Monday, July 23, 2007

July Birthdays


did you know that on my calender, JULY is most crowded with birthdays dates.


at my ex-working place, there were YC, iresh, jas, stella, Junhao, angele, roy & me-- in my gang. 8 of us. 5 of them were born in JULY. hence the tradition of meeting up in July after we left the place. cos it is time to buy them BD dinners and most of the time, we will be at candy's jap restaurant at waterfront. and we keep eating the same old thing-- sukiyaki, california maki, futomaki & ocha ice cream from japan. the meat is flown from japan & it taste as sweet as ever.
authentic japanese foood is never cheap, given their standard plus the cost of bringing them into singapore. whatever the case, the ocassion calls for it and we all had a great time.

fireballs



my colleagues say i am "boh liao" / 无聊 / bored.


they asked me what my husband thinks of it.


i made a home-made video on the toy fireballs i got as a premium from half a dozen of lays chips.
i have many toys and i dont think there's anything wrong with it, though my colleagues say that it is a waste of money. i dunno. i dont spend much time thinking about stuff like that and i will just do whatever i fancy. it has always been like this. most of my friends appreciate my spontaneity attitude and that's cool by me!


tiramisu


am i glad to have a relaxed dinner last fri with bren. nice pasta & dessert.
look at my hair. every one said it is nice. i think the curls will not last very long but i guess as long as i enjoy it while it lasts, it is good enough.
ladies & gentlemen, i am going to phuket!
just a couple of days, plus the weekend.
it has been 4 yrs since i last went there. wonder how much it has changed...

Friday, July 20, 2007

continued

As i was saying,

last week was a whirl.

i dont know what happened but some periods of time, i get 桃花运.
most of the time, it is unwarranted and i get scared by it.
i know that i have this 桃花运 thingy as it is like this since teenage.

many palmist also tells me that i have 桃花运 but it is not necessary a bad thing as long as i am aware of it and dont abuse it. but the thing is that i am damn blurr when it comes to this kind of thing and i can tell you how wooden block am i,,, i wont know that a guy is extra-interested in me until being told point blank. there were times when they send me here and there, wait at my office till i knock off and do some other stuff that i thought it was normal until when they finally gave up prusing me that they tell me i didnt get their signals. (not my fault!)

as i grew up, i learnt to take a subtle hint but most of the time i just let it phase off by itself because i feel that i would rather have that guy as a good friend and we can always have a more- -than-common friendship and remain platonic after the less-than-common feelings wear off.

so anyway,

sometimes it is ok, we just become good friends & i enjoy that.

BUT sometimes it is scary, like the most recent case was that the guy is my customer. (not the one i went disco with)
he gave me such agony because i was afraid he would get ANGRY if i didnt handle it tactfully.
i am just to damn naive to think that casual chit chat and honestly is the best policy.
anyway, i am just relieved that i managed to wriggle out of the situation and put a stop to all those one sided flirting.

i dont know why but i think people have the wrong impression of me.
they think i am sexy and will entertain indencent proposals.
in my line of work, which is male dominated, ,, i do see that being a woman has its edge, you know, it is natural that men likes women.
small talks, casual laugh laugh is ok. but not ask you to go hotel or chalet, i think that is over-the-line.

so girl, i am learning to be more aware of my peach blossoms attractions!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

mischief under influence of alcohol is pardonable

by the time i recap what's been happending,

the effects would have worn off and whatever agony i had will also have been diminished


nonetheless, i must tell you the past 2 weeks was quite a whirl.


i shall not bore you about my work as it is just a lot of stress and nothing else.
i am feeling alright, dont mistaken. i do enjoy my work because i am like a mini-merchant trading in equipment for the oil & gas exploration. i do see the larger scheme of things.

anyway,

in the midst of being so ever busy, i joined my customer & one other vendor for a night at st. james station.. for some cantopop live music at their chinese crowded branch- drangonfly.
i dont think i will return any time soon because the re-entry system is terrible.
we paid for our entry, met the group and headed for the restaurant for dinner.
when we wanted to re-enter, we had to queue for over an hour. had it not been that i was with my clients, i would have left. the worst thing is that it is the same whether you are a new paying public wantiting to get your tickets, paid customer like us or the so-called members. every one was waiting impatiently and it is just so stupid. like immigrants awaiting for your transfer boat.

i asked val along for the nite out as i may have been bored without her. i only know one of my client,, i do not know his colleague., like i told him, i only know his email address.


val was so game and ever so sponteneous to entertain my customers (2 of them). chit chatted with them and forced them to drink the liquor.

the guys were only drinking beer although it was a big barrel, they didnt get drunk.

but val & i got so damn drunk because someone kept pouring neat martel into our glasses. it was like drinking tequila neat by the ounce, so you can imagine we were acting crazy after 2 hours i think. while walking along the car park to the other english outlet at st. james, i remember tapping on the side mirror of the police patrol car when it whizzed by me. my customer grabbed me and chidded that i should not play a fool with the police and i remember telling him cooly that mischief under the influence of alcohol is pardonable.

val misses partying with me because none of her other friends will join her being crazy.
i often refrain from it because i think i am unable to control my mischief when drunk.
i have a sick sense of humour that a rebel would love.

anyway, it was ok la, quite fun, though i don't plan to do it any time soon.

we were almost being brought away by a man who followed us till we get into our cab.
val is exceptionally talkative when she is drunk.
i had to literally hold her tongue to stop her from being overly-friendly.

