sLeePyTooN tOwN

Saying Hello to...

2010-01-24T16:13:00.002+08:00

1) Straight Hair
Me finally went to straighten my hair last Sun. :)) N i say straighten instead of rebond coz I did it @ a home-based hairdresser near Dar's place n my hair doesnt end up as flat as it wld be if rebonded. Which is not too bad coz it look pretty natural hee hee... some of my colleagues were like "did u do something 2 ur hair?" :P n it was pretty cheap too... comparable to JB without the hassle... only thng is dat the strands near e shoulders seem a bit curly already... but oh well :)

2) A slightly bigger paycheck
Yeah FINALLY got increment... am i satisified? i guess ok bah... e rumour was dat we would get abt 3% and if our pay was below mkt rate then it would be abt 6% but i thnk in e end everyone more or less got e same flat sum... so well... but being e greedy gal that i am... i thnk it is a tad little... bearing in mind dat we didnt get any increment last year...

3) Nice frenly pp
It is kinda of a surprise 2 actually meet nice, courteous pp on the train, especially during the early morning peak periods when it is super crowded and difficult 2 get on @ Kallang. Was attempting 2 board e super crowded train as usual this am n had already decided 2 wait for the next train when this lady motioned for me to come in as there was a teeny weeny space. She even made more space for me :) (n incidentally she works in e same building as me! heh heh) n when the doors closed n the train moved... i almost feel n luckily this other lady held on to me! n when this old lady came in they also helped her :) nice pp... will haf gd karma keke

4) New Kid on the Block
Went for lesson w my new kid... luckily it is is pretty convenient... juz 1 stop fr e MRT. A pretty quiet kid who seemed kinda restless during lessons. Thnk her basics are not v strong so hopefully will be able to help her. But she seems ez 2 teach lah... which is a relief :) But it is rather tiring... wonder how lg i can last... keke

5) New faces
Due to expansion, there are more new staff in the office... hafnt toked 2 all of them yet... but juz wondering whether there will be anyone 2 replace me when I leave... or rather if i m able 2 find a new job heh heh! I definitely hope so man!!!

Whizzing By

2010-01-10T14:01:00.002+08:00

Geez, itz already the 2nd wkend of 2010! & i m still not in the mood for work kekeke.

Tokin abt work, we haf a team-building event ystd @ ulu Lim Chu Kang. (exact place was Sarimbun Camp) When we heard, many of us initially had a lot of resistance to it & I, for one, was thinkin of various excuses of why I can't "make it" coz we had to supposedly write a 3 page memo if we are unable to attend! :P Was also debating whether 2 drive there coz we thought they were not providing transport; we were advised to carpool; then they made the pick-up point of the bus @ Jurong East but they finally decided to pick us up @ UOB Plaza which defeated e purpose of me driving. I guess the reason why it was so far was also to deter anyone of us from leaving early haha!

We were divided into teams which we were only told 2 days b4 e event itself so it got a lot of us pretty excited haha! Luckily I had company in my team coz there were some pp i didnt really like in my team haha! But I must say we all enjoyed ourselves v much and my team even got the best team award! hahaha! It was a $250 voucher but after splitting amongst ourselves; I thnk each of us will only be getting $20 haha. I'm glad it is over n that it wasn't as bad as it seemed :)))

& it has been a good new year so far; double dated w Dora @ Ikoi on New Year's Day where we exchanged super belated bday prez n juz had loads of fun catching up; attended Genia's cosy wedding dinner @ Amara last Sat & caught up with a couple of old school mates as well; & had dinner w Jo, PS & Shao Ye on Fri where we had 2 wait 45 juz coz I wanted 2 try e Ramen! haha! But I thot it was worth the wait :))) much beta than the basketball Ramen w e other PA pp couple of weeks back heh. & m happy coz I got a new tuition kid!!! yayee!!! More income for me kekke!

Happee 2010

2010-01-01T10:49:00.003+08:00

Yep, it's been ages since I last blogged... almost half a year to be exact; not that I have no time coz I can blog in Dar's off over e wkends, juz been plain lazeee and nothing much 2 tok abt i guess n some other things that hap which i dun wana document... well, shall try to be more "diligent" in the new year hee hee :)))

The last time I blogged, hafnt started on my course, but now it is over... so fast rites??? but there's still that silly role-play that we hafta go thru :( thnk it is q unfair to product staff coz we neither haf e experience nor the knowledge and for pp like me, i m not gona find it useful since i dun intend to be a RM in future. But well... for that piece of paper... which ultimately may not be helpful in e end! :P but i did learn some useful stuff during the cse n hopefully i can rem them in time to come, but after taking e cse, it so dawned on me that i m not cut out for the finer side of finance haha!

Dar's cousins came dwn to SGP in mid Nov and we had q a fun time bringing them ard; Orchard Road, Raffles Place area, Marina Barrage (& it was my 1st time there!), Newton for e huge variety of food and Clarke Quay. Too bad there wasn't enuff time to bring them wakeboarding keke... but they suggested for us 2 visit them in July for some snowboarding :) Dar n I went to BKK in late Nov... we walked SOOOOOOOOOOOO much that we had to have massage EVERY nite! but it was damn cheap lah... $10 for 1 hr n it was not too bad as well. Me thinks me prefer BKK then SZ... like more thngs 2 see, n more thngs 2 eat as well keke... though i had diarrohea aft i came back *bleach*

Barely worked whole of Dec coz was clearing leave. Wanted 2 bring more forward 2 this year but cldn't. Didn't really do much... went JB n also brought e kids out to watch Avatar! It was good! I havent seen e kids since Jan this year and it is a wonder how much they haf grown... n how much naughtier and cheeky they have become!!! n i finally went wakeboarding too... so m now v tanned which I like... but i thnk i was on e verge of peeling; my face was lobster red e next day :P

Hope everyone will have good health in 2010 and may it be a prosperous new year for all!!! I m not 1 to make resolutions but I hope that the new year will bring me good health (m hafing e flu now), new job (yeah getting damn xian of e job), more tut kids (= more income :P), more hol (going bali in May yippeee), memorable times w Dar n more biz for Dar's wakeboarding co! HUAT AH!!! :))

HAPPEE 2010 EVERYONE!!! =^_^=

Happy 2nd!

2009-07-08T22:32:00.003+08:00

Time really flies... the 7th July date has come and gone once again... as always, can't believe it has been 2 years since we exchanged our vows :)

Took leave yesterday to kinda celebrate and also to rest a little. Dar has been really bz with his new shop opening but promised me to be back by early afternoon so that we cld go n pray my mum and then run some errands before our massage in the late pm. Managed to get a "free" massage for Dar coz the previous time I went there, the therapist who was a part-timer didn't do my wrap for me so I asked them to change it to a massage for him hee hee... q smart hor. I requested for a couple room; but it wasn't exactly a couple room but instead, a room that was seperated into 2 by partition & they had all these facial machines @ the partition there so... but the therapists were pretty good... mite use them again next time.

Wanted 2 go somewhere nice for dinner but decided not to spend so much money n also coz we are going to Shang for Dad's bday tmr (yep yep... I managed to book the flash ur age promotion! Can't wait!!!) so we ended up @ Ikoi coz Dar was hungry n we haven't gone there for a while. Luckily we went a little earlier coz the place filled up by around 730 and the orders were q slow. As usual, we "tackled" the salmon sashimi n the ebi tempuras. But the tempuras n the chawanmushi was a little off-standard yesterday and we thot they had changed chefs! haha! & we suspect the sashimi chef yesterday was also the boss! coz he was super duper frenly, had a lot of pp saying hi n bye to him n had his pic w celebrity plastered all over the wall! No wonder he was so professional, taking time to cut the sashimi n then decorating them on the plates! We had little yellow flowers on the sashimi :)

After that, it was Transformers!!! We actually wanted to catch it on the opening week but missed it n after that was too tired. It wasn't too bad lah... effects were real good... but I didnt watch part 1 so I was a bit lost... shall go ransack Dar's collection n see if he has the 1st one.

