December

It's been awhile since my last post in August. Things have been looking up in general.

With reference to my previous post.

Targets to accomplish by year-end:-

1) Clear my modules (Oct-Nov)
Glad to clear them. Satisfied with the results.
2) Clear my pimples (ASAP)
Gone.
3) Get my class 3 license (28 Aug)
Achieved.
4) Purchase a 2nd hand Honda Civic (Sep-Oct)
Pend pend pend pend..
5) Update my resume (Nov)
Oh shit its Dec now.
6) Chill at Timbre @ Arts House (by Dec)
Well well, at least I walked past it.
7) No major headaches at work (On-going)
Glad I've a sweet counter for this.
8) Maintain happiness (On-going)
Exceed expectations.
9) Accomplish my 'Targets to accomplish by year-end' list. (31 Dec 2009)
See above. 6/8. Fail.

2009 has lapsed. Looking forward to 2010 and the challenges and opportunities that are going to come with it. Also looking forward to spending the first few days of 2010 in relaxation, comfort and bliss.

Quarter Centenarian

2nd last of my bunch to jump onto the quarter centenarian bandwagon. Left the youngest (and highest earner), Serene to complete us in 2 weeks time.

Thanks to Han, JL, Belle, YQ, Dorothy and Elaine for bday dinner treat and chilling at Paulaners last Saturday. (I know William, Serene and Cindy would have been there if they could. So thanks too.)
Thanks to my colleagues who were there at Paulaners that night as well for their greetings and lunch treat on my bday.
Thanks to Esther and Serena for your lovely gifts.
Special thanks to Serena for dinner and e cake.
Thanks to all my friends for their well wishes.

Targets to accomplish by year-end:-

1) Clear my modules (Oct-Nov)
2) Clear my pimples (ASAP)
3) Get my class 3 license (28 Aug)
4) Purchase a 2nd hand Honda Civic (Sep-Oct)
5) Update my resume (Nov)
6) Chill at Timbre @ Arts House (by Dec)
7) No major headaches at work (On-going)
8) Maintain happiness (On-going)
9) Accomplish my 'Targets to accomplish by year-end' list. (31 Dec 2009)

Long Overdue

I've been too lazy to update my blog and thus this is my first post in 2 months. Gonna ignore my drafts and just briefly update the happenings since my last post.

1) Driving
Completed almost all my lessons. Passed my advanced theory. Left with a couple of revision lessons which I have not scheduled. 28 Aug is my practical test date. Still seems so so far away.

2) School
Started classes. Taking 3 modules. First assignments due end July. Still procrastinating. Only one group project so far. Almost all others are individual or class tests. Am very fine with that. Dread the travelling, but have not skipped any classes, so far. Also stayed awake 99% of the time. It is an achivement in itself, okay?

3) Work
Had a new manager (Joel) and a new colleague (Esther) joining my team, effectively doubling my team's headcount. Hectic mad rush for information pre-corporatisation has died down now.

Disappointed with some news, creating a push factor for me. Still felt that way after speaking to my boss. It is circumstance rather than drive that I'm not actively looking around. That will change once the circumstances change.

Did some early morning duties first week of July for A&P's corporatisation promo. Zombified that week cos had classes at night too.

Due to corporatisation, my section is now a division on it's own, Revenue and Charges Division, although we are still under the umbrella of Commercial Cluster.

Overall, workload is getting more manageable with Esther learning and taking on some functions. Don't have too many multiple high priority requests to handle now.

4) Movies
Am lagging in this area. Have not caught most of the latest releases that I had intended to catch. Think some of them are not showing already. Caught Aliens vs Monsters 3d. Was made more enjoyable due to the company.

Hopefully catching Ice Age 3 and The Haunting of Connecticut, soon. Transformers and Harry Potter too.

5) Music
Have been hooked onto Boyce Avenue ever since listening to their covers. Do search for them on YouTube. That's my playlist right now. Just a sample

Dashboard Confessional - Stolen

6) Social
Made a few new friends. Dine and chat after work. Met up regularly with my usual. Had a swim and bbq in the rain at William's place when he was back for 2 weeks. Also, the usual might expand to include Belle's colleagues. Am quite satisfied with this aspect, maintaining the friendships made and extending my network whenever possible.

7) Romance
Someone caught my eye a few months back. Managed to communicate and get to know her abit better with each conversation. Met her only a couple of times, but she has this alluring quality that has me bewitched. Learnt that she's... complicated. Was that the quality that attracted me? Of course not! But somehow, I find myself in that situation, again. Will see how it goes.

Happy that she loved the bouquet I sent for her birthday, her favourite flowers. Still have not passed her her gift yet though. Maybe next week when she's back from her flight. Hope she loves that too.

8) Appreciation Dinner (27 June)
Attended the appreciation dinner at Suntec. Food and entertainment was bad. Enjoyed the post entertainment more. Had drinks at Paulaner Brauhaus with A&P colleagues and boss. Yes it was a weird combination but was enjoyable overall. Liked e live band there, so very keen to visit e place again.

Had more drinks with Charlie at one.twenty.six, ECP. Chatted till late. Impressed that she's maintaining her own car at 20. Me? License still haven't get..

9) Reservist (Current)
Currently am one week into my 2 week reservist that ends 27 July. We were supposed to be deployed for NDP coming Saturday (25 July). But due to school commitments, I managed to get excused for the deployment.


In summary, I can't wait for reservist to end so that I can get back to office. I'll be very busy with school in the months to come. Am very happy to have friends whom I can rely on and hopefully can catch a few movies with them soon. Also hopeful for progress with the lady.