Monday, July 02, 2007

pictures






Christina Aguilera

can you imagine my good luck,
an old friend gave me 2 tickets for Christina Aguilera's Back-to-Basics Tour

straight away, i asked val if she wants to go.

she said, "but i dont know her songs!"

i said "ai ya never mind, just go"

at 6 plus, she called to tell me "you got to wear trashy"

trashy?! i dont have trashy clothings.

yes you have! she insisted.

i'll try. i said.

trashy.... i couldnt fit into my trashy clothes!

goodness gracious me.

so i wore a trashy T-shirt which disappointed val.

Christina was good. diva quality good.

the only "wasted" thing was that we were at the VIP lot and no one stood up to dance.
val was very frustrated, cos it would mean she will be dancing alone if she did so.
i wasnt too much in the mood but i enjoyed the show just as much.


anyway,, we were also very lucky,, when we emerged from indoor stadium, the fire works exploded. it was the National Stadium's last night and there was a finale.
we had the tickets there too... we strolled in the field,, like saying goodbye to a monument and there were people sitting on the field, having a beer, most boys were chasing after a football which they find joy kicking it high up into the sky.

a night to remember....

Thursday, June 28, 2007

June

June had so far been an extremely busy month.. with most nites in the office till ten.
i do not want to live like that and i shall leave the office at six.
i hate it when i say i would but never do.
makes me feel i am unreliable.
which is a weakness.

oh ya, i went for "body talk" session with an old friend from NLP
she is brilliant
for those who do not know what i am talking about,,,, i should try to explain.
body talk is a cross between kinesiology when our body will tell the practitioner "yes" & "no" answers,, with muscular tests, eg by gently depressing the arm to check of muscle resistance and guage for yes / no.
body talk combince TCM traditional chinese medicine
and belief system, and energy stuff (like reiki)

anyway, before i loose you, just know that there are more "baggages" our body carries that meets the eye.

i had 2 sessions and she addressed:-
  • the regular aches, toe cramps, etc, i cant recall.. oh ya, and an issue about "sweetness"

second session was more intriguing as i had not told her anything but she discovered:-

  • i had a phobia of another person's anger and there was a blockage at my heart area.

my body could even tell her who that person was as i shortlisted 2.

  • my body told her of a grieve i was holding and said that i had to clear it to make room for something new.
  • my body also told her that i have a concern about health insurance issue about the future

so i guess my body is telling her a lot of things that is happening to me.

anyway, we balanced the matters and although i cannot give you concrete evidence of improvement, i do trust the process & the science of it.

Friday, June 08, 2007

negative effect


picture diary




See some of my recent sketches from my picture diary.

The lips are “drawn” with just the phrase “speak no evil”
You know, just to remind myself to be mindful and speak only of positive things and not gossips.

As for the owl,,, I had insomnia earlier in the year as I was too stressed with work…

good thing it was a passing phase.


Friday, June 01, 2007

vivo city



there is a mini man-made beach at vivo city, the shopping mall.

cousin zhi ting begged us to bring her there as she needed a break from all the school work, homework and exams.

it is quite romantic in the evening when the sun goes down and it is also quite refreshing to dip our feet in the waters while surrounded by eateries and shopping stores.

i would like to go there again some time but i do not like to queue for anything. like i said, you have to pay me to queue.

=)

Monday, May 28, 2007

weekend in may




my weekend - May 26th & 27th

mark told me this morning that i sleep walked to the loo last nite.

i was shocked and intrigued because i thought my sleep walking has stopped.

he said i didnt need to on the lights, i just walked like a robot.



when i was a kid, i was known to put on my school uniform and wear my socks and shoes as if i am getting ready for school but it is like middle of the night and i am doing the action with my eyes shut and sound asleep. there were a few times my aunt had to stop me from walking out of the house with my bolster in tow. they laugh about it in the morning but i dont think it is funny.

i feel that people who sleep walk are disturbed in the mind or under stress.

medically, i dont know the stand, but that's just my thinking.



i guess going to the loo is not considered sleep walking.