All in all, we enjoyed ourselves... n i m juz glad Dar took e time off 2 spend it w me despite all the prep he has to do for the shop n the gazillion n 1 thngs he has to do! *muakies*

Maldives

2009-06-07T11:07:00.037+08:00

I guez most pp have heard of how beautiful Maldives is and long to go there; me was no exception!!! There was a good deal during the last NATAS fair for Club Med Kani & me decided to go w HL. Yep, many pp were surprised that Dar was not goin w me as Maldives is like a honeymoon destination but instead w 3 other babes. & here are the 4 pretty babes: Me, the 2 HLs & SP :) Pity that it was a nite flight so when we reached there, it was in total darkness & we cldn't appreciate the beauty of the island. Nonetheless, we were welcomed warmly by the staff (aka GOs) w a drink & shown to our rooms. & these were the sights that greeted us the next day:

The Sand, the Sea & the Sky!!! & as HL added... the SEAWEED hahaha!

A view of the jetty

On the 1st day, we had a briefing in the AM & was shown ard the island by 1 of the GOs which really wasn't v big. Having nothing to do till lunch, we went to take some pics near the water bungalows. HL's lumix was really gd; it is wide-angled so we cld take many pics ourselves (like e one above)... m gona get the Lumix too if we eva get dwn to buying our own cam hee. Aft lunch, we decided to go snorkelling; which turned out to be a rather bad idea as the sea was v choppy in the pm & many pp on the boat were seasick. & no matter how hard we paddelled in the water, we cldn't seem to go far... it was really v tiring. :*(

Above: HL & I @ the jetty whilst waiting for the boat. Forgot to mention that we had to take a swimming test first before they let us go snorkelling!

Rite: Us happily taking pics b4 plunging into the choppy sea

So we decided to try again the next morning (& e morning after) when the seas were not so choppy. & indeed they were fulfilling trips as we saw dolphin (umm actually i only saw the fin or was it e tail) on e 2nd day & turtles on the 3rd day!!! & the fishes swam really close to me, but i wasn't able to touch them. I esp liked this flourescent blue one :) The only bad thng was that I witnessed this chinese guy breaking off some of the corals when he kicked his flippers. The GO was really angree as apparantly it wasn't the first time he did it. Some of the other chinese also stood on the corals when they have been briefed not to do so. Just some incidents why the GOs there didn't seem to like the chinese much! (& Club Med was teaming w them whilst we were there!!!)

Above: The site where we snorkelled on the 2nd day. See the lighter shade of green, that is where the corals are

Rite: Us on the smaller boat where we cld sit on the deck & took many many pics :)

Proof that we went snorkelling. Don't we look like puffer fishes?? hee hee... guess which is me?

We also went sailing :) We cld actually learn or the GOs could bring us out. We chose for the GOs to bring us out & they taught us a little along the way. It was q ez as they used this "stick" to control the direction of the boat.Tis the boat we went sailing on... it is called the Hobbie Cat =)

It was v choppy the first time we went out; I was actually splashed all over w water & was all drenched by the time we reached back the shore. e 2nd time we went out, it was beta & so HL was able to take q alot of pics including 1 with a super wierd expression on my face coz the GO changed direction of the sail & the sai hit my head!!! Rather the hook hooked my hair so it felt like my hair was gona be hooked off! & she took this change 2 take a photo of me so there was pic of a v pained expression of me holding on 2 my hair!!! I refuse to put e pic up here :P We also went for stretching & a specially arranged Hip-Hop class hee hee. I didn't really dance lah... but the place where they held the classes was v dark & there were no fans which resulted us being feasted by mosquitoes. I thnk that is also where I got my sandfly bites :(

The meals were all inclusive & they were usually held @ the Velhi restaurant. There were also snacks in between the meals @ Iru & Sunset Bar. However the food wasn't all that delicious; perhaps we weren't used to their cooking bahs and the 1 thng we all complained about was that the drinks were all super duper diluted!!! We were wondering if it was coz there were so many chinese there during that period as the chef told us that @ least 10 pp have complained about the drinks!!! In e end, we had to keep telling the bartender GOs that we wanted our drinks CONCENTRATED & asked them to pour the juice straight from the carton itself. The snacks were q yummz though especially the Nuggets & e Samosas.

Having the yummy Samosas @ Iru Bar on the rite before Dinner @ Velhi Restaurant on the left. The 2 HLs actually saw a rat 1 nite @ Velhi Rest, SP & I jumped up in fright haha!

We usually chose the 4 seaters in the rest so that the GOs will not come "disturb" us whilst we eat. It was the job of the GOs to talk to guests even during meal times.

The night life was not boring either; no wonder Lonely Planet sez that Club Med Kani has the best night entertainment on the island. The GOs put up shows everynite with a different theme, e.g. 80 shows, Latino Dance, Cabaret... after which there was the Sign Dance where everyone followed to specific moves to the songs. It was rather fun, esp on the last nite where they played chinese/korean/jap songs. This chinese guy actually went to sing the chinese song on the little stage!!! I almost died of luffter!!! Aft that there was disco (but hardly anyone danced!!!) or guests could sit around for drinks. On our 2nd last nite there, we did stay to talk with the GOs till late; some of the GOs were really q cheeky & bo liao heh. Some pics w the GOs:

Above: Marhavilla the Chereographer for the Nite shows w his Afro Hair. In 1 of the shows, he actually tied his hair up like a poodle!!! I wanted 2 take a pic w him in that hairstyle but I thnk he was embarassed!

Rite: Another 2 GOs who sat dwn 2 entertain dwn with their tricks

Our 2 snorkelling GOs, Vaea from Taihiti above & Yuki from Japan on the rite! Vaea was always lookin for us during meal times & Yuki was simply the cutest GO there!

Left: Emmanuel the Land Sports Instructor who was also the Hip-Hop Instructor.

Rite: Pascine (i thnk) the restaurant manager who was super frenly. HL & I were making noise that all the snacks were finished 1 afternoon and she actually came out to entertain us! :P

Oh & 1 of the GOs brought us to view the water bungalows @ our request. It was q kewl as it had a private staircase from the room into the ocean (see pic) but it didn't have a glass bottom floor which I thot was q disappointing. But we took many pics alg e way :)

The waters there were actually q clear & there were fishes there, we did some couples snorkellling near the water bungalows. Club Med has also thotfully left life vests in the rooms for this purpose :) Oh & I managed to get q near the bb sharks. We saw them in the water but only 2-3 of them were swimming about... luckily HL spotted many of them under the walkway (I thnk it was too hot!!! haha) n I went near them to take some pics. Wanted to touch them but they didn't swim q near enuff for me. We were wondering where e mummy shark was!!!

The weather was really hot but I didn't really mind coz I got my tan! hee hee. Did put sunblock on the first day; didn't put any on the 2nd day n only put on my shoulders on the 3rd day... luckily the tan came out rather even. Altohugh I was a little disappointed w Maldives (coz 1) the beaches were not really v pristine clean & 2) after e 3rd day, we felt like prisoners on the island as it was getting borin coz we dun dive!) I really enjoyed myself this trip! :))) It's actually my 1st trip wout Dar & w my gfs so I was actually a little apprehensive @ first but it turned out to be a lot of fun!!! Perhaps we'll go Greece or States next year bah! Thanks for e fun time babes! :)

Bad Bad Service

2009-06-06T10:50:00.003+08:00

I seriously thnk that I have bad karma w the service provider SH; after the incident in March wrt to the HP mini Dar bought & his $200 contract, I was @ the brunt end of their horrid service again. Tis e email that I sent to them:

Issue 1
18th May: My husband called 1633 @ about 9pm to enquire about his billing for hp 9382 3840. He was told that starhub was undergoing a "system upgrade" and hence the officer would not be able to check for him. Just wondering, doesnt Starhub has any backup system??? He requested for a call back the following day, 19th May before 11am.
19th May: No one called my husband back. He thus had to call 1633 again in the afternoon. He was served by a guy named "Suren" who told him that it would take 3 days for him to check and get back to him. My husband then requested Suren to call him back before Fri, 22nd May as he was going overseas.
22nd May: I called 1633 and around 11.30am, and asked whether my husband was getting a call back that day. Ivan, who picked up my call told me that Suren would call my husband back that day. He told me that he would drop an email to Suren so that Suren would call my husband once he receive the email. I told Ivan that my husband would like Suren to call before 1pm that day.
TILL TODAY, NO ONE HAS CALLED MY HUSBAND!!!
Qn:
1) Doesn't Starhub have a backup system for the billing (or any other kinds of system?)
2) Why wasn't there a callback on 19th May when my husband has requested for one? It is always a time-consuming process to call 1633 as we always have to wait for no less than 10 min which is why cx request for a call-back.
3) Why didn't Suren call my husband back yesterday when Ivan told me that he would be calling him back? In any case, it has been more than 3 days and he told my husband that it would take him 3 days to check on the billing!
4) Don't you have a better system rather than just emailing the staff to call the customer back? What if the staff is on urgent leave/MC and cx is requesting an urgent call back? Shouldn't a manager be on hand to call cx back?