Driving

Been tired out by my driving lessons the past wk. It has been good. Had 5 lessons already. Cleared module 1, touched abit of module 2 and drove out to Tampines. Has been very smooth so far. Not lost any lives.

Have 9 more lessons lined up this coming week. 2 each night from Tues - Thurs and a 3 lesson marathon Sunday afternoon.

Advanced theory is scheduled for 6 June. Once I get that out of e way, only left w e TP test. Am quite hooked onto driving. Want to clear this now when I have e momentum and without e burden of school. Finally, after procrastinating for years.

Manchester United

CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND! CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE! CHAMPIONS OF E WORLD!

Pool Night

Didn't have any plans this Friday night. As I was leaving office, called JL to ask if he wanted to play pool/lan tonight. Thankfully, XW was overseas and he was available. We went to PS for dinner. Everywhere was crowded, even Kopitiam! Managed to get a seat and have e Indonesian grilled chicken. Was damn damn good!

Went to play Park Lane for pool after that. Been playing pool more regularly recently. Enjoying it much. An sms came in for JL and he suddenly became damn zhun. Confirm from his darling XW lor.

Left for home in time for e last train but was lazy so took a cab instead. No activities lined up for this wkend. Probably gonna line up movies to watch again.

YQ's 2X Birthday!

HAPPY 2X BIRTHDAY TO YQ! Wish you meet your Prince soon!

Today we celebrated YQ's birthday at Dragon Gate Restaurant, Harbourfront. I remember having dim sum buffet there w my army mates before and enjoyed it. However, they had a different menu for dinner. Food was quite good. Had an abundance of prawns. Intend to visit again during lunch for their dim sum buffet. Maybe when Wil gets back from Aus?

Went to Vivo city after and settled at e open area in front of e stage near Marche. There, we started acting crazy and did stupid stuff, mostly recorded on video. Maybe not we, but just Belle in particular.

Was damn fun and we enjoyed ourselves lots. Will post up photos and maybe e videos when I get them. :)

Belle and her Colleagues

Spent e whole day home watching movies and snoozing. Didn't have any plans. But in e evening, decided to get up and out and went down to town with Han to meet up w Belle and her colleagues Elaine and Dorothy. We've probably only seen photos but its nice to finally put a person to e names Belle mentions.

Meeting new people, something which I've been doing w much more frequency this year. Always interesting to meet and get to know new people. If it turns out well, you've made a new friend, which is always a good thing. If it doesn't, you are no worse off than before.

Before we met up with them, Han and I were sitting outside Taka enjoying e music performance from across e street at Paragon. Pity they stopped soon after. Met them and went over to Xin Wang, Cineleisure. Lucky to get seats for 5 without much of a queue on a Saturday night. Had light snacks and chatted e night away, favourite past time for old men like myself. Sadly, they weren't keen on a late night movie. Maybe when Night @ e Musuem 2 is out we can all watch it together.

1st Driving Practical

After procrastinating for ages, finally went for my first driving practical today. Was nervous about it. Been so long since I rode, lost whatever road experience I had.

Lesson went by smoothly. Was pretty stiff w e gears. Managed to clear e 1st page of my booklet. Was reminded to renew my pdl soon so that I can go onto e roads. 1 more lesson tomorrow. Anticipating.

The Shift

Today is the dreaded day. The big shift. From e 2nd level to e 3rd level. To an office which can finally house our whole division.

This is what I'm leaving behind.

This is my new set-up.

Still not fully unpacked. Going to do it gradually over e week. Sigh.

Shop Shop!

Was an auntie today! Went to Bedok central to do some toiletries shopping. Went around a number of shops to compare prices to get e best deals!

Saw that Arnott's Shapes was on offer at NTUC and bought a dozen boxes! Was hooked onto them after Amanda let me try some. Bacon and Cheese! Yum yum!

Bought new facial cleanser and some facial wipes, Simple brand. Stocked up on body moisturiser. Bought wet wipes for e office.

Damn auntie today la!

X-Men Origins : Wolverine

Caught X-men at GV Plaza. Was good and I enjoyed it alot. All e action was riveting. Worth e watch.

Had Aston's at The Cathay after our movie. 3 guys, so of course we had more than 3 mains. :D Was there pretty early, about 5+, but we still had to queue for awhile. The queue when we left was much much worse. Food was good and cheap. But is it really worth such a long wait? I don't think so.

Went to play pool nearby while waiting for Belle and YQ. 3 men w bulging tummies. What a challenge. Heh.

Went to Upper Thomson for ice cream at this place called icekimo. Tried their speciality, Super Durian Waffle. Was GREAT! So good that I had 2 servings! So near the prata place. Worth the visit again. But closes a tad too early though.

Iluma

Went out to Bugis today. Had dinner at Shokudo.

Saw her. She was with her family and bf. A bit affected but shook it off.

Went to Iluma after that. Took the long long escalator! Went to the arcade to look at those UFO toy catchers. Never understood their appeal. Never gonna donate money to those machines.



Went to have some dessert at 'Zhen Neng Chi' at a nearby street . Was cramp and uncomfortable with e initial seat that were given. Felt much better after we shifted. The dessert was quite good though. Unexpectedly.

Supper at 85

Stayed back late at work today. Been busy packing up all my stuff and throwing away rubbish that I unravel in my cubicle.

Always in a dilemma on what to keep and what to throw. If I ever have e time, I would digitise all my loose information so I won't have too much paper hanging around. If I ever have e time of course. But for now, am taking a headlong approach; if in doubt, just throw.

Left office at 10+ with Amanda and went to Bedok 85 for supper; ba chor mee! She's been under much more stress since picking up extra luggage, but I think she has been standing strong in spite of it all.