if the body has to go, it has to go.

either that or pee in bed.

which i know that bed wetting is a sign of anxiety.

anyway, as i said, i was intrigued because once, quite recently about a year ago, i sleep-walked to the loo. nothing unusual you say. let me explain.



i was having fever and forced myself to drink a lot of water.

having fever and feeling cold, i wore one panty, one shorts and one long track pants,

the usual t-shirt and sweater, to bed. plus one pair of thick woolen socks.



i placed a pair of rubber slippers near the washing machine outside the toilet for myself in case

i had to use the loo and was wearing socks, remember?



the next morning, i didnt remember going to the loo but i woke up and saw one pair of socks neatly placed on top of the slippers, each socks folded neatly in half and placed in the same direction.



errie.



how could i in any logical mind, fold the socks so neatly? for what? i would nornally just pull off the socks and throw them into the pail.

how and why did i fold them so neatly and Placed them so neatly side by side?

how did i do that in my sleep?

i really wonder and sometimes it scares me.



i used to do the "felicity" thing,, you know record in a mini tape recorder like an audio diary.

but once i played back a recording and i dont freaking remember me having said that!

i was half asleep when i recorded it, under the influence of alchol i think,, so it freaked me out knowing that i am capable of doing things out of character when i am out of my ususal mind.



another time i had a friend who asked me if i remember my conversation with him the night before and i dont because we talked when i was falling asleep.



so please dont ask me about anything if i am half asleep. because i may act or sound as if i am awake but chances are i wont remember!

--

ok, wow i talked so much and havent touched on my weekend.



i have to tell you how stressed at work we are.



my colleague Cathy told us today about her nightmare where she and Iresh were driving along the expressway in a car and how suddenly they were both drowing in the ocean and she asked Iresh to hang on the some grills to stay afloat, all the time treading water. (tiring)



i dreamt about another colleague- anna and i, cleaning some area and anna accidentally hit her wrist onto a sharp object and a fountain of blood gushed from her left wrist. i took a towel and bandaged her wrist while adding pressure to the wound to stop the burst of blood. i brought her to the town clinic but it was a panic search becos the clinic was no where in sight.

when we finally saw the doctor, the victim became me but it was my last pinky finger that had a cut and a tiny spring of blood was jutting out like a water fountain.



** sigh **

how much stress we have at work and it invaded our dreams.

---



ok, i have to tell you about Sunday.



mark's brother invented a bamboo hole cover that would shut automatically every time you take the bamboo out from the holder. he came up with the idea after seeing his poor neighbour suffered dengue from the stagnant water that bred ades mosquitoes. many bamboo hole in our HDB flats collect water if not covered properly.



anyway, we were at the tampines town council day as NEA (national environmental agency) gave us a booth to display the product as a showcase for the public / residence.



it was an interesting day, although it was SCORCHING hot, humid, glaring and tiring.



the public are generally receptive to the product and liked the idea.

i must say at least 50% of the people are civic minded and felt that they are responsible to keep their homes free from breeding mosquitoes. especially civic minded in this area are the old aunties. and students. there was a girl who quickly borrowed a phone from her aunt to call her mom to come and buy the covers. (but we were not ready for sale la,,, it was still at prototype stage)



anyway, there were also the few odd people. one man threw the sample cover on the ground to test if the material is really good. luckily it passed his test and didnt break. few others insisted that no matter how you cover, there will still be some rain water seeping in.



anyway, what i wanna tell you is that my neighbouring stall volunteer made me reflect about myself.



you see, he is a young malay teen and he was doing a recruitment drive for volunteer marshalls to go to people's homes to survey if they have an stagnant water breeding mosquitoes grounds.
there were some pens and hilighters to be given away but only if they sign up. as his recruitment drive showed no sign of success,, he was told by the supervisor that he could just give away the pens & highlighters. and when he did that,,, there was a sudden flock of people crowding around our table and swumming us up like scavangers.

they extended their hands, the torsos, their arms to "beg" for the free gift-aways.

my gosh, i was ashamed by their behaviour.

the boy got so pressed by them that he began to throw the pens in the air like scattering rice crakcers for the peigons. it was a sorry sight and i looked away. i was angry at the uncivilized behaviour and sneaked to take some pictures to show you.

i dont know that singaporean can be so shameless and i didnt know the extent of the kick they have getting something for free.

luckily a more senior officer stepped in and told the pepole to queue up.
she said i have a lot of pens to give away but we are civilised people so please dont rush like this.
the people did not go away embarassed but they just tried to queue a bit.

after all the saga, i was alone with the boy and i said, singaporean are terrible.
he asked "are you malaysian?"
i was surprised and said, no, why?
he said then you shouldnt say singaporeans are terrible. although they like anthing for free.

we laughed but we are both feeling terrible.