Issue 2
15th May: My husband went down to your shop at Plaza Singapura to renew his contract. As he didn't bring down his corporate pass, he was advised to go down personally to hand in a copy of his pass.
22nd May: I called to enquire whether we could fax in the pass instead (as is possible with other mobile providers). I was advised by Suren that it was not possible. However when I called your business hotline @ 1800-888-8888, I was told that I could fax in the pass, together with a letter. This is the 2nd time that I've encountered differing answers from your cx care.
23rd May: As I have left the number in the office, I called 1633 to ask for the number for corporate customers and was given the number 6725 9797. "Nora" who picked up the phone told me that as they have just shifted into the new office @ Ubi, she did not have any access to any system and also that I would have to fax in the request to the shop @ Plaza Singapura as the contract was resigned down that and to call 1633 for the fax number. This was not what was told to me the day before and she told me that it was a miscommunication. I told her then that i was quite sure that 1633 would NOT be able to provide me with the fax number and asked her then what should I do? She kept insisting that she did not have the system and irritated, I told her to ask the manager to call me as I did not want to keep calling 1633 as I always have to hold for almost 10 min. She said "ok" but HUNG UP THE PHONE ON ME before she could even get my details!!! What kind of cx service is this?!?!?!!?
Left with no choice, I had to call 1633 AGAIN, was given the business hotline number and FINALLY got the fax number!
Qn:
1) Why is it that there are always differing answers from your cx service staff? Isn't there some SOP or some general Q&A that the staff can follow? Failing which, shouldn't staff seek help from their supervisors if they are unsure of the answer?
2) I am extremely appalled by Nora's lack of service enthusiasm, especially for hanging up the phone on me! It looks like almost every department in Starhub has bad customer service, is this the image that you wish to project to your customer?

& to add oil to fire, they didn't reply me aft I sent this email. Luckily the gal who was following with me on the "Nora" case was nice & professional & when I told her that I have not received any reply (not even a confirmation email!), she gave me the email of the Head of Cx Svc. Which really worked coz I got a call back (although not by the head) b4 noon on Monday after sending the email on Sun.

The matter has more or less been settled on my part (Dar is still asking about his phone charges) & I got another year of free Auto-Roaming & Caller ID for Dar; so that makes it 2 years coz I already got 1 year free from the previous complaint. Which is good coz I was v against Dar signing on with Starhub again; wanted him to finish his contract & switch to my corporate plan coz I get free Auto-Roaming & Caller ID so this works out to be the same. The guy only offered me a 50% discount off the subscription @ first, which later changed to either Auto-Roaming or Caller ID & now we get both! ha... persistence pays man! I wonder what else I can ask for should I have to call them in again... kekekeke

Footnote: The guy called Dar back & cleared his queries on his billing. & he gave Dar 50% off his subscription for 2 months!!! (he only offered me 1... not fair! :P) means Dar will be saving over $200 in his bills for these 2 years!! I thnk i shd take e credit haha!

Long Absence

2009-06-06T10:17:00.002+08:00

WAH... it's been 2 months since I have last posted something... no excuses except that I have been lazeee but more because there's been nothing much interesting goin on in my life lately haha! It's the usual routine of waking up; goin to work; coming home; play my fb games; sleep and the whole cycle repeats itself :P guess it's e same for almost everyone coz i see most pp haf been abandoning their blogs recently :P

The mega project finally ended in early April... Yipee!!! Out goes the mundane job of checking and opening of accounts for clients and forever churning numbers for my boss to minimise the number of accounts that are not opened. Well... sometimes still gota churn numbers but it is definitely not as bad. Took on the imager role in office which is also another mundane role, just gota be careful of the timings which I missed the other day & resulted in me being complained by 1 of the ViXens in the off. I was damn pissed coz it was e 1st time I made a mistake & I have been keeping close watch of the timing except that day coz there were so many txn. What's more, I felt she was instigated by the mother ViXen & aft that, they did not tok to me about it but instead acted normally w me. Me being me, just cldn't be bothered w them n only toked to them when req. Geez... it's been like 9 months but yet I still cannot get used to all the OP in the office. Luckily I have a few colleagues whom I am closer to so we can bitch about all the others haha. In fact, my boss called me & my buddy colleague in to chide us for toking too much hahaha!!! It's funny how thngs turned out; i didn't used to like my buddy colleague so much n preferred mother ViXen but now I can't stand mother ViXen n m closer to my buddy colleague, taught me to really get to know a person b4 putting my judgement on them.

& I was actually looking to change my job coz I feel my present job scope is not value-adding; tempted to go back to gvt sector coz if lucky can be q zuo bo & also the pay is higher. Was waiting to see if I got accepted to the Higher Diploma in Private Banking and just got news couple of days ago that I was selected! Mixed feelings coz do wana learn more and dun mind goin "back to school" again but don't really know the other colleagues that are selected well; esp so since mother ViXen is selected as well... sigh... & worse thing is, there's lessons on my bday!!! Gosh, I like haven't studied on my bday in @ least 12 years!!! Mite skip dat lesson though... still thnking abt it. Wanted to go away that week but looks like that won't b possible coz haf assessment that week also... guess gota celebrate either b4 or aft dat wk bah...

Went GZ/Macau/ZH w Dar & his family in late March. 2nd "family" trip after the Melbourne trip in 07... bought q a lot of stuff although Dar wasn't too impressed that most of the shopping catered to gals. Dar & I made a side trip to GZ ourselves; it has really changed a lot since I was there like almost 20 years ago!!! & it was ez to find the places we wanted to go to too. Thnk we might make another trip there again... Dar's sis & SIL were amazed @ how long Dar could walk; the buildings were like 6 storeys high and he wasn't a least bit tired even after walking all the floors! Me? I was complaining that i was tired even b4 reaching the 5th floor haha! & I juz came back fr Maldives w a good tan!!! But save that for the next entry :P

So wat's everyone been up to? :)

I saw it! I saw it!

2009-03-22T12:27:00.002+08:00

The RAINBOW that is... went to keep the clothes and there it was, the huge arc just infront of me. Really brought a huge smile to my face coz I missed it the previous 2 times and for some reasons, I always feel happy whenever I see one... which is not often!

And I thnk it is a gd sign too! Coz I m goin on holiday soon!!! No doubt with some aunties but as lg as hubby is w me, it will definitely be a memorable trip! :)

Amazing Memory

2009-03-22T12:13:00.002+08:00

Wow... teachers have the most amazing memories!!! (or maybe only when it comes to their students and not with their daily lives coz I wldn't say that my parents have v gd memories hee) And it is funny what are some of the stuff they remember abt u; I remember one time we went back to sch to visit the teachers, my A-Maths teacher could rattle off our register numbers which we ourselves could barely remember! heh!

Being in PB now, I often receive emails wrt the latest financial/economy news/updates/summaries which often with a click of my finger lands in my trash box. Received a slew of emails the other day and thot to just read them since I was free anyways and had a pleasant surprise at a familiar name at the end of the email; the gal was fr my Pri/Sec school and JC!!! I immediately dropped a mail to her which led to an even bigger surprise: 1 of our Pri sch teachers was now working in the bank too!!! A lunch date was arranged :)

I am embarassed to admit that I had no inkling who the teacher was; but apparantly she did remember me and told my friend that she taught my sister. Well, no big deal, my sis was super notorious in school and more often than not, I was known as "XWL's sister". So u can imagine my astonishment when we met and she told me, "Yes I remember u; u used to have short fringe (finger draws a line across forehead) n used to wear those pink plastic specs." WHICH I DID!!! gosh!!! She also asked us if we knew of some other gals, some of whom we knew, some of whom we didnt... but all in all we had a really gd time catching up!!!