Was e first time having a meal together. Different clique; managers and officers. Interesting to hear a different perspective of the office.

Shift Office

Got news that the shift of office has been brought forward and we are expected to shift by next Monday.

I dread this shift because I am very happy with my current seat.

Oh well. Have one more week to enjoy e privacy.

The Sniper

Just finished watching e sniper. Edison Chen show. Not too bad. Chinese subs, so whatever I couldn't understand I just ignored. Show not meant for dialogue anyway.

This weekend seemed to pass by very fast. Was supposed to go out today but got postponed in e end.

Must remember not to leave any music on when I want to take a nap. Had a very bad headache after. Sigh..

Playing Solitaire Showdown w LH now to stimulate my mind abit. Very tired. Think I'll turn in early tonight.

Friday the 13th

Caught Friday the 13th today. Didn't like it at all, even for its genre.

Nothing of note happened and we all went home early. Early enough to witness via laggy stream Man U's comeback against Spurs. 3 points clear with a game in hand. :D

Role Models

Friday night. Came home relatively early. Planned to catch a late movie or stay out late, but pushed that plan till tomorrow.

Came home and watched Role Models. Lame comedy. My kind of comedy. But was just pretty average. Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting.

Thank You UOB

JASON CHEN is very happy to receive his UOB credit cards today.

Yeap. Yes. That's right. *nods*

Polaroid!

Polaroid photo courtesy of Sherrie's new tech toy which she just bought yesterday!

Love the rays of light!

Gloom

Black black day. Such a downer of a day. Had no mood for anything. Ironic that the cause of it is RED.

Sigh. Turning in early.

Popeye's

Clara came down to the airport for her medical today. She'll be starting work at a ministry come May. I think its about time, after 5 months of holiday. Civil servant!

Saw Jean's brother at Raffles Medical, T3. He has been working there part time for 4 months now while awaiting his uni course to start. Didn't even know he had ord. Apparently it has been THAT long.

Had popeye's for lunch. I'm pretty sure that the servings have shrunk, with prices going e other way.

Prima Tower

This morning had to rush to SIM for my course registration. Woke up quite late. Decided to cab down instead of rushing for public transport. Picked up Han along e way.

Registered myself for SIM-RMIT Business Management (Business Finance) part time for July intake. Fingers crossed that I get the 1.5 year pathway. Smartass Belle forgot her IC. Need to visit e school again just to produce it.

Am going to have reservist in July. Wondering how it will affect my first few weeks in school.

We had our lunch at Clementi. It was just a prelude to Han's recommended ice cream cafe. It's called The Daily Scoop and is located at Clementi Arcarde. All 4 of us had at least 1 scoop of their durian ice cream which was oh so good. So good that I forgot what was e other flavour which I had. Great ice cream, but even greater location. Thinks e durian ice cream was so good that it might actually tempt us down there again.

Cabbed to Jurong Point after that. Am not sure if it was e lack of sleep, but the place was boring. Even though I visit this part of e island only a handful of times each year, it still managed to bore me. Ah, maybe its just me being tired and thus uninterested. Blah.

In e evening, went to Prima Tower for mum's birthday dinner. Sis couldn't make it because she had some school stuff till late. Food was not bad. Mum opened her present after dinner. Think she likes e watch. Great!

Group shot taken with Sony Ericsson hp.

Me, mum and Gunther. Taken with my Samsung hp.Mum, me and Gunther. Taken with Sony Ericsson hp.

Random: I think Samsung hp cameras are quite horrible. May consider sony ericsson for my next hp.

Taken

TGIF! Not sure why, but this week seemed to be a breeze! Was in such a relaxed mood at work today :)

Met J for dinner and movie tonight. Had Shokudo at Heeren. They had promos w UOB card. I want my UOB card soon! Just applied for it Wednesday morning. Food was okay. Best was the coffee ice cream! She chose some sweet potato flavour that, I didn't know how to appreciate.

Asked for suggestions for a birthday present for my mum. Decided that I should get a watch so we went to City Chain. Shortlisted a couple of watches before choosing a classic looking Titus. Hopes mum will like it!

Caught Taken at Cine. Was good! I liked e show, but of course, villians always have bad aim. So villian weapons, no matter how good like sub machine guns < whatever weapon hero is using, anytime. People watched at Gloria Jeans for awhile before heading home. Quite a quiet night at Orchard today.

Han's Bday

Today is Han's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAN!

We got him a book - The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett and George Soros. Also got a slice of Devil's Chocolate cake from TCC.

We had chinese buffet at Peony-Jade Szechuan restaurant, Clarke Quay. Food was quite okay, service much better. Will definitely consider going back again.

Financial Health

Met Serena this evening. She came by the airport and had dinner with me at Kopitiam.

Mentioned that I had intended for her to do my insurance stuff for me and we finally arranged a date after months of procrastinating.

She was professional about it, entertaining my random lameness. I learnt that my financial habits less savings ratio are generally good. I think I had a 0% rating for savings ratio. Oops. Also noted that majority of my finances are in investments one way or another.

One more thing that can be deduced without any assessment; I am a high risk taker.

Good or bad? Hmm..

Tampines 1

Was a lazy Sunday till evening time. Angie was supposed to meet a client at Tampines. She rarely visits the east, so went to meet her at Tampines for dinner. Before that, returned the luggage that I borrowed for BKK to my mum. Gunther said I slimmed down! Haha!

We ate at Ajisen and I had e Volcano ramen. Not too bad. Spicy!

Went over to visit Tampines 1. Late Sunday night still so crowded! Breezed through and mapped out all floors in my head. Think e only place that might interest me is e Jap restaurant. Didn't see what all e fuss about Uniqlo was about. Went to the Jap candy store at the basement too. So much expensive candy! Hahaha.. E mall seemed to have a number of Jap shops. Trying to replicate a hip Liang Court?