i dont normally go to crowded places like this. i dont wake up at 730 in the morning to queue up for a goodie bag. i will think thrice even if you paid me. so yes, i dont understand the joy of getting free pens, free fridge magnets and free bags.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

liang court


went Liang Court to get a digi cam from Audio House.. began wanting to get olympus but end up buying lumix panasonic. see how much a sales person can influence the customer. anyhow, lumix is a good camera, fool proof too. Mark uses it for his work. ya, i have to tell you, he is finally working now.

for those who might not know, my husband is an extremist. he either works like there's no tomorrow or dont work at all. i hope with age he has become more sensible and will lead a balanced work life. anyway, i am certainly glad that he is working and there is light at my tunnel now. haha.

i heard from my aunt that my mom is sad and lonely.
that makes me feel very guilty.
guilty that i dont spend enough time with her.
but the sadder thing is that i dont connect heart to heart with her.
like, we just talk about simple things. normal converations.
never really talk about our feelings.
how?

Mark asked me,, so is your mom really sad & lonely?
i said - i dont think so
he asked- you mean you didnt ask?
ya, i didnt ask. we dont talk about such things.

what's been happening



recently i have been shopping quite a bit. my feet is rather small and many of my friends are envious that i can make the shoe look good. anyway, here is yet another pair of sandal. which i have not used yet. as i've told you, my new office is to sparse and i have no place to hide my shoes. my boss is a neat freak and i think i am too untidy for his liking. not that i am untidy but i guess 3 pairs of shoes in the office may be one too many.
anyway, i am also not sure why would i have so many stuff since i use the same old stuff for ages. like my watch, i have used it for 8 years almost every single day.
can you tell that i like green? though it is a tough colour to match. but green is beautiful. olive green, fresh yellowish green. army green.
i dont like chlorophyll green. is teal green family? i like teal only on paper, eg wall paper or wrapping paper.
can you tell i am bored? one night i was bunning my hair with various bun hump. my husband said he like to see me preen.
i said " like prune & preen, preen?"
yes, he replied.
i said, well, it's time to have a baby, i am bored!
who on earth plays with their hair. many girls i suppose, but i am not to be known like that. i dont even comb my hair. just use my fingers to run through them and it will be ok. signs of me getting bored at home.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Sir Lancelot



meet Sir Lancelot, our knight.

doesnt really stick, does it?

we like this car of course but it is not the same love we have for Grace. i wonder is it the same for children as well. like being a first time parent is very new and exciting and more memorable, given that you are new at it, made mistakes and the growth is more recognisible. versus being parent for the second time, excitement may rubbed off a little and less is being impressed onto our consciousness. i am just wondering.

so anyway, lancelot is neat and cool. runs well, looks steady and mature. i dont know what characters it will have later on but for now, he is quite handsome.

i borrowed $10K from my friend (the one that always borrows my stationary and shoes) she is also my colleage now and before. so anyway, she loaned me $10K with friendly interest which i will return over 5 moons. i am a believer in 先苦后甜, meaning give before receive. i think that it is a fabulous idea to buy a car like lancelot and get it (payment) done in 5 moons so that i wont need to worry for 4 more years. lets face it, most people i know dont drive the same car for 10 years nowadays and they have to keep changing to a new car as they are caught in a payment fix. half the time they are paying the interst for their car. so anyway, i shall not talk too much about this as people dont like to be told they are foolish.

hello

hello every body!

i have not blogged for more than a month. because i was really very busy.

work was tremendously busy and stressful but i am ok. can i say that i am ok? sometimes my hearing has a vacuum and i couldnt hear properly for 30 seconds. and just the other day i almost wanted to quit. so why do i say i am ok? because i dont feel the stress now. some of my work problem have been solved, some are still on the table and some have yet arrive.

the point is at this moment i am not stressed. so i am pretty ok now. plus, it is FRIDAY! TGIF.

i have a new office now. you can see from the pictures below, our new office is not bad. but i tell you, there is actually lesser storage space than our old small container. see the pictures and you will know what i mean.

i discovered that i am a hogger, an insecure person or a person who needs to have one dozen variation of a same product. see the number of pairs of shoes i have in the old office. (pix at the bottom) and that is not counting a few pairs that my colleague loaned. i even sold her my shoes for $2 each because she borrowed them for so long and they are almost like hers. i really dont like that. she borrowed my tiger balm and didnt return. my xmas gift shawl and didnt return. my 12 yr-old and counting mechanical pencil and didnt return and many other stuff that i cannot remember. i dont like that at all, so i took some back. except to be kind, i sold her some shoes for $2 which she hasnt returned.

anyway, i am such a neat hogger. you can see that although i have so much stuff, they are pretty neatly organised.

the move to our new office






the past 15 months