And to top it off, my teacher might be having a gathering with the other school teachers whom we still remember fondly... really can't wait for that!!! Must definitely bring our year books and class photos along :)

Absence from Blogging

2009-03-07T13:31:00.002+08:00

Wah.... hafn't blogged in AGES!!! Almost 2 mths n it's all thanks to the games i have been playing on FB... super addictive man! n coz i m playing so many games i juz keep playing the games over n dun haf time for anything else haha... "good" excuse eh? :P anyways life has been kinda boring... nothing much to update also...

CNY
came n gone... 1st year of giving angpaos but my relatives still gave us so in e end thnx to Daddy's ang pao, we earned more than we lost haha! But losses will be mitagated lah coz my mum's side will still give us hee hee :) CNY was also a gd time of catching up; missed 1 w the PA pp (coz I was sick n for the past few times i am always falling sick as the date draws near... maybe i m allergic to them haha) but had a mini ktv session w a couple of them. Met up w my SC frenz too! Wanted 2 lo hei but coz it towards the tail end of CNY n we cldn't decide, it ended up being juz a dinner & chit chat session instead. Oh n also went 2 Shan's hse w QX n DH. Had a nice time catching up although Qixia had 2 leave early... met them again for steamboat abt last wk; we had Mala Huoguo and they requested for more chilli 2 be added coz the soup was 2 bland... n DH ended up with diarrohea e next day! It was hilarious!!!

WORK
yayee... the end of the proj is FINALLY in sight!!! Haf been horribly harressed by my boss (who also went 2 harress other dept... really felt q bad for them) who was juz so unreasonable!!! Hafta a lashing by her last Thurs (which was by no fault of mine) really felt like quitting!!! I can only look forward 2 e end of e proj whereby hopefully i will report under my own supervisor n not directly under her anymore! Soon... all my hair will b torn out by me! haha... Hope that the mkt gets beta as well... thnk shd lk 4 a new job coz my current position is not value-adding @ all haiks! N the new batch of temp boy staff in my off now... really *shake head* My colleague n I gota cover for them & they just climb all over our head! Tell them not 2 do certain thngs coz then my boss will scold us but they juz heck care n do. N this particular staff, went on leave n claimed that he told me but I said otherwise (he told my boss he told me liao when he didnt cfm w me!!!) n told my colleague that he was rude 2 her coz she was rude 2 him! I was like HUH??? n get this, coz he is not going to stardee or anything, he hopes to temp @ our dept for a LOOONG time. I have only this to say: GET LOST! :p n juz received new that there will b no pay increase this year... SOB!!! n i dun thnk i will haf v high bonus either coz my ex boss didnt write a gd appraisel for me... *bleach*

TRIPS
my 1 day "excursions" 2 JB has stopped... coz been bz w proj n so cant really take leave. But we did drive in the other nite for lok lok n Dar has been getting me my yakult (althouh he always drinks when he comes over hmmph!) He also went Macau the week b4 CNY but we will be goin 2gether in 2 weeks time w his mum/aunt/sis & SIL. I can't wait for the break man!!! Away fr off... n i thnk my boss will b away e wk b4 me so that'll make 2 wks of not seeing her hee! Well she can b q nice @ times lah.. juz dat... u know... n e best thng is... I'm booked for Maldives!!! YIPEE YAYEE!!! we will b staying @ Club Med, full board n inclusive of everything for 1500+ =))) I m so excited!!! only thng is Dar wun b goin w me... but I m sure i will haf a lot of fun w my gfs! Can't wait!!!

ME
I thnk i need 2 get more tutees... my previous tutess have since graduated n i m almost always bored on wkends :( which ends up in me always bothering dar n sparkling off unneccesary quarrels heh. I m also wondering if I shd take up this advance dip on pte banking offered by my bank. Gotta study twice a week, 1 wkday n 1 wkend (but i thnk e wkday gota take leave) n there is no binding contract. My colleague who is taking it now asked me to go for it coz she says it is q ez 2 pass de. I m debating coz it doesn't sound that ez but @ the same time I thnk it will be gd for me... haiks... dilemma hee. Oh n i finally watched a movie in Sin after donkey months... n it was Slumdog!!! It was really gd... thot it was diff fr other shows n i was saddened by the proverty. N I thot that the slums were gone, until I read in the newspapers that the child actors/actresses still lived in those make-shift tent areas... wow... we really gota count our blessings man!

n so... how's everyone been? I noticed that most pp haf stopped blogging le... hee...

I wonder...

2009-01-18T10:25:00.004+08:00

Sometimes I really wonder if we save more money on our day trips to JB or if we spend more heh heh. Went JB w Dar last Wed coz I had 1.5 days 2 clear which my boss told me wld b forfeited if I didn't clear my last week!!! I wanted to go in to catch a show, coz we hafnt watched a show in the cinemas for ages and it was much cheaper in JB hee.

Went in abt 11plus after much dilly dallying and Dar first went to check out some 4x4 shops as he wanted to get an extra tyre or something for Baby V. We then had lunch @ this coffee shop just around the corner; I ordered claypot mee and Dar ordered dry Ban Mian and the total cost was like 8RM!!! The food was q tasty too!!! En route to buy MIL's rojak supplies, we stopped @ The Store. There Dar bought those plain white shirts that he has been looking for for working on his boat @ 10RM per piece. I wanted 2 buy a top n pants but they didn't have my size but I did buy 2 pairs of shoes @ 45RM altogether!!! The uncle wanted 2 give me back extra 10RM but I was v honest haha :P As usual, Dar complained that I am forever buying shoes but hey they were cheap mahs!

MIL needed pineapples but the pineapples were all sold out!!! Thnk it was coz everyone bought to make pineapple tarts bah, but he managed to get the other stuff MIL wanted. Then it was off to wash the car n then to City Square. We wanted to watch Red Cliff but it wasn't showing yet so we decided to watch Ip Man instead. As we kept thnking that Tues was their Movie Day, so imagine our surprise when the bill for both tickets came up to 13RM!!! It was only after the movie that we realised that they've changed their Movie Day to Wed hee. After the movie, we decided to walk ard a bit and went to the Padini Store where Dar bought q a bit of clothes but which were all on sale. I myself got a top for like 20+RM... wld haf gotten more but they only had 3 colours and the other 2 colours were rather dull. By the time we left the shop, it was already 9plus (n we wanted 2 go back @ like 6+ lors!) and we were debating whether to wait till 10 to eat lok lok or to eat @ the rest. But sleepy was kinda tired and so we decided to try our luck @ Sushi King so as to utilise our voucher as well. Luckily they were not closed yet and me ordered udon whilst Dar ordered a Eel rice and soba set. After our 10RM voucher, total bill was like 20+RM :)))

Looks like everything was pretty cheap rites? But I thnk we spent q a bit of money on shopping as well (oh i forgot 2 mention I bought 2 tops fr this other shop hee) so I guess in e end the effect is netted off bahs. Told Dar e next time we go in... I wana go 2 e new mall Danga Bay. Heard it is a super HUGE shopping centre! Till then then :)

New KTV Joint

2009-01-18T09:36:00.002+08:00

Hmm... maybe not ALL that new but mois have only recently heard abt it so to me it is new lahs... Went w some frenz (actually mostly fren's frenz) to the 10 dollar karaoke place abt 2 weeks ago; was actually surprised that the gal managed to get a slot coz apparantly u gota book in advance. The cost is $10++ for 3 hours of singing plus free flow of drinks and free shark's fin. I was actually a little sceptical about the place coz went w my temp staff to Top-One the week b4 Christmas and I wasn't impressed.

This 10 dollar place is rite smack in the middle of Chinatown; yep rite in the middle of the CNY bazzar that is going on now. It wasn't that difficult to find, and a narrow, rickety flight of steps led me up to the main reception. Thot the pp there, though bz were rather frenly; they even changed us to a bigger room when they realised we had more pp and thus it was q squeezy in the little room.

