!!I had to cross to the other side of the road and while crossing, turned back and looked at that idiot n almost wanted to show him my middle finger. Anyway I am not such an uncivilised person, , so din do it. But was definitely fuming mad. Had to walk all the way to the other side so no one will jump my q again.

Was just outside the mrt stn across my road and stood there for a while with no taxi in sight. Then out of a sudden, a middle aged woman barged out from dunno where and standing to q for taxi in front of me!!! Damn...!!! Another one!!!Already been cut 3 times in the q, decided to play evil and just walked in front of her (who cares now) and finally managed to hail a cab after a while. When my cab passed that woman, I intended to glare at her for cutting my q and to my complete disgust, she actually looked at me and pointed middle finger at me. What a bitch!!!! She was the one who cut my q and had the cheek to do such a thing. What a morning....!! While sitting in the cab, I tried to calm myself down and try not to be affected by these idiots. Luckily its Friday not Monday. Suddenly struck me that I should have pointed both middle fingers at her (but no la, I am not such a person, wun be as ill bred as her), while remembering a joke my sis told me about middle fingers.So, finally reached the office and went to the canteen downstairs to grab some breakfast.

Bought curry puffs coz was kind of sick eating sandwiches and baos. Turned out they tasted horrible.I think 2day's not my day but its weekend so hopefully everything goes smoothly later on...

Seriously I think taxis should not just stop anyway for passengers. If any taxi stand is in sight, they should just go to the taxi stand. There are times when I stood at the taxi stand and saw many idiots snatching taxis far before the stand. Unless there are people in the q, else I would just hail cabs anywhere. I cun help it coz if I m so good a citizen, I will never get a cab (and allow all those idiots to just cut q n snatch all the cabs). I wonder why taxi drivers like to change shift during peak hrs and complain there are no business after that. It just doesn't make sense. Cun they change shift after peak hrs and grab as many passengers as possible before that. I am hearing complaints from taxi drivers saying no business la, no passengers la....they did not even go and work at the right place and time...how to get business??? Fed up....

Xris was telling me the morale of the story is to always take mrt. What she said is true but I think the morale of the story should be to always take mrt at the RIGHT time too. If you are running late, take mrt is faster when there are no cabs, but also very much more crowded. There are days when I simply do not want to squeeze with the people (more inconsiderate people in the mrt trains) and want to get to the office on time.

For years working here (since 2001), I have been faithfully taking the mrt to work. I only started getting lazy and took cabs to work occasionally since 2005. One thing is my heel problem since then and cannot afford to stand long on the way to work (in mrt trains). Another thing is that I started dreading to come to work so taking taxis is a more convenient and faster way (not including spending more on transport). My ex took cabs everywhere, now I understand how he felt. He hated being squeezed by people everywhere. If you can afford, why not ride in comfort (since dunno how to drive or afford a car). Well, I am getting myself more pampered, as long as I cannot afford it, by taking cabs on days I feel really lethargic and just want to be transported fast to the office (a place I dread coming to).

Movie - The Shoe Fairy

Had free tixs to the show titled "My Shoe Fairy" last nite with my siblings and Yoki. I went in without knowing anything about the show. It was only after that I realised a few things (such as Andy Lau being the narrator), which by then regretted should have paid more attention to the film.

Here's what the film is about:


This film is actually part of the FOCUS project.
FOCUS: First Cuts is a Chinese language film project that will bring together young up-and-coming filmmakers from across Asia to produce feature films shot on High Definition (HD) technology.

Each director will showcase his own story and vision to inject energy and new ideas to the Chinese language film industry. Though all the films are in Chinese, the intercultural divergence of the Chinese communities across Asia will be reflected in each of the films, with the unifying theme of Coping with Modernity.

Supported by international superstar Mr Andy Lau, FOCUS: First Cuts aims to nurture new talents in providing the platform to showcase their films to a wider audience.