Bumped into Wee Siang and Kiat Tze. This couple have been together since our secondary school days. Almost 10 yrs already! Where are e offspring?!

Ended e day with cake and a drink at Bakerzin. Regret choosing e mint lychee. Yucks!

Iluma

Met Angie at The Cathay today. Intended to have Ben n Jerry's, but she's not an ice cream person. Sweet tooth but prefer pastries. Settled at Starbucks instead. She was lucky. Just a few minutes later and she would have been drenched! Wanted to have Aston's for dinner but the queue was CRAZY! She brought me to this restaurant just above Dhoby Ghaut mrt. Free flow drinks and ICE CREAM! But didn't have e appetite to down more than 1 round of ice cream.

Oh! Saw and said hello to Lydia and her bf before we left Starbucks. Although I got her bf's name right, I can't remember it now.

Went to e new mall at Bugis to meet Han and the rest. Iluma is very boring. Saw e damn long escalator, though didn't ride it. Really nothing of note there. My theory is that after coming back from BKK, everything seems so much more expensive and such a turn off that I don't even bother to look.

Took a short stroll into Bugis Village, yet another unappealing place. And for the 2nd time today, settled at Starbucks for drinks. Was good to just sit down, rest, thumbdrive BKK photos and people watch. Came home early and that's all for e night.

Sushi Tei

Was on leave today. Took one more day to rest after coming back from BKK. Went to Bedok Central to do some banking and auntie stuff. Damn UOB closed so early. 4.15pm already locked up. Bought 3 dozen hangers for my new clothes! Just being anal about wanting all e hangers in my cupboard e same colour.

Met Clara for in e evening for dinner and to pass her liquor. Had dinner at Sushi Tei, ECP. First meal of e day, so my glut side showed. Ordered soft shell crab and beef on top of our own mains. Food was good, company as well. Bumped into Tabitha as we were leaving. Not seen her since she disappeared from poly. Working at DBS now.

Went to Ice Cream Chefs down by Ocean Park after dinner. Bree mentioned about this place before. Why didn't they have such a place when I lived there almost 10 yrs back. I'm an ice cream lover and it would have been so convenient. But I think the ice cream there was okay only. Melted quite fast.

BKK Summary

Back from BKK last night well and fine. Trip was abit hectic. Too many places, too little time. Spent over $1.1k SGD just on purchases alone. Didn't even bother about my food expense.

Love the tailored suits. Love the Hermes belt. Love all the shorts. Love all the t-shirts. Love spending. Love the company. Love the break from work. Glad to be back in clean Singapore. Would love to travel again this year.

Will update the post below with details of my trip soon.

BKK Trip 4-7 Apr

DAY 1

We had an early flight to catch. But still found time to head to T3 Pedro to get myself new shoes. 20% discount and no GST! Chose and paid for 2 pairs to be collected another day. Rushed our way to e boarding gate at T1 and were e last few to board.

When we arrived at P2, we were given rooms on e same floor. However, our room had some kind of card failure and they shifted us 1 floor up. We spent e day shopping at Platinum. This place is shopping paradise. We contributed much of our funds to the shops in this building. Ended the day with a massage nearby.

Arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport

Arrived at P2 Boutique Hotel. Tired men.

First stop - Platinum Fashion Mall. Walking distance from our hotel.

DAY 2

Visited Chatuchak Market. As experienced before, it was crowded and heat stroke inducing. Didn't buy anything there and we left within 2 hours. Went to Amari Watergate to look for a tailor following Belle's colleague's recommendation. We were greeted by 3 rival tailors at that location. Belle vaguely remembered the name of the tailor and thus we settled at Paul's Fashion. Negotiated the package they offered and decided to get myself 2 packages and some additional shirts. In total, I got 2 jackets, 4 pants, 9 shirts. Close to SGD$700!

In e evening, went in search of this seafood restaurant. Didn't think highly of e food. Us guys split from e girls and went to catch a movie, while e girls continued went in search for more shopping. We caught Knowing. I'd summarise the movie in 4 words; Noah's Ark Sci-Fi. I think both Han and JL are won over by e cinema. Individually inclining leather seats! Excellent screen and sound system. WOWed!

Chatuchak Market

Paul's Fashion

Special Package

DAY 3

Went to Chinatown. Bought snacks. Had light lunch at Nam Sing restaurant. Was quite good. Guys went back to hotel to take a nap while girls went shopping. Hunger woke us up we had A&W for an early dinner! More shopping at Platinum and coat fitting at Amari before heading to Suan Lum night bazaar. Enjoyed walking around there. Should schedule for more time there next time round.

Brought e girls for a movie. Caught Fast n Furious 4. Think e movie was better than Knowing. However, we didn't get e cinema with the great seats. Very comfortable nonetheless. Had our final supper at Mac's before retiring for e night. E girls bought so much stuff that they needed help to pack everything in. Rolling up clothes works damn well for compression.

Chinatown

DAY 4 (Final day)

Our last day here. We had a tight timeline to collect our clothes from our tailors and get back to the hotel to pack everything in. We managed it somehow. Did last minute shopping at Platinum. Lunched at A&W. Left for airport on time.

Saw this dog owner checking in his pet at the counters. Lucky dog to be travelling. Glad our flight wasn't delayed.

Smiley bread to start the day.

BKK Trip!

Finally the day has come! Holiday trip to BKK! Flight will be leaving in about 2.5 hrs from now. Took a nap then stayed up most of the night for fear I would oversleep. Heh. Luggage relatively empty now. Can't wait to fill it up with clothes!