Hmm, my verdict, I definitely liked it a lot beta than Top One!!! The number 1 plus point gota be that 10 club didn't have any smoke smell!!!(n i only realised it when I went home!!!) unlike most other KTV joints that I have been to, u r suffocated by the smoke smell upon entry and it leaves the distateful smell on ur clothes and bag after u have left. The songs were updated and if u wanted to key in songs, u cld either use the remote control or it has a touch-screen. UNLIKE Top-One where one had to physically sit infront of the comp to choose ur songs; yep there was NO remote control which was somehing I totally cldn't understand :P Both places had free flow of drinks and yep the drinks were q diluted, but I preferred 10 club coz Top-One was juz like a little syrup mixed with a lot of water n it actually tasted q horrid whereas I cld still taste my honey @ 10 club. Of coz the shark's fin didnt really haf any shark's fin (or maybe I didn't taste any n cldn't see in the dark :P) but it was edible and @ least they were mushrooms so not that bad lah. My only complaint was that the sound wasn't exactly sound-proofed so u cld hear other pp singing in between songs.

But I do thnk it is definitely value for money; they dun charge u extra for those tidbits and the hand towels n @ #11+ per person, it is really worth it. Peeps, let's go there for our K-session next time! :)

Go Andy Go Andy Go Go

2008-12-20T10:32:00.002+08:00

Andy's concert last Sat was AWESOME!!! (althoughout of e 3 concerts I've been 2 this year, I still liked Jay's best!) So what if I didn't really know his songs nor haf as much enthusiasm as his many screaming fans who kept calling him "leng zai"? So what that I actually went for fun more than I m a fan? So what if in e end he didnt sing his more recent songs that I was more familiar with? I had tonnes of fun!!!

Dora bought lite sticks b4 the concert but it was actually not necessary coz we were each given a super kewl lite stick by 1 of the sponsors Nokia n e litestick can change colour one... damn kewl!!! Was q surprised coz there were no free gifts during the Jacky concert and for Jay there was only the cupboard hand thngy (although aft dat there was a poster); was telling Dar that I m saving e litestick for any future concerts that I attend hee hee.

I thot he was v charismatic thruout e concert; he was also v funny in the thngs he say and engaging with the audience even though they may not be standing up and singing along w his songs. N his 2 "sons" were v cute!!! I liked that segment of the concert best!!! They were so "fat" n "round" n cldn't really walk properly yet they managed to turn somersaults and handstands n splits n what have u!!! There was also a segment where they showed his old films and he sang the theme songs from his old films; he looked sooooooooooooo young then!!! N thnx 2 all e botox n wateva, he looks even beta than he was those years back! I m sure it muz haf been v heartwarming for all the fans :) N when he came out for his encore for the fast songs, he asked everyone 2 stand on their feet and dance along w him which prompted many fans (us included) to rush dwn to the railings to be "nearer" 2 him. The encore was v loooong!!! By the time he finished, it was already 1115 pm... definitely well worth our money hee hee.

N i thnk i wana go for JJ's concert again next Mar!!! Anyone wana go w me? :P

Off-Roading

2008-11-30T13:29:00.002+08:00

Went off-roading w Dar n his best bud last nite n it was FUN!!! It was e first "test" for Baby V since the makeover was done; the jack up and the new tires.

So after dinner, we proceeded to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal n we were surprised to see a lot of cars for this trip; i didnt do an exact count but I thnk there were easily like 17-18 cars!!! There were LandRovers n many many Tritons (thnk this is how it is spelled...). Waited a while where everyone went ard looking @ every one else's car b4 setting off. Dar wanted his best bud 2 drive but I told Dar 2 drive as I was pretty sure he wld b tired on e way out. He has done off-roading on his bike b4 many many years ago but not on the car so he was a little apprehensive but he did a great job!

Intially the road was still q ok; not many bumps and not many hanging leaves/branches but it soon got more challenging!!! There were potholes for one, of which some were q deep n some part of the roads were q narrow coz of the tree trunks so it was a gd thng dat baby V was small; so it wasn't much of a prob goin thru nor making turns. Then there the dipping tracks; Dar did one that went down n up immediately and I thot that was like the best part of the "trip" but later there was one that was almost 90 degrees!!! Dar took a look and immediately passed the wheel to his best bud haha! There was another part where we had to go up a little hill n turn straight immediately and Baby V almost cldn't make it up!!! Wat a scare!!! But Baby V proved her worth tremendouly and Dar n his fren were v pleased w her performance :) Thnk they r goin 2 get her new accessories next wk; new fenders n visor maybe... so she will haf a new look!

The funny thng was that, we actually made a wrg turn, which was why the path was so challenging! We later found out that coz 1 of drivers let his passenger out to shit on e road, somehow they missed a turn and we had 2 go 1 whole rd to get to our destination which was actually the break waters. But in the end we didn't go coz they haf been driving for almost 3 hrs and we were getting a little tired. It was fun n I dun mind doin it again but seriously, not too often coz aft abt 2 hrs I was like "r we eva reaching our destination???" :P

Memories

2008-11-02T11:45:00.034+08:00

Juz watched e wedding video w Dar last nite n it brought such nice, sweet memories of that special day of ours :) n I know i took forever to blog abt it n 2 upload my pics... but hey... good thngs r worth e wait rites? :Þ

Woke up pretty early that day although we both slept late e nite b4 as we were still rushing to do the guest list n all coz I was pretty excited n nervous. The Videographer, MUA n photographer all arrived shortly after I had my breakfast n thereaft my aunt n uncle arrived to help.

M all made up... b4 changing to my wedding gown which I miss a lot... hee. My Aunt specifically said I had to wear a pink dress to change into and luckily I found one coz we went to a couple of places but I couldn't find anything in pink, much less anythng I like!!!

The funniest thing that happened was that 2 of my sisters actually went to Dar's house instead!!! so blurr rites??? I like this pic... I thnk I was tokin 2 Qixia n Huiwen was tokin go Siping bahs...

n little Benjy who was the 小舅子 was apparantly v cooperative by sleeping early the nite b4 n he was q excited too... although he looked a little sleepy-eyed down here heh.

As expected, the guys took their own sweet time to come (but can't really blame them coz Dar's best bud had 2 direct 1 sister to my house n drive the other sister over haha!) but I gota say that the sistas were q lenient on Darling... his first task was actually to write this note "announcing" that he is coming to fetch his bride n then subsequently get the note into the house without throwing thru the gate. Next he had the 酸甜古辣 n Dar said the Omega tablets were really terrible n the chilli padi was damn hot!!! His last task (b4 entering the gate) was to drink up a whole pot of Coke through straws that had holes in them which they gladly drank up coz the chilli padi was soo sooo hot!!! I was thnking dat they should haf done the honey last then it mite haf "killed" the taste away?

Dar writing the words "我来接新娘" on the paper w Benjy looking on. He actually wanted to help Dar write some of the words but were "banned" by the sistas!

e 酸甜古辣

& Dar drinking the pot of coke! :)

After some haggling, both sides had a bit of unexpected "help" fr little Benjy coz he needed to pee!!! Dar was telling me that he was v urgent n it was actually q funny coz he cldn't "tahan" already so both sides then used him as a "bait"; the sistas to get e ang pao n the bros 2 get the key. Check out the pics, they r really q funny coz I was watching the video n the poor boy didn't know who to listen to!!! The last pic was of him pushing the ang pao to the gals; he kept saying "open sesame" hoping that the door would open but it didnt!!! n aft that he dashed into the house but the videographer n photographer had to be in front of Dar so my cousin had to call the poor boy back n let the big bros n sisters enter the hse first!