Story summary:
It started with Dodo being not able to walk since small. After an operation for a pair of legs, she was able to walk. In the operation, a fairy (or witch) told her that she will have happiness when she owns a white sheep and a black sheep. She grew up and became a shoes lover. She loves and cannot resist buying shoes and had a whole collection of them. When finally met a dentist and got married but her habit did not change. One day, she met with an accident and lost both her legs. She was a changed person and finally could not continue her shoes collection. She eventually sold her shoes back to the shop she always buy from (managed by a fairy or witch) and the shopkeeper sold them off to people who used storybooks to pay. She then donate the storybooks to an orphanage (weird story rite?). Later, Dodo realised that she was pregnant and when she eventually gave birth, she then realised she has a white and black sheep in the family (her husband is an Aries and her daughter is a Capricorn). And they lived happily ever after.

The story is kind of weird and simple with everything seems so perfect with no surprises. If you need to relax after a day's of work, its worth catching. The story brings you back to a very simple way of life. Some people might not be able to understand alot of things that happen (including myself), but if you watch it in a very relaxed mood, you will enjoy the show.

Watch the trailer at http://www.focusfirstcuts.com/

Online Shopping

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular as it not only provides convenient shopping right at your fingertips and you get to buy stuff that may not be so widely available in the stores of your country. For eg., if you shop at US websites, you will not find anyone (very low possibility at least) wearing the same clothes as you!! I love that feeling!! (Simply hate to wear e same clothes with so many other people, like different sizes of clones walking on the streets!!)

Me and a fren initially started online shopping, mainly at eBay sometime in 2004. As we need to bid for most of the bags as its an auction market (goods are new though, alot of eBay sellers do real business online!). Its really fun when you learn the tricks of bidding and win what you want, the sense of satisfaction is overwhelming! The craze was just on buying a US brand bad - LeSportSac. As they are not selling in Singapore then, they are selling like hot cakes in eBay. Gradually, we buy less coz we have almost collected all the nice designs and out of a sudden, Singapore started selling. Obviously we din want anyone to carry same designs as us.

In the meantime, I also started selling some of my stuff on Yahoo and eBay. Managed to sell some stuff through both and earned abit! However, its pretty time consuming to post an item, especially those with special terms and conditions. Bad thing about selling in eBay (international not Singapore) is that there is charges for posting an item and when receiving payment through Paypal (an online payment "middleman"). eBay Singapore has little or no traffic so dun waste time there. Yahoo Auctions (Singapore) is therefore more popular website for good buys. You can find all kinds of goods here, whether new or 2nd hand, and its a good place to get rid of old stuff and earn abit too!!

Other than auctions shopping, there is also overseas online shopping (using secure credit card transactions) which I also do. Most of the sites I buy from are in the US, which I will use vPost (a paid service by Singapore Post for handling shipments from overseas merchants who do not ship directly to Singapore). The disadvantage is that you dun get to try on the clothing or touch the materials before you decide to buy. However, you do get a wide range of products to chose from, most of them with well-taken photos for reference. The only hitch is you might end up getting the wrong sizes, as they differ from different websites. I have a few experiences whereby the clothes purchased were either too small or too big. You have an option to return for a refund or return for an exchange at your own cost. This is one main advantage of shopping in US sites. They take customers satisfaction seriously and allow any returns or exchanges within a certain timeframe (mostly ard 60 days) should you decide you do not like the clothing or in the case of wrong sizes. Of coz, the goods must still in good conditions (common sense). I think you can never get these kind of services in Singapore (we only have within max. 7 days to exchange any products - based on specific terms and conditions).

Online shopping is fun and hassle-free (most of the time). I feel good when colleagues or frens commented on my clothes bought from US (nice, unique, good change etc). I seldom shop for clothes in Singapore (even KL or HK)coz the sizes dun quite fit me (too fat la) and I dun like to wear same clothes as others so online shopping is definitely for me.