Will be home Tuesday night. Till then!

Thank You for the Music!

This post is dedicated to ML for taking my bulky 1tb external hard disk home and filling it with music and movies.

ML, thank you very much!

Earth Hour

Just came back from a jog, had my dinner and 1 round of dota. Lazy day today, was in a semi conscious state most of the time. Jog was goooooooood. After slacking off for 2 weeks, was surprised that we were able to surpass our usual distance with relative ease. :D

Yesterday, went down to Esplanade for the Earth Hour thing. I think it was quite a downer. Would have been nicer to see e participating building sync their timings. Getting SP to shut down the whole grid would be an extreme but definetely effective way of ensuring e sync. Next year, with the IR's up and better organisation, should be more interesting. But good job to those who put in the effort to make the event happen. Thank you Twisties for the free chips too.

Went to Haagan Daaz for ice cream after. We had a fondue and a tub of Macademia Nut Brittle. Unexpectedly, I only finished about half the tub. Think the fondue was overkill and caused my tub to become bland.

This wkend rather uneventful. Looking forward to e next one though. Finally going to BKK! Just bought our travel insurance. Belle has collected out tickets and all. Just need to borrow a luggage from my mum and should be all set. Oh, need to change baht as well. Intend to tailor a blazer/pants suit there. Maybe 2 sets depending on the price. Hoping to get some advise on the materials to select.

12 Rounds

Just got home after a night out with J. Penning down my day before I shower and start with my work.

Met her at Taka where she brought me to this Ayam Penyet place at Lucky Plaza. Yes. Yet another first. She wasn't kidding when she said that the belachan was spicy. Even with the warning, I still managed to be overwhelmed by the spiciness. My 'Happy Soda' depleted damn fast. Thought it was funny when I ordered another drink and they served it to her. She could handle it so much better! We had one chicken and one beef set. I think the restaurant has 'Ayam' in its name for a reason. The chicken was much better than the beef.

Headed for our movie at Cine directly after dinner. Met Bree and her boys there. They were gonna catch the same movie, but at a later time slot.

One unfortunate incident to note. While gracefully squeezing to our seats in the cinema, my right calf suddenly suffered a major cramp! It was DAMN BAD. Initially thought I could tahan the cramp but it just got worse. Did not have space to stretch my leg so had to stand up and stretch. Luckily we were the top most row. But think I gave our neighbours a shock. Walked with a limp for the rest of the night. It is still sore right now.

I thought 12 Rounds was not bad. Plot was good and scenes were engaging. J didn't doze off, which is a positive thing. Met Bree again on the way out of Cine and told her the movie was not bad. Wonder if she enjoyed it too.

Went to Clarke Quay and had drinks at Coffee Club while waiting for her friends to come. They were gonna have an impromptu girls' night. Clubbing out of the question for J because she didn't have heels. I'm all for comfort and I thought that not wearing heels was much better! Well. Women.

Met her first friend to arrive, Chloe, and listened them chatter about the day. Guys, if you are not cute or funny, you better have a car. Otherwise, we're pretty much filtered out. Yes. Car. So that's the aim. Got to cross the hurdle of getting my license first. Damn.

Planned to visit SIM in the morning to submit my course registration as I thought the closing date was 1 April. But seems that is only for International students. Local students have up to 4th May to register. Will wait for YQ to confirm this in the morning. If so, we'll postpone our visit to SIM. But would like to get it done soon. Maybe the week after we get back from BKK. Speaking of BKK, am so looking forward to the trip next week!

Okay time to bathe and get down to work!

PB and Testimonial

OT till 10pm today. But it was a very happy evening...

Started off the day on a frantic pace. That's what 2 days of MC does. Was supposed to have a price regulation training at 9am. While filtering through 2 days worth of emails, was relieved to find that it had been postponed till tomorrow! Phew.. And so I thought I could relax. But it wasn't to be. Didn't even have e time for breakfast.

Spent over an hour in discussion with my new boss. He seems quite e nice guy that e others have set him out to be. He was with my division as an assistant director before he left just about e time I joined. Got approval for my leave to BKK, informed him about my upcoming reservist in July, discussed about major upcoming projects and how I should finally have team mates for my portfolio. It has basically been only me and a manager for the past year now. I say 'a' manager because that position has been like musical chairs. And I'll have another manager, 4th for this particular portfolio, come 1st Apr.

Well, to the happy part of the day. At about 6pm when everyone was prep to head home, I heard news that our bosses were distributing the PB letters. Yes it is that time of the year where you receive monetary rewards for your efforts. Received mine and was happy that as per last year, it was 'above average'. Although due to the poor economy, my 'before CPF' this year was equivalent to my 'after CPF' last year. Happy nonetheless.

And later on at about 9+, I received an email.. It was my testimonial! I thought I was damn narcissistic already, but my boss managed to make it shine even more! Really appreciate that from her. That really topped off my long day and am glad it ended on a very happy note.

Suntec closed at 0.665 today; 13.7% increase. How much will it hit before it begins its descent again?

Sick

Sick. MC for 2 days. Slept at 8pm last night. Slept through a large part of today. Did an ECG test for my heart, results were normal. Doc said e sharp pains I get at my heart should be muscles. Suggested I do a cholesterol check when I'm better. Also recommended some brands of soap and moisturisers for my dry skin. Love this doctor.

Finally completed my self testimonial today. Intend to include it in my course registration form. Am going down to SIM this Saturday w Belle and YQ to register. Testimonial was full of narcissism. But that's e way its supposed to be I guess.

Going to rest e day away again tomorrow and hope my temperature doesn't creep back up. Might be a hardworking neat freak and organise all the mail I have been getting recently.

