this year,

i'm going to learn the guitar

and try to be more relaxed with the phobia named cat



we are celebrating chinese new year now and i'm finally more relaxed at work! the last project really disrupted my lifestyle - i can't sleep early and can't wake up early enough to be on time for work now; i wasn't able to help out much for the annual spring cleaning at home, and i didn't clean up my room in time for the new year...:( but it also sent me to seoul, so i'm not complaining anymore!

nonetheless, there's much to declutter now. i need to get used to reaching home b4 8pm and start sleeping at 12am.

hi 2010, you haven't been so kind to me

it can only get better...

cheers

Welcome to 2010!

okay, i'm a few days belated, but it's still a relatively new year.

As I have foreseen correctly, my 2009 was a year of "changes and choices". I've changed my job and kind of started a new business venture with a friend. I ran more and finished my second half-marathon in a respectable manner and timing. I started to teach piano(!) I travelled more - regionally. Attended many weddings. And reconnected with many friends.

2009 was also a year when I learnt more about myself and my goals in life. Probably not enough yet, but I think it was a good year that prepared myself for what's to come in 2010 and the decades ahead. 2010 will be the year when I should fine-tuning my life, correcting my bads and improving what has been right. There are so many things I need to improve personally. I've got the right environment, right people around me. Shan't complain about the others anymore, it's time to work on myself.

Cheers to the new year and our new resolutions! And make them work!

sometimes i wonder...

if there'll ever be a day when i go to all my crushes in my life, and ask them if they have ever liked me before

HIDEOUSLY CUTE NEWBORN BABIES BY THIERRY BOUËT

Read and see more here

it wasn't me

but it sure was emotionally draining.  

serious casualties. 

i grieved so much that i got a really bad headache and gastric pains. didn't realise i had grown so attached to this place. or maybe i was sad that i couldn't be one of them. 

not sure. 

having gone through round 1, round 2 or my own exit would probably be much easier 

what i will do when i am retrenched....

eyes glistened with tears (awww...), the boss announced that come tomorrow, they will roll out the retrenchment plans announced in a memo sent last week. we had come to this point, even though they have already taken measures such as cutting our pay by 10%. 25% of us will be affected. that means, there will be 1 retrenched among every 4 of us. oh well, what has to come will come. and i guess i will embrace whatever fate i belong to since it's really beyond my control. 

and i'm surely going to enjoy my free time! besides the typical sending out resume or going for interview kind of activities, this is a list of things that i will do to keep myself busy (of course, with some financial constraints):

budget

go swimming everyday 

buy toto/lottery (should i?) 

live the work-while-backpacking dream in europe

free activities

go jogging everyday

go for my prepaid massage/facial packages

go library to read

doing household chores (and make my parents happy) 

redeem credit card points to go shopping 

sign up for trial memberships at gyms/spas 

drive my father's car (oops) 

 

......

do you have any more creative suggestions? 

spring is here!

did you realise the UNIQLOCK on the sidebar is different? yes Spring is here! it's warmer, sunnier and happier! 

though here in Singapore we are feeling it a bit differently - more showers and humidity. 

oh whatever... may your days be bright and shiny :) 

(pictures from last year's Denmark trip) 

waiting

waiting for replies

sent to 5 

how long do they usually take to reply? 

feeling so anxious now

not sure how explicit i can talk about this here in this public space

not sure who's reading 

still hopeful! :) 

this is not helping to lift my mood at all...

this is one of my room's glass window pane.

i returned from work (wearily) and found fragments of glass around my room. and finally discovered that the glass was from my window.

sigh. first thought that came to my mind was, "how unlucky". but now, i think i was lucky not to be in the room when whatever-it-was broke my window. and nothing else is broken in my room. heng ah

now i have a mystery to solve. the hole is about 3 mm big. what do you think is the thing that broke my window? i still can't find any foreign objects. and btw i live opposite a secondary school. my brother and a friend suggest a disoriented bird could have been the culprit. my paranoid self prays it's not a bullet and there won't be another attempt.

what should i do? ask the school? report to town council? or the police?!??

SIGH...SOMEBODY SAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

hit by recession

cut in benefits
frozen bonuses and salary increment
and finally it was announced earlier this week our pay will be cut 10%

Great. i can understand the situation and outcome. but i am very disappointed that the news was delievered to us in bits, and through email! it feels like getting dumped via the SMS! how insincere. Furthermore, the emails were always sent at few minutes past 6pm, our knock-off time and the management acts like nothing has happened. Typical traditional Chinese behaviour - avoiding the embarassment. Speaks much about our organisation and management style.

Unfortunately, the situation has affected the general morale and some ppl's behaviour. Worse still, some colleagues are still subjected to some unkind and unfair remarks from the managers and co-workers even though we continue to work very hard for the business.

I don't really care about their assessment anymore. Just trying my best to focus on my long-term goals as much as possible, while balancing the weight of the present circumstances.

To all my friends reading, let's all stay positive and unbeaten through this challenge! Don't forget to have fun too!

i miss my school days!

Dear fellow SN old girls, have you heard about this? 