Well, within this week, I just spent quite alot (including some clothing for a fren) on online purchases from 3 different websites (with one more to come). Treat it as a reward for my hard work (from my bonus-to- come in March's salary payout)!!

Here are some sites I surf for nice clothings:
1. Old Navy - cheap and nice casual wear
2. Lerner Catalog - colourful options, nice suits
3. La Redoute - modern and chic clothing
4. Lane Bryant - nice casual wear
5. BCOutlet - good bargains (up to 70% off regular pricing)
6. Avenue - matured wear

Happy shopping!!

Gals' nite out

Met up with Xris and Hui Choo for dinner last night. Its been quite a while since the last meetup for pre-Valentine's Day celebration. Hui Choo has been to HK again and back (envious!!).

Shopped around for a while at Kinokuniya as yesterday was the last day of theh 20% sale. Had dinner at Marche and we sure got alot to catch up. Ate and chit chat until ard 10.30pm and left for a drink at the Balcony (just outside Heeren). The top floor pub was very crowded thus we settled at the cafe downstairs. The drinks weren't quite fantastic (too diluted and not so presentable). We somehow still continued our women's talk till ard 12.20am and realised that we really need to leave. My eyes were already on the verge of closing, maybe from the liquour in my cocktail.

Shared a cab home with Xris and after showering, completely knocked out and woke up unwillingly this morning. Was naturally quite late when I left home and feeling tired, I took a cab to the office. Hopefully I can stay awake through the day!!

Revamped nails!!

Was watching tv earlier and suddenly remembered I need to clean off my already fading toe nails. Thus decided to do it while watching TV, as I wun fall asleep easily while painting.

Chose a greenish brown OPI nail colour bought sometime ago at the Metro sale. Looks nice isn't it?

Checkup at KKH

Left office ard 3.15pm and went to KKH for yearly routine checkup. As usual, the clinic is full of people. Sometimes I really dread going there as the q system is quite stupid. 1st, you gotta get your q no., which is also your appointment time. Even then, I sometimes have to wait up till 1/2 hr before its my turn. Then after consulation, you will need to get a q no. for payment and fix the next appointment. Usually I play smart by getting a q no. 1st before going to see the doctor. In this case, when I am out, I dun have to wait too long to make payment. But some cases, the q moved quite fast thus I ended up taking more than once hehe.

After the payment, I went on to the prescription collection pharmacy and q again for my medicine. This q is even worse as most of the time, its full of people and not enough room to wait. The dispensary is usually managed by about 3-4 pharmacists, which makes the q moves even slower. I waited for almost 1/2 hr and was so tired and hungry at the end of it. The whole trip lasted 2 hrs...my god!

End up had to buy some fish dippers from Mac and bought delifrance bageutte home for dinner.

Was so tired after dinner that I napped for about 15mins to 1/2 hr before waking up to watch my favourite 5566 game show on ch 56.

Stomachache!!

Had stomachache since about 10am and went loo 3 times. Was thinking if its the sandwich I ate earlier until I msg Web and realised he had already went loo 4 times!! Must be the KFC we had last nite at AMK central. I just tot it din taste as good as before and now I realised could be e chicken not fresh or not fully cooked. Now a bit freak out of eating at that branch again...!

Its Monday again!!

Din quite sleep well last nite and woke up itching all over (head, legs, hands..). Probably the aftermath of the swim last nite. The water was damn dirty, can see bits of hair, fallen leaves and unidentified debris in the pool. Luckily it was only about half of the pool so we stayed mostly at the other cleaner half. Swam 20 laps last nite and had a bit of aching. End up I had diffculty falling asleep n woke up feeling very tired...n now i am constantly scratching away...arrgghh!!

Went East Coast again last Sat, seems like its becoming out homeground. Rained for a while b4 we walked over n shopped abit b4 e rain stopped. Just another weekend passed in a flash...

Its counting down to another weekend and payday soon!!