Thereafter was part 2 of the Gate-Crash!!! Dar had to sing a canto song for me n i specially requested for either Jay Chou or Jacky Cheung. He was a little embaressed as he doesn't like to sing in front of pp but he was a good sport & sang Jacky's canto 每天爱你多一些 which is both our fave song of Jacky's but i was little surprised coz I thot he mite haf sang 月半湾 instead. Next he had to write in a book (which had pics of my hen nite) 5 things that:

1) he love about me

2) he would do as a husband

3) he would do when he is angry

n then he would have to read it out to me. Was q touched by some of the things he wrote coz I know that it came from him :)

N Dar finally gets to come in the room n the last "task" I had of him was for him 2 name my 5 little piggies who were sitting on the bed haha!!! I was v happy to finally be able to "see" him hee! :)

Next was the whirlwind of goin to Dar's place for the tea ceremony n then coming back to my house for the tea ceremony. We almost didn't make it back in time to my house! Oh n we had Benjy to roll and jump on our new bed for us. We wanted Antonio n Vincent to jump n roll too but they didn't wana. Benjy was so cute jumping ard n facing the camera when we asked him to! Thnx sweetie!!! Goin to juz post some pics here:

After lunch, we proceeded to Rasa w some of the bros who were helping with the projector set up. Being e sleepy gal that I m, I wanted 2 take a nap, but they were having some reno in the unit above us so I cldn't really slep well. :( By the time they stopped n I finally fell into a lite sleep, it was time to wake up coz the MUA was there already. But poor Dar hardly gotta sleep coz somehow they cldn't play the montage on the player n so they spent q a lot of time trying to fig everything out.

B4 the wedding dinner proper, we went to the beach nearby to take some pics... me q like them:

& then it was the wedding dinner proper. I felt I didn't take enuff photos w everyone or mingled enuff w everyone :( but juz wana thnk everyone for coming n sharing this v v v special day w me. & all the help fr the frenz n relatives... we are juz v fortunate to have so many helping us. Some pp told me that I gave a good speech n that it was v personal; I'm juz glad I didn't cry when I mentioned my mum... Truly miss her a lot n I wished she was there w us on that day... I guess that was wat my Dad was wishing for also. I was surprised that Dar teared coz he had read the speech b4 n didn't mention anything to me. But we both had a good cry in the hotel rm that nite n he kept assuring me that my Mum, wherever she was wld be v v v happy for us!

I had such a good time that day; wearing my beautiful gown & Nitegown n being the centre of attention... I wish I cld do it all over again!!! Thnx once again everyone for all the well-wishes, blessings, help n for spending the day w us! Most of all, thnx to my Dar for being who he is; for always doting n caring for me n for being the person I wana spend e rest of my life w! *muakies*

Twins & Baby

2008-10-27T14:58:00.015+08:00

We've got a new ride!!! & it's wat Dar have always wanted... a White Vitara :) n he didn't tell me that he is buying it, juz conveniently brought me to view it! :P It's a pity we cldn't get the car b4 our wedding date or we wld have used it as the wedding car. (we intially wanted to use the baby Vitara but Dar thot he didn't want to do it up so we decided agst it) N yep yep, it's e same car as the car we used as our wedding car which is owned by his best buddy. n both cars are "SGT", is dat a coincidence or wat??? a pic of e cars:

Of coz Dar liked e car, but wat abt me? :p I q like it lah, coz it is tall n I lurve tall cars coz I feel q tiny in the car and can't really see in front of me but the car is H-U-G-E; being a 2 litre car so I m q apprehensive abt driving it @ first. & the turning angle is also v wide so gota be careful when I turn. Other than that, the car is q smooth n ez to drive, unlike baby V which jerks @ times but I like baby V coz it is so small so it is ez for me to park in any lots. Here's baby V:

& baby V w the 2 twin bros:

But me thnks the kewlest thng gotta b dat Dar got a GPS system for me - e direction idiot!

& it's q ez to use; we used it on our way to Genting n it worked coz it has the M'sia maps as well! Only thing is dat it loses satellite whilst in the tunnels so it wld b q a prob for me as to when to turn out. Thng is, the first time I used the system by myself, I turned out wrongly on the first turn coz Dar set it to a different setting!!! hahaha!!! so typical me rites? :P

Fiddling w my new phone

2008-10-27T14:11:00.005+08:00

Yep Yep, haf gotten a new phone: the Samsung F480 in Corel PInk :) A change from the normal black n dark coloured phones that I've had had. Of course, if it was in baby blue it would be have been much much beta!!! :P

In the past I used Dar's contract to buy my phone n he used my contract but coz he lost his phone (n it was getting cranky anyways), he used his contract to get himself a new phone instead whilst I "patiently" waited for my phone contract to reach its 21st mth bday. Having wanted a touch-screen phone for a while, I kinda decided to get the Omnia and thus called my svc provider somewhr in Aug to ask for the $200 voucher. However, I was rejected by them, even though I threatened to cancel my contract. (My temp staff then told me that it was not effective as my contract is still 3 months shy of 2 years so they are not "scared" of me). Instead they offered to waive the $100 charge as my contract was not up to 21 mths yet. Was q pissed but then decided to wait coz I haven't really decided if I really want the Omnia (also coz I was worried that it wasn't user-frenly) n also coz was gonna b bz w wedding preps then.

After some bugging fr Dar, (coz he needed to service his phone n wanted 2 borrow my phone) I decided to phone hunt again. The intial plan was to buy the Omnia w my contract & then i-phone w Dad's contract next year. But my fren told me that using the i-phone was like "WAH!!!" whras the Omnia was like "Oh ok lors" although Omnia had much more functions than i-phone. HOW? was soooooooooo confused!!! Then I chanced upon the F480 whilst browsing thru e newspapers one wkend n asked my colleagues abt it. Did a comparison n found that this was more ideal than Omnia as it supports chinese software whereas Omnia doesnt n I need it to text Dad. n Luckily for me, there was an online deal for this phone plus I cld get $200 off as I m on the Ulimate Plan. On top of that, I got a $50 for choosing the Corel Pink colour. WOO HOO!!! So all in all I spent like maybe $50 on the phone. haha :)))))

& thuough I got the phone abt 2 wks ago, haf only started to use it 2 days ago. Lent it to Dar to use n he found it q nice to use but I m still getting used to it. Me used to be a Nokia fan coz of the user-frenly functions and features; in recent years, have been using Sony Ericsson phones (after the first V unpleasant experience) the past 2 times n was used to their functions n features so m a little disappointed w the Samsung phone coz of the lacking of the following features:

1) I can't change the message tone (Oh I managed to fig this out hee hee)

2) There isnt a short-cut key to writing messages

3) I can't set cartoon pics as caller images

4) The navigation is not v good, I had to keep pressing "back" to get to the main menu whereas in SE phone i cld juz press hard on the return key

5) If there are 2 numbers 2 1 pax's name; e.g. Dar's hp n Dar's hm, it doesnt show whether he is calling fr the hp or hm so I gotta set as 2 contacts.

N for some strange reason, the software doesnt work (again!!! coz my SE software doesn't work also :() I thnk it is my USB port but the strangest thng is dat I can trsf files via "My Computer" but not via the software coz it keeps telling me "not connected". HAIZ! but oh well, thankfully can still trsf or else i will b damn pissed. but I q like e phone, q nice to use... juz gotta get used to it :)

Back to work

2008-10-08T22:14:00.002+08:00

Tis my 3rd day back @ work (aft a 3 week break) n I'm still trying to get used to it LOL. Can't drag myself out of bed each am (& Dar is not helping) so I always just reach the office either just on time or slightly late. Which is not v gd as they are starting the am meetings promptly @ 9 now so if I m late, then I would be stuck outside the room till the meeting ends :(

That is juz 1 of the couple of changes that has happened since I was away. Apparently my boss has stepped up on the project as the roll out date is getting nearer and wants my colleague and I to help to "drive" the proj. I was a bit like "huh" coz I m still a little blur abt e proj and how to go about handling prob. What's more, might have to go back to the RMs n the RMs faces are pretty black nowadays coz of the crisis. And my boss got a new boss! Coz the previous boss was in charge of sales n support but he is not too bz w sales so they've gotten another lady to take care of the support side... hafn't spoken to her yet... hopefully she is q nice! We're also shifting to a new office; intially there were talks of a renovation but now we are juz gonna move across the road to Plaza 1. A slightly longer distance fr OUBC but hopefully the lifts are not as screwed up hee. The "smallest" change wld be dat we now have dress-down Fri! I was surprised the dept didn't have it when I first joined... but I guess it doesnt really make a diff 2 me since I dun wear suits n all anyways :P

Actually I m rather xian of e job... but looking @ the crisis, I dun thnk there's anywhere I can go SOB!!! Just hope I can tahan till everything is beta bahs...