Suntec is on a rise. Hopefully able to rise till exceed our buy price of $0.62 so that I can clear the capital currently sitting in JL's account.

Wii

Went to Han's place for my 2nd brush with Wii today. He bought his set about a week ago, not long after our experience at Cine whet his appetite even more.

Luckily he just went to JB yesterday and added more games to his initial collection; Wii sports. He got raving rabbids 2, mario kart, ghost recon, and some kinda surgeon game. Raving rabbids was damn fun! Esp the music rhythm games! Unexpectedly, I got rhythm! At least more rhythm than YQ HAH! Spent most of e time playing rabbids and mario kart, didn't have e time to re-match boxing w YQ to prove that her win at Cine was a fluke! Grrr!

Had our dinner at 85 before e crowd came. Ordered damn lots of food! Shiok! Been awhile since I went to 85 to indulge. However, e bah chor mee wasn't up to standard. Wings, stingray and e carrot cake was much more satisfying. We should have topped off dinner with Ice Cream! :D

Collected e discs that Han helped to get. L4D can't work! Burnout Paradise too! Ahhhhhhh! Damn disappointing. Was looking forward to playing L4D. At least can practice in e comfort of home instead of going to lan shops to get humiliated. Oh well. Have to find other means to get it then.

Also got a new stack of movies to occupy my weekends! Hopefully those don't screw up.

Was trying to complete my self testimonial by tonight but gave up. Attempt again while in office tomorrow.

Thanks so much Han for hosting us today and be assured that its only the first of many! =D

Departures

Caught Departures at GV Plaza today. It was a full house. We booked tickets the night before, but yet only managed to secure seats 4th row from the front. Not ideal and should book earlier next time.

We received positive reviews from various sources and it was something that both Belle and YQ wanted to watch. Rare indeed. But it was well worth craning my neck for this movie. I was totally caught in by the story and enjoyed it all the way to the end where he masterfully performed his craft.

Think that this is one of the more meaningful movies I've watched in recent times and highly recommend it over the mindless selection of movies right now (Dragonball, Street Fighter, etc). Kudos to GV for screening it here.

After the movie, went to Orchard to meet J, her usual stunning self. Contemplated on catching a movie at Cine before settling at e HK cafe. Couldn't finish the mango ice and decided to leave the place as we couldn't hear each other over all the noise. I'm sure it had nothing to do with us being a little deaf.

Sat opposite Heeren for awhile before deciding that we should take a stroll which eventually brought us to Clarke Quay! Did and said retarded things along e way like reaching out and knocking my hand into the glass partition and being damn sua ku about the places we saw. They really did a good cleaning job on the glass partition. It was DAMN clear, until I left my prints on it. She must have felt like a tour guide for some foreign kid.

Btw her sense of direction is really good! She navigated us from Orchard all the way to Clarke Quay. And now that I know the directions to get there on foot, e more I'll insist on taking a cab whenever possible.

Sat along e Singapore River banks and chatted e night away. Think we were both lethargic from the busy week. Enjoyed her company loads and looking forward to seeing her again. :)

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BKK trip has been booked from 4-7 Apr! Finally! Also means I need to cancel my driving lessons which I have booked for on the 4th. Can't wait to take a break and go for this trip. Only 2 more weeks!

Race to Witch Mountain

Caught the above movie with Han and JL today. Went with no inkling what it was about, except that "The Rock" was starring. The movie was not bad at all, and its not because I had no expectations. Had a good laugh and a good time watching the movie. Don't wanna spill e details and spoil if for those who are considering and have yet to catch it. Do go, for mindless midweek entertainment.

Initially, we planned to watch Watchmen. But we were peppered with comments from numerous sources on how it sucked. Probably made a right decision to ditch the idea and catch Witch Mountain instead.

Very tired the past 2 days. Slept at 3+ and felt zombified for the rest of the day. Left office early too. Can't do so tomorrow. Definitely need to stay to finish up what I can. Busy period ahead. Sigh :(

Should be watching Departures, a Jap movie. J watched it over the weekend and commented that all e girls came out teary-eyed. Think it should be good and am looking forward to Friday. Btw it is a GV exclusive.

Off to recharge. Must complete at least a few tasks tomorrow!

Modestos

Day started out pretty slow, with me roaming around Vivo and Chinatown alone. Am glad that my ipod managed to stay alive and accompany me through that period.

Visited National Geographic at Vivo and spent quite awhile there admiring the photos and reading the short descriptions that came with them. Saw one of vast dark blue waters and a mini-submarine like vessel with a guy in trunks at the exterior of the vessel. That intrigued me. The vast area and colour of the water implied depth. How was it possible then that a man could survive the pressure at that depth without proper equipment? Am glad that they opened their store there. Very interesting place to take a slow walk.

Cancelled initial plans of visiting the IT fair and getting quotes from Chinatown due to unforeseen circumstances. As JL had already left home, decided to meet him for pool/lan instead. Was the first time playing Left4Dead! And I totally sucked at it! Couldn't grasp how to effectively use the Infected. Only know how to kamikaze with the boomer. Overall was quite fun and maybe will play again soon.

After pool/lan, it was time for the big match, Man U vs Liverpool. Was not aware of it until this morning, when my cousin mentioned about watching the match with her friends in the evening. Cousin! Thanks for inviting me!

Went to Modestos at Elizabeth Hotel. Arsenal fans home ground! The atmosphere was great! The Arsenal fans there were gunning for Pool, the lesser of the 2 evils. They randomly broke into chants, some of which were damn funny.