New toy!

Bought a Philips 10-in-1 hair setting set from Watsons few days ago. Finally managed to try it and it was fun! Me n sis transformed our straight hair to big waves in less than 30 mins. Here's some pictures....

My sis' hair done by me..


My hair done by sis..


Its really fun except not easy to do it yourself. So we did for each other and the results varies...coz we do it differently and had different hair textures.

I also tried the crimping and it looked nice! Suddenly it lifted my flat hair to a lively lion's mane!!

I crimped my own hair...very fun but tiring!

We shall explore the other types soon!

Bonus and Increment letter

FInally received my bonus and increment letter today. Anticipated it since Wed and the increment turned out to be what I had expected. We were expecting the bonus to be quite fruitful for 2005 but its actually lesser than what we were initially told. Our sales for last year was quite good but as they lost a tender for this year for one of the products, they had expected a drop in sales this year thus they did not want to risk declaring too much and the books wun look too good for this year.

My bonus is exactly $8 less than last year, still not too bad, cannot complain. Increment is at least about 4% which is a consolation too. Was expecting something lower than that. Regardless, I should still be contented as most people might not be as lucky as us...

Some of my colleagues were feeling rather disappointed or rather immune where some were surprised by their increments. Anyway at least we get some $$$ and its time to pamper ourselves for our hard work for the past year!

Sadness and Depression Test

What's Eating You: Sadness

Your sadness is most likely triggered by one or more unpleasant events that happened relatively recently in your life, such as the death of a loved one, a broken relationship or a career problem.

Although you don't have many of the classic signs of depression, this does not mean that you do not need help. You can seek advice and support by having a good talk with your family or friends - they can offer you emotional support to tide you over the low period.

Funny poems

I wrote your name on sand, it got washed
I wrote your name in air, it was blown away, then
I wrote your name on my heart and I got heart attack.

God saw me hungry, he created pizza
He saw me thirsty, he created Pepsi
He saw me in dark, he created light
He saw me without problems, he created YOU.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
You should know what you are
And once you know what you are
Mental hospital is not so far.

The rain makes all things beautiful, the grass and flowers too
If rain makes all things beautiful, why doesn't it rain on you?

Roses are red, violets are blue
Monkeys like you should be kept in the zoo
Don't feel so angry cos you will find me there too
Not in cage but laughing at you.

Peaceful day??

The working day passed by quite peacefully...the idiot din make much noise, which is rare and appreciated. But I wish I could be at home catching up on my sleep. The noisy surrounding has greatly affected my sleep and seldom have I had a good night of rest. Either hope that the neighbours move away soon (which is quite impossible coz they just moved in around Jul 2004) or I get married and get out of here soon. Else one day I will go MAD...really MAD!!

Went Queensway and Bishan after work. Brother came to pick me (from my workplace) and sis (from City Hall mrt) and drove us there. Had something for Bro to collect thus he also offered to give us a lift. Had dinner at the Ikea Cafe, ate chix wings of coz and others like fries, bbq chix rice and spring rolls. The food was great and as we were quite early (reached there ard 6pm), there were ample tables available.

Walked around Ikea for a while and proceeded to Queensway SC. Had wanted to change the nosepad for my specs but they dun have at all. End up the lady was kind enough to change another similar set from another frame for me but who knows, it feels more uncomfortable. I din feel so initially and had requested my old pair back but she seems reluctant and said its the same. I din insist but kinda regretted later as it gave me more uncomfort after that. Went Bishan J8 after that and check out a few shops if they have these nose pads but all dun hv. Suddenly regretted making this pair of specs!!

Finally submitted my tax return online and estimated will have to pay ard $250 for last year's income. Feeling quite tired...but neighbours are so noisy....how to zzz???

Just another Tuesday

Din quite sleep well last nite, coz as usual the neighbours are making so much noise and I am simply too lazy and tired to call the police. I dun see much difference even though the police came several times. Heard that recently the police came by too, not sure if other neighbours finally called or they came for routine check (which I hope they do it more often).