Nite Safari - 190908

2008-10-04T11:51:00.006+08:00

Yeppers... we finally got to go to Nite Safari hee hee!!! Luckily it didn't rain as this was the only day we cld go; had to be a Fri as we were bringing the kids and Dar can't make it on wkends and we were goin for our HM the following wk and the voucher gota be used by this mth! so Whew! :)

Went to pick up the "B"s first; went up to pick them whilst Dar went to get some munchies for me and I waited for a while for Benedict to get ready. Little Benjy was all ready and excited. Then we went to pick up Fidelis fr his tuition class b4 picking up the 2 gals & then proceeding to Nite Safari. Bought the tickets together with the tram ride (cost almost $100!!! Imagine wat we wld haf spent without the discount coupons!!!) which was a good thing coz the kids were rather tired after all the walk.

First up was the animal show... managed to sit on the front row and the kids were rather excited. The 2 gals had a whole bag full of goodies but when Dar asked the cheezels from them they didn't wana give him!!! haha! Serves Dar rite for being greedy :P The show was q interesting but it was a pity Benjy didn't get the opp to "help out" on the stage, thnk he would have like it and would haf gotten a free ice cream in e process... but oh well... next time maybe. We skipped the fire show and opted to walk around instead... Benedict was a great help, helping Dar w the map :) It was q dark and it took a while to spot some of the animals; we were using the torch lite in the aviary and promptly got scolded by the keeper coz the lite would scare the bats haha!!! The enclosure was q big wors so it was no wonder the little ones got tireds and pestered for the tram ride (where Germaine, as usual, fell asleep :P)

Dar n I enjoy bringing the kids out coz they dun run all over the place and listen to us when told. It was the first time we were going out with Benedict and I was impressed by how much he cared for little Benjy and helped us to take care of him (like carrying him when Benjy complained that he was tired) :) I forgot to charge the cam batts so didn't take many pics, juz these @ the entrance & before the show:

I like this pic!!! Dar & little Benjy :)

Hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we did!!! Although we were both dead tired aft dat :Þ

Disappointed

2008-09-04T13:21:00.001+08:00

M mighty disappointed that we didn't get to go to Nite Safari in e end coz of the rain :((((( we didn't really do much for our bdays this year either... no special plans but juz happy to spend time w dar :) hopefully we get to go Nite Safari 1 day... we haf only 2 more weeks b4 we go on our honeymoon :)

Thnx!!!

2008-09-02T16:27:00.002+08:00

Am v touched and honoured by everyone and everything that was done for me on my wedding... I really felt like a princess that day... thnx to all my guests for sharing my special day w me... haf a lot more to say but m goin 2 go 2 Nite Safari now so shall wait till later... but for now... juz wana say a huge THANKS once again! *huggies*

Bday plan

2008-08-27T15:36:00.003+08:00

Yippeezz! I'll be goin to Nite Safari on my bday! :))))) M mighty happy coz haf been wantin to go there for q some time now but never found the time or opp to go. Thus it was a real surprise when I opened my mail the other day and found a 50% discount coupon for the Nite Safari!!! Me then went to bug Dar to see if he had the coupons also but he said he has never received from them b4. Puzzled (n being the cheapo me), me went to call up to ask n realised that we now hafta log in and print ourselves.

On closer look on the tickets, I then realised that we could buy 5 tickets w 1 coupon so we actually didn't need Dar's coupon. But juz as well lah, coz Dar is thnking of bringing the kids along.

Yipeezz Yayeezz... looking forward to the wedding this Sun then our birthdays next wk!!! Def my most memorable period for 2008 :)

Photoshoot

2008-08-23T21:38:00.024+08:00

I like my wedding pics!!! :))))) Am mighty mighty mighty happee w them hee hee... can't wait to take the album next wk! :)

We were late for our photoshoot that day coz we didn't pack all the stuff the previous nite heh... n we went to buy brekkies b4 goin to the studio. & guess who went to the studio w us??? :P

Yep Yep my Piggies! All 6 of them some more hahaha! I'm surprised Dar agreed to it and my Dad was even more surprised to see me bringing them along for the photoshoot haha! Only thing was that there too many of them... and they r v soft (except for Zhu Tou) n so they all can't really "sit" properly and so there wasn't a photo where all of them were facing the front! Pity the shoot (for them) was v short and they were "pighandled" by the photographer and they were left in the studio when we went for our outdoor shoot so they weren't v happy with the "experience" :P

And yep, dat's my evening gown... in my favourite blue colour! I like it v v v much, only thing is dat I can't grow fat or else cannot wear liaos. The BS made more motiffs around my tummy so as to hide my little tummy hee hee. Oh it is bare back too like my gown.

This is Dar's fave pic (n i like it too! :P):

Look how high I can jump haha!

Backview of my lovely lovely wedding gown... I'm gonna miss it aft Sun...

Our outdoor shoot was shot in Tanah Merah (when pp saw the pics they kept asking me whr it is... umm being the road idiot that I am, I only know it is in Tanah Merah haha) & where else... Punggol. I love the water shots!!! Pity we didn't really manage to get the sunset though... Nite shots were done @ Esplanade and we were all so dead tired aft dat!!! Slept at abt 3am and still had to work e next day coz I cldn't take leave :( But the pics were well worth it! :)

@ Tanah Merah:

@ Punggol:

@ Esplanade:

We went out another day to take the casual shots coz I wanted to do the wakeboarding shots n coz we didn't haf time to do the bike shots that day. It would haf been q kewl to be riding the bike on my gown rites? Felt the shots were v "us"! :) n I like the motion shot of Dar!!! Kewlz!!!

Definitely my fave shot hee hee!!! Luckily there was @ least 1 nice shot coz I was sooo tired already. (I practised a couple of runs by myself, took a break b4 Dar n I took e pics together) but didn't dare to let go coz Dar was sure to scold haha!!! Final effect on the album was v nice coz it was actually drizzling when the photographer took the pic.

Hope u all like e pics too! I know i like them !!! hee :)

Intertia

2008-08-18T17:11:00.003+08:00

*bleach* Ever since I started work in PB, I have been hafing greater inertia to go to work everyday :P I wonder if it is coz a) we now start work later so I get to wake up laters, b) I'm stayin @ Dar's place now which means it takes me only abt 15 min to go to work so I can, also wake up laters, or c) I'm just PLAIN lazee! haha I thnk it is all of e above lah... so guess when I move back home next mth, I really muz make it a habit to wake up earlier and not laze in bed for too long :(

Hmm... so wat m I doing in PB? Actually now, I am helping them w a proj to open new a/c for the cx as they r hafing a new system so I'm still not v sure what my job scope encompasses. Guess that'll hafta wait till I come back fr my ML or when the proj ends bah which I hope is soon coz it is so v tiring lookin @ the computer the whole day, checking n transcribing the data. I thnk my myopia has shot up recently n I may hafta start wearing glasses AGAIN soon... sob sob!

Kinda miss life @ the branches; I feel the pp there are more ez goin whereas the pp here are more uptight, or maybe it is also that I m cooped up in the rm most of e day so I still dunno everyone v well. Also, other than the fact that we gota handle cx @ branch (which is not everyday), there is less pressure @ branch and there is seldom any work that we will bring over to the next working day. But still, no regrets in coming here lah, coz aftall gota move on and perhaps fr here and learn more things that will add value to my resume. Wish me luck! :)

1 more month

2008-08-01T17:47:00.002+08:00

Itz 1 more month to AD!!! *gasp* still like sooooooo v many thngs to do; the floor plan; confirmation of guests; AD prog; buffet lunch for our relatives; the montage and we have yet to decide on the songs and I wld like to attempt to make the ang pao boxes n the corsages for my "姐妹s". But have been rather tired (not to mention i caught a cold!) when I go home lately so dun haf the "energy" to discuss w Dar...

We had our 过大礼 n 安床 last Fri & Sat n it was q fun! Dar went to buy the bed n bedsheets all on Wed coz although I was off on Thurs, Dar had to work. We met in e evening to get the cakes though... then went home to finalise the thngs. Dar came over on Fri am w his sis n aunt carrying the huge basket of stuff heh. There were 24 oranges, 2 bottles of red wine (instead of hard liquor), 2 pairs of dragon n phoenix candles, the dowry and red packets for my granny, for the 海味 n e 小舅子. Dad n Aunt then returned them a pair of e dragon n phoenix candles which wld b lighted on AD, 12 oranges and 2 bottles of orange juice. Dad also gave a red pkt for Dar's 2nd Bro as he wasn't married yet. In the olden days, there was the "custom" of hafing to go under the trousers of the elder bro if he wasn't married yet.