Totally not Man U's day. 4-1 defeat at home! To Pool! Vidic with 2 blunders and a red card! When Man U striked first blood with the penalty, you could see who were the Man U fans. We barely filled 20% of the place. But it all went downhill from there. Each goal brought loud cheers and the 20% of us seemed to shrink into oblivion. Well kudos to Pool today. 4 goals for you, 5 trophies for us! :)

Went to Shaw's Mac for supper after that and listened to undergrad talk. Happenings in their hostels, bitching about certain staff and challenges of securing a job in these times. I was bemused about the topic on securing a job. Maybe I'm still sitting in my very own comfort zone. Was interesting to listen to chatter different from my norm and great to meet new bunch of people.

Cabbed home with Jasper and Jae. Jae, Jasper's friend, is a Korean, sent here by his company for a week. They met in Canada as they were doing their exchange. Glad to make their acquaintance.

It's 3.30am now. Cousin is done with what she can on her project. PP just went to bed tired after a looooong day. Bree just logged on. Carrie still partying at St. James. Yes, the night is still young.

Timbre

Had an excellent time with an old friend at Timbre this evening. Yes another first; first visit to Timbre. Both the food and company were great. Only downside was that her commitment to be at zouk meant we couldn't stay for the live band.

Was already very hungry before we met. Arrived at Timbre only to be greeted by a queue. Tsk tsk, must make reservations next time! We ordered a half-half pizza, buffalo wings and garlic creamed prawns pasta. Was actually thinking of ordering another main. Luckily, sensible her overruled glutton me. Too much food for just the both of us!

Chatted e whole night away, hearing about what she's been up to and updating her on my experiences. We've both aged! Never knew she did part time waitressing at a pub, for 5 yrs no less! Really had a great time and am looking forward to meeting up again soon at somewhere new! Oh! She forgot to bring the 'treasure chest'. Left it under her desk at work. Nvm, next time!

J, although I prefer you with long hair, you're still stunning with your current crop.

After sending her off in a bus to Zouk, met up with my usual bunch at City Hall. We were deciding on a trip to either HK or BKK during the first week of Apr. Still can't decide.

Will be visiting the IT fair tomorrow for nothing in particular. And after that a trip to Chinatown to get quotes to compare for our trip. Hopefully something useful comes out of tomorrow.

Serena's Birthday!

Finally settled in the comfort of home, fresh and clean. Had dinner with Serena and her friends at Mind Cafe, Tampines Safra. All less 2 were unfamiliar faces, but friendly nonetheless.

The best dish today was the celery soup. Imagine that. Their latte float was bland and chicken lasagne might as well have been a substitute for Popeye's spinach boost.

Played a few games before the place closed at 10pm. (yes, damn early..) Think the group really warmed up during the reaction games and it was all really fun! Good for ice-breaking. :)

Am really tired today. Should not have stayed up to catch Man U beating Mourinho to qualify for e next round of e CL. Besides from the poor streaming, I had to deal with chinese commentary. How like that?? Might as well just check e score in e morning! But at least they qualified.

Tomorrow, will be meeting another dear friend. Time flies. It's been about 8 yrs since we were together! Going to collect back a 'treasure chest' which she kept safely in her wardrobe for years. I totally forgot what it is like.

Going to sleep now. Enjoy your Friday the 13th!

Interview

Today, Clara came down for her interview. I had inexplicably referred both her and my cousin for the same position. So sorry cousin for the added competition!

Have not had a chance to probe my boss about how they fared and what are their chances. Will do so tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

Incidentally, Clara is Bree's elder sis! I think that they are both pint sized! But maybe that's because I'm tall and fat la.

Am looking forward to dinner tomorrow night. Happy occasion with new faces. More about it after. :)

Bree!

As promised in my previous post, here is the chio chio pic of Bree!

(Yes that's right. Contraband!)

Recap

Just received my POEMS pin! Thanks much JL and Han for letting me ride on your accounts all these while. Now I'll take the plunge myself! (I'm jk, you guys know right? okay.)

Today, my dear cousin whom I, only until recently, have not spoken with, came down to the airport for an interview! Feedback was that it didn't go so well as she wasn't thinking straight. Nonetheless, was her first ever proper interview, maybe e jitters got to her. So good job, fingers crossed, hope for the best!

And tomorrow, a friend is coming down for an interview too! Huh? Poor economy? Laying off staff? Not here apparently! I'll just wish both of them the best! :)

Okay, now to the core of today's post, Chronicles of the past couple of months! (Do bear with the bulk ahead. Although this blog is 'my twitterings', I'm damn loh soh one. Thanks.)

24 Jan (River Hongbao)

Believe it or not, this is the first time in my memory that I visit this place. Besides from collecting hong baos, I've not really enjoyed CNY season. This year, like the last, I skipped visiting totally. (This explains why I've not seen my cousin for ages.) So the river hongbao visit was an eye opener for me. Due to the lack of a proper camera, we only managed one decent shot.

(L to R: Han, me, Wil, distant relative)

31 January (Mind Cafe)

Another week, another first. First time I visited and played at a games cafe. As everyone was busy concentrating on the game, being the rat I am, I accidentally finished up whatever food that was within my reach. *wide grin* Was a fun eye opener. Was there to be another visit? Soon? We'll see.

(L to R : JL, Han, YQ, Belle, me, Wil)

7 February (Mind Cafe, Boat Quay)

That's right! Again! Not one week and we're back at Mind Cafe again! All because Belle wants to play some Vampire game. Well, no photos this time round. And also, the novelty wore off after the 2nd visit.

13 February (Hong Kong Cafe, Cine)

Met up with Nicole. This lady, have not seen her for a few years and she's got herself engaged! To a cHUNK of a guy, no less!