I hope today will be peaceful and quiet (which I doubt so). Updates later..

Monday blues...

Its MONDAY again!!! Nothing exciting about it, except its somewhat nearer to weekend (only motivation I've got these days) and to bonus time! Already planning to open a fixed deposit account once I get my bonus so my funds will be well kept and saved.

Was feeling ok in the morning and went lunch with my IT guys at Burger King. Dunno why felt rather giddy slightly ard 2pm. Had a brief walk and more or less felt a bit better.

Took a lift home from my colleague and reached home ard 6pm, quite early. Decided to postpone dinner and take a short nap before waking up to watch the 5566 variety game show at 8pm. Barely slept more than 1/2 hr when I got constantly disturbed by surrounding noises. Since felt better, decided to just wake up and wait for the show while heating up my food. Had some longans after dinner when sis and her fren Yoki came back from some shopping at TPY central. Dad and Mum also went out, possibly to Turf City coz they came home with Giant shopping bags.

Was feeling rather sleepy after TV so decided to have an early night....

Its weekend again!

Why does the weekend always passes by so fast and gone in a flash?? Weekdays seems torturously long and never ending... Anyway, had a good weekend with Web and hope it will be a motivation for a draggy week ahead..

Friday
Went Tiong Bahru market for dinner...and had wanted to have few yummy dishes like fried carrot cake, bbq chix wings, char kway teow, hor fun, satay bee hoon etc. Was telling Xris what I had planned to eat and making her so jealous!! Hahaa...well this is the price to pay for when you want to lose weight. You lose a lot of goodies too!! Of coz eating such food not so healthy but once in a while is ok la, they open up your appetities!!

Well, we eventually din manage to savour all the good food. The zhi cha stall was overwhelmed with 40 over packets of takeaway orders and no one bothers to take any orders. We decided to give it a miss and try next time. Ordered fried carrot cake but it does not taste as good as it looks (on our last trip there). The chix wings were so dry and looked like they have been re-bbq again and again since morning. Naturally they dun taste good as well, kind of dry and meatless. We ordered fish ball soup from one teochew fishball stall and they were great! So long never tasted anything like that (nowadays fishballs are all machine made). We settled for chix porridge as the last dish and were so full after that.

Took a bus to Orchard after dinner, walked and hang around till Taka close at 10pm.

Saturday
Din know where to go, so settled again for East Coast. Its going to be our new homeground! The weather was extremely hot and when we met at YCK mrt stn, was surprised Web bought me siew mai from a pasar malam near his house. So touched he remembered I love those siew mais!

Waited for bus service 76 for quite a while and disappointed that its a single deck bus. The aircon was damn uncool and after turning around in AMK for like 20 odd mins, we finally reached Upper Paya Lebar Rd. We were almost roasted by this time and the rest of the journey was a torture! Suggested to Web that we go Parkway Parade 1st as its so hot and we need some aircon 1st instead of going straight to the beach. After some drinks and rest at PP, we walked slowly to the beach through the underpass behind the old Marine Parade Library. Of coz dropping by the relocated NTUC to get some drinks (2 cans of beer and one big bottle of mineral water). Bumped into one of my colleagues and said hi to her...she was bz doing marketing with her 2 daughters.

We managed to find a shaded seat facing the beach and settled down to eat, chat and drink. In less than 30 mins, we finished about half bottle of the 1st beer and both our faces have gone red. Web had a good laugh at me coz he said seldom see me this way. We played some bo liao games and finished most of the beer. We bought Baron this time and dun taste as good as some others. As we din buy chilled ones, I reached a stage that I simply cannot drink anymore (will puke coz tasted more horrible by the minute).