Lastchillout date: 21 st March/09
Time: 6pm-9pm
Audience: oldgirls of st nicholas
batches 85 - 2008
Venue: Canteen

A last chill out party on the campus before the demolition works of all except the new extension and new spectator stand. If it can't be save, why not a celebration to say goodbye!?

stay tuned:

http://lastchillout.blogspot.com/

bad habits die hard

i procrastinate, therefore i blog

before i blame any more things on luck, i need to change my procrastinating ways. 

sometimes, things turn out the way they are because of human factors, not the supernatural.

i have decided to motivate myself to quickly finish the report i'm working on with a ipod nano (woah, finally an apple product in my life!) .

and then, i ended up wasting 3 hours this afternoon online, looking at models, accessories, colours, specs and other products on the apple store website! 

argh. i need some good solutions to make me change this bad habit for good!!!

aiyoh

i wanted to buy a fengshui book too!

thought i should get a good discount after the chinese new year. it works like the calendar, no?

thought i could probably try to find a good position for my furniture at home or computer at the office... hah

ruoying which one did you buy? lilian too?

how can i be happy?

gosh i've been getting too easily depressed lately

it all started with my lost camera lens... i think if i whine again about this to my friends they are going to get so sick

i was contemplating to plan a holiday by myself but then i think the loneliness might kill me

there's this never-ending project and difficult relationships to deal with at work that i desperately need to end so that i can embark on new (and more difficult) ones

there are so many personal projects that i want to start but i can't because i waste too much of my spare time stoning away

home is not exactly a sanctuary either

and why do i keep hearing all the negative forecasts of my chinese horoscope for this 2009 lunar new year?!!!

i need a signpost to happiness

RIP Roland Piquepaille

this is unusual but i felt terribly emotional after reading about the passing of a blogger whom I've often referred to in my work. I don't even know how to spell his last name! It's a pity he had to leave his ongoing research behind just like that. Maybe he had a great idea in mind that now cannot be fulfilled. I hope he left without regrets.

Read more about him.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1138

new year resolutions

ooh just realised that i made less than 50 entries in 2008. okay, one of the 2009 resolutions shall be MORE BLOGGING!

i'm proud to say i have been quite good at keeping (or achieving) some of my resolutions, 2 being: getting a driver's license and completing the half marathon. of course, there are also those that i need to continue to work on...like changing some bad habits that i'm too ashamed to announce here. hehe

well, i foresee this new year being the year of changes and choices! must be more active in making a difference in my life, instead of waiting for things to happen... :D i want to travel more, play more, rest more...

many close friends are going to enter a new phase of their lives, and i'm going to be really busy helping them with their weddings. that said, i spent the first few days of 2009 ,and the rest of the week as well, busying with the first sunshine babes' hen's night and wedding ceremony. getting married is really a huge task!

anyways, have a happy new year! may seem to be a challenging year ahead for all, but i'm sure all of us keep a positive outlook and take a proactive approach in life, it can only get better!!!

my dreams

some friends asked me recently what my dream wedding will be and i realised i have no idea.

while many at my age are getting ready for their impending wedding ceremonies and family planning, i am not ready for that stage of my life.

over the years of education and a short career life, there are many things that happened that made me see the individualistic, task-oriented, competitive side of me. this is the side of me that is still driving me to seek my "ideal" job.

i'm already quite fortunate to land myself a job that allows me to mix pleasure with work. ten years ago, who would have known such a position "trend researcher" exist? but i guess the grass is always greener on the other side, and i continue to look for my greener pastures and my pot of gold under the rainbow. *dreamy look* (and prince charming is still not on my list of priorities..hmmm)

if i have my way (and better writing skills), i will want to be living the life of these men:
http://www.janchipchase.com/
frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/

:P

家有喜事

cousin's wedding
= 2 days leave = long weekend = shiokness
= lots of errands & early morning = little amount of sleep = foresee wednesday blues in office :(

L plate

i'm officially taking the L plate off the car, putting on instead the red-triangle-in-a-yellow-square plate instead. i'm finally a certified driver!

for the past 10 months, driving lessons gave me an excuse to leave the office on time and a reason to wake up early on weekends.

so, i have decided that i should continue to set time aside to learn something new. i'm not sure what yet but i have some things in mind already. spanishkoreanjazzguitarkeyboardmusicwritingandmanymore.

i think the only issue will be $$.

last but not least, i should really spend some time learning about photography. was looking through the photos taken in Seoul. not great. i actually prefered some of the photos taken using the Canon powershot than the Nikon D60! i haven't quite gotten the hang of the D60 like I have with the powershot. Also, need to learn more about technical stuff like the exposure, shutter speed etc.

shall leave you a few of my fave shots in Seoul: Freshness burger! i've never visited this famous japanese burger joint in tokyo. i knew i have to try it when i saw it at KINTEX in Seoul.






























the verdict? fresh and tasty! ;)

these days, i'm busy with

- work

hmmm what's new. lots of disappointments and politics that I can do better without. YUCK.

- keeping up with my friends

and their weddings! lots of love is in the air...

- yoga classes

gotta make my money worth and my muscles taut. need to look good for weddings.

- driving lessons

less of which after my first failed driving test, which, is a story for another day :(
(i really enjoying driving!)

- jogging

latest hobby. discovering new routes in Singapore. and preparing for the half-marathon in Dec.

- my Nikon D60

latest latest hobby. i'm broke now. sigh this is just the beginning.