(L to R : Han, Nic, me, JL) (L to R : me, JL - happy with our food!)

14 February (Night Safari / Upper Thompson Prata)

Yes that's right, we spent our v'day at the Night Safari! Again, another place that I've not been to for ages. Last time I went there during a secondary school excursion, I bought 2 foxes. My hands were tied this time though, almost got that penguin..

Started off the day badly though. My PC died on me! Rushed it to the hospital (Sim Lim) to be revived. While there, added a few enhancements, and left there $700 poorer. BUT, am VERY happy with my GeForce GTX 285 1gb graphics card and 4GB OCZ ram. Felt excellent to be spending on myself! :)

Since the only bus to the zoo/ns are from AMK or CCK, we decided to meet at AMK for dinner. Budget dinner at the hawker, duck rice! Han was so sweet to get the girls a flower each so they did not feel left out :D

Night Safari was fun! We were very entertained by the animal show, very good host I must say. A very different experience. We played around like young kids in the dark too. Hide and seek here? No way. Yes yes we were also one of the inconsiderate groups that blinded some of the animals with our flash, BUT... ok no rebuttal for this.

After all the fun at NS, we decided to head to Upper Thompson for prata. I'm so glad we decided to stop walking after 2 bus stops and take the cab. Prata was great! We were all famished after trekking through the safari. Btw, I would have finished the briyani if they had served it okay!

Thoroughly enjoyable night with my friends. :)

(L to R : me, Han, JL, YQ, Belle, Wil)


(Yummy?)

15 February (Cream Bistro)

After a tiring night out at the Night Safari, we still managed to pull ourselves to town the next day. Nothing much that I can remember for this day. We finally settled at Cream Bistro after walking for AGES.. Very comfortable place to chill for looong chats.

(L to R : Wil, Belle, Han, YQ, me, JL)

20 February (Vivo / Keppel Bay)

Another week, another first. First visit to Keppel Bay. (Ya la damn mountain tortoise la.)

We had our dinner at Vivo before embarking on the long walk to Keppel Bay. The sight and ambience was well worth the walk. Settled ourselves at tcc to rest our tired legs and enjoy the air con.

(Spotted! Samsung triplets)

(L to R : me, Belle, YQ, Han, Wil)

22 February (Ellenborough)

Today, we had a farewell lunch for our dear friend William who was going to Australia to get his Masters. Ellenborough by recommendation of Belle, who told us the durian paste there was the best. It failed my taste test horribly.

After lunch was time to get Wil's farewell gift. Since he chose it, he'll surely like it. So, enjoy your jacket in Australia Wil!

(L to R : Han, Nic, YQ, me, Serene, Belle, JL, Wil)

(We hired a bus for our entourage. Really.)

26 February (Marley and Me)

Caught Marley and Me. Met up with my cousin and her bf for awhile too. Nice seeing you guys :) Marley was quite okay. Average show. Got Belle tearing and us sniggering at her though. Animal lovers might love it though!

(L to R : YQ, Belle, JL, me, Nicole, Han, Wil)

27 February (Coffee Club, Clarke Quay)

Bought a pair of running shoes today! Han had 40% off New Balance shoes and I decided to get one pair for myself as well! Just nice as my old shoes had worn out and I'm starting to jog to lose my tummy! No signs of any improvements. And I don't blame the prata, pizza, ba chang, bla bla bla, etc.

Had our dinner at a lousy noodle house at Bugis. Not filling at all! After that headed to loof, only to find it too crowded. Thus, decided to head to Clarke Quay. Settled at Coffee Club and chatted the night away. Had the best seat with a view of the entrance :) heh

JL, we will remember that you stood us up today.

(R to L : Han, YQ, Belle, me, Wil)

1 March (Wil's Farewell, Changi Airport)

Well, today is the day our dear friend William flies off for his studies. If not for today, we wouldn't have known of his shhhhh *secret gf* as you will see in the photos below. We wish him well, study hard and look forward to June when he's coming back for holidays. Oh yes, Zoo trip too!

(L to R : Han, JL, YQ, me, Serene, Belle, secret, Wil)

(We'll miss you Wil!)

3 March (Lucky Gardens Graveyard)

Today, I had a picnic opposite a graveyard. Thank you so much Bree for the yummy yummy sandwiches! Filled up my tummy! Both of them which I gobbled up! And yes you're much braver than your sis. You actually walked THROUGH the bloody graveyard lor! *clap clap* ;)

[Space to be filled w Bree's chio chio pic]

4 March (DVD Night)

Invited Bree over to watch dvds! 30 mins into Burn After Reading, she was bored already. Tried to watch some other movies but each had their problems (no audio, lousy quality, jerky, etc). Ya new GFX card with a 22 inch monitor, and my sound system decides to fail me. Ended up watching The Pursuit of Happyness. Based on an inspirational true story about never giving up and working towards what you want! I liked it! :) Btw, I fixed my sound system alrdy.

6 March (Wii at Cineleisure)

Today, we ventured to Cine to play wii! Another first for me! Was damn fun and tiring. My arms were aching immediately after the boxing game. All e way till Sunday, STILL aching! Ya I'm damn weak. Han and YQ both contemplating getting a set. Free gaming soon? :p

(L to R : me, YQ, Belle, Han, JL)

(I like this.)

7 March (New York New York)

Met up with my Secondary school friends whom I've not seen for ages. This gathering was organised specially for our Cambodian friend was in town for a holiday. Disappointed that the my best friends in Sec sch weren't able to make it. Nvm, there is always next time!

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I'm finally done! Started at 9pm+ and its now 1.30am! Omg! Lols. Hope you enjoyed the read my friends! Good night! :)