It almost around 8pm while we slowly made our way for dinner. Had intended to have Fish & Co. for dinner but decided we were too full from the beers. So just went to have Yoshinoya and we both felt sleepy during dinner, probably of the alcohol.

Took bus 76 back to AMK and by the time we reached, we were almost worn out.

Sunday
We din proceed our usual plans 2day coz was thinking not so convenient to go swim (coz of AV), we went to KTV instead. Went to the branch at Paradiz but disappointed that the sound system was crap. They used some system "BIK" instead of the famous "BMB". The whole singing session was enjoyable except for the sound quality.

Went back to Marina Sq and ate at Changing Appetites. The food was good, except some portions were miserably small (esp the grilled dory fish). We even got ourselves free membership cards (as they were on promo, no more special terms to apply for the card). It was anyway just a cardboard card and 10% discount from the next visit onwards.

Its working day again tomorrow thus we din stay long, left after dinner and took mrt home...

Will I have freedom soon??

I was thinking over last nite, and came up with a plan in mind. Its March now, and this month I should receive my bonus and increment letter. Was thinking sometime in May (1st May), I would tender my resignation (yes, without a job). It may sound rather silly but I really dun want to stay here any longer and get scolding/ lectures from my boss for nothing. I am already feeling myself breaking down soon. We get paid to work, not to come here and suffer emotional torture. So probably I am doing myself a big favour, give myself a break after working here for almost 7.5 years.

Meantime, I might just want to rest and relax for couple of weeks. Planning to go swim every day if possible, in the morning, which is one way to be tanned and lose some weight. Thereafter, was thinking of taking up some courses (graphic courses) before starting off again to look for a new job.

I hope to go into other lines eg. Events management, secretarial or graphics line. Being IT is ok if you end up in the right environment, otherwise its too stressful (worse if you kena a boss like mine).

I hope I have the courage to do so...coz the only setback is financial support. I should have enough from my bonus this year (plus some from last year) to tide me over the few months which I may be out of job and income. Meaning, I will not be able to travel until I get a new job and get settled down. Kinda sad, but I guess its better and healthier for me than to slog here under a bitch.

Fed up again....

I woke up with a headache today (due to AV) and still went to work coz got work to do. Who knows by ard 9am+ I was feeling very sick (headache until eyes wanna close and giddy until cun sit still). I decided not to torture myself and told my boss I wanted to take e day off and rest.

After she said ok, she actually commented what's wrong with me, as I also took mc one Monday. I said usual headache I can't help it. She then commented she dun quite appreciate coz sometimes there's a lot of work to do and the rest are very busy, especially Mondays. What crap is this? As if I can help it...u think I like headaches so much. Its torturing for me also...she cun even understand and tok such crap. I have worked so hard for her and this is e kind of treatment I get when I fall sick. Really regretted going to work at all.

What kind of stupid environment am I in now? When I work hard and hold the fort for her, no words of thanks and appreciation. When things go wrong, which is not my fault, I get the scolding. When I get sick, others cannot cope (like real!). When I take leave, its always wrong timing. She just has 1001 reasons to tekan me. I think I will go mad one of these days. Can't she understand I am going through a lot of stress and unhappiness working under her, probably accounting to e nos. of headaches I get in a month.

I am happy in my job if not for her. Everything else is good except for her existance. Can someone pls save me!!!!

==============

I came home ard 10am++ and napped to almost 4pm. Actually took a cab back coz I scared I will faint along the way. That blur driver actually went the wrong way and had to make a detour back. Luckily he was kind enough to charge me $1.80 less (paid $6 instead of $7.80). He was abit generous but I got no strength to say anything.

Headache finally 90% gone. Weather is so warm today and as usual, neighbour is damn noisy. Can't simply stand a day at home with peace.

Sometimes I cun help it but feel bo chup about work. You know what, I had a nitemare of my idiotic boss while napping. This is killing me!!

Anyway, one day of rest really means ALOT! Hopefully that idiot dun come and spoil my day tomorrow.