On Sat, we actually wanted to do the 安床 in e evening as Dar had booking in the am. But it was cancelled so we decided do it in the am instead. Thus everything was in a rush. We had to go n buy the "Bai He"/"Lian Zi" n then Dar dropped me back home to prepare whilst Dar went back to fetch his parents. We had bought this "package" thngy fr a shop in Chinatown so Dar n I put these like 4 coins thngy on the 4 corners of the bed b4 Dar's parents helped us to put the bedsheet n the quilt. They then put the plate of stuff (2 red pkts of $1 coins, the "Bai He"/"Lian Zi" which we placed in another red pkt; the gold coin thngy n this sweet orangy thngy plus some other stuff sealed in a pkt) on the bed which are to be left there till AD. Some frenz were asking why we were doing it so early, well it is coz we didn't wana do it during the 7th Lunar Month mah. But that wld also mean that I can't sleep on the bed anymore so I have now kinda shifted to Dar's place to stay.

Which is actually q a convenient place coz I can wake up really late n juz walk over n there's the MRT... instead of hafing to walk out every am. But wateva it is, I'd still prefer to stay in my own hse :)

Challenged!

2008-07-25T17:38:00.003+08:00

I was freaking challenged by an idiot of a lorry driver fr Kia Motors this am!!!

Wat hap was dat I cut into his lane coz someone in front hailed a cab n the cars were all jammed up and I juz went in2 e other lane wout looking; this I admit but it wasn't also like I was so near that I wld haf skimmed his car. The a**hole then PURPOSELY slow dwn to "show" me dat he wasn't happy. I also not happy lors... so when we stopped @ the traffic junction, I purposely stared @ the old man n he was super pissed so he shouted some vulgarity @ me or something. I didn't care, juz drove off but who knows it was another red lite and the stupid man had to stop beside me n stared @ me. I didn't bother 2 look @ him so he horned @ me... WAO RAOS!!! let it be lors!!!

But the worst thng was... we all then had 2 make a left turn n I was in the middle lane and he PURPOSELY cut me in my lane!!! *???@!@!@!@!@!**!*@!*@*!@*??@?@? so I had no choice but to cut into the 3rd lane n got into the lane of a cabby who horned @ me! Gosh wat a morning!!!

I so regret not taking dwn the license plate so dat I can call Kia Motors to complain! GRRZ!!!

whew

2008-07-22T10:13:00.001+08:00

Had a bit of scare last week coz Dar said he is again seeing a dark patch out of the corner of his eye :( Fr past experience, he suspected that his retina is beginning to detach n resulting in e dark patch. Asked him to see the dr last wk but he didn't want to as we were goin for our wakeboarding shoots on Fri & if it was really a retina detachment, he wld hafta be operated on immediately so he decided to see the dr this week.

Dar was v frustrated over e wkend as this wld b his 5th time he will b goin for his op n the worst part is dat there is no cure. He ever asked e dr if supplements wld help but the dr said no, he wld just hafta b more careful. He suspect that it may be due to his cataract op earlier this year as he has been rather careful after the numerous ops not to carry heavy things or engage in "dangerous" activities.

He went 2 see the dr early in e am yesterday n thankfully, the dr said that he cldn't see any tear in his retina!!! :))) However he cldn't explain why Dar still sees the dark patch n as Dar was still worried, he asked Dar to come in next wk for another review. Was v happy to hear the news but me knows dat Dar is still apprehensive abt the whole thing, he keeps checking to see if the patch has grown. So @ least now, we can go n settle our wedding stuff together coz I know he doesn't trust me to do them by myself :P

Took leave tdy coz thot wana acc Dar aft his op so we will b taking this time 2 settle some of our wedding invites; he goin 2 his uncle's place n me goin back to my ex branch. 过大礼 & 安床 r this Fri & Sat respectively n we haf managed to get all our stuff except for the bed n bedsheets which we will b gettin on Thurs n Fri. Oh n also the biscuits which we will b getting on Thurs. Wanted to haf a mixture of the biscuits n cakes but decided agst it in e end. Then we will haf 1 week more 2 rush out all our invites b4 the 7th Lunar Month. M eagerly anticipating my album too! I like some of the wakeboarding shots but there were also pics of my super cramped face HAHA.

2 more weeks

2008-07-09T00:06:00.002+08:00

and I'll be off to my new office. I've been in TB branch for a month now and I like it a lot better then my first few days there, guess I have gotten used to the culture and also know the pp better already bahs. Only thng is, more often than not, I m still late for work :P

e tellers here also like to throw their vouchers to me to mark; which resulted in Darling saying that I shd haf juz work smart n not so hard since I m only gona be there for 2 mths... but I was like, I was q bored mah... so I always take their vouchers to check. Yep... can't believe it dat even @ such a bz branch (e queue is endless) I can actually feel bored!!! Maybe it is a sign that my time in branch ops is due haha! Surprisingly, my manager asked me today why did I wana go to PB since I am doing v well in ops w the rite attitude n intiative. I told dat I didn't wana become CM n that I was also v tired of facing cx liao. I dun thnk i haf the rite attitude n intiative lors; it is juz dat i dun wana appear like I have nothing to do mah... such that I even go n help my tellers cast their vouchers @ e end of e day haha. oh well... the environment is kinda diff but the pp r nice; my manager is v pro n I especially like the fact that she will go out to handle the cx if the staff cannot handle; the deputy is also v nice n jovial n likes to joke; the other officers r also pretty helpful n i get alg w e tellers well. :)

Hmm... will I b sad 2 leave TB? I guess not really bahz... juz that I m v apprehensive abt starting work in a new environment n getting to know everybody all over again. The gd thng is dat it is still ops so I more or less haf some knowlege already n dun hafta learn everything fr scratch. I keep thinking, I didn't wana come TB n kept counting dwn e days to PB... but but but... wat if PB is a thousand times worse than here?!?!?!?!

070708

2008-07-08T23:50:00.002+08:00

Has it been 1 year already? Was telling Dar that I still feel like the little gal who first met him rather than someone who has been married for a year!!! :)

I guess it is coz we hafn't moved into stay together yet and are still v much living the same kinda lifestyle prior to our ROM. I actually wanted to take the day off yesterday and also to have a nice dinner w Dar but in the end figured that since we didn't have much things planned so decided not to waste the day off. But we did haf a nice dinner @ Barnacles @ Sentosa. Was rather surprised when Dar drove to Sentosa; was expecting to haf din somewhr else n we juz went Sentosa for VDae. We enjoyed ourselves, having dinner by the sea n the food was rather yummz too! Dar asked if I wanted to stroll by the beach aft dinner but i was feeling tired n also coz I was wearing heels so we decided to head home.

A couple of frenz have commented that Dar really dotes on me (but eh... I m also v nice to him also one worz :P) and dat I am v blessed; I dun deny that. He is not someone who shows his affection a lot but it is the little things that he does or says that means a lot to me. Sometimes I wonder how he can tahan w me; my horrid temper, my childish antics; my nonsensical demands n mostly my nuahness n laziness. The other day he sent me to return my library books n he actually had to go out 2 drop the books for me coz I was too lazee to do so hahaha! He's really the best hubby that I cld ever ask for... so my sweetest Dar... thnx a billion zillion for who u r n wat u haf been to me... HAPPEE ANNIVERSARY! *muaks*

Preparing for Photoshoot (2)

2008-06-10T20:54:00.003+08:00

Poor Dar, he has juz fin washing his boat in preparation for e photoshoot tmr. N laters he might still hafta go n shift the bike to Punggol n still laters in e nite, he has to go n fetch his aunt fr e airport. :( Told him 2 tell the aunt that he can't make it but he felt obligated coz he has already promised her... juz hope he wldnt b 2 tireds tmr...

We actually decided not to take pics w the bike liaoz due 2 e inconvenience but I thnk my photographer is q interested 2 take e bike so Dar was thnkin of juz bringing the bike to shoot @ Punggol instead of goin 2 Tanah Merah instead. Now is a matter of whether wana use his own bike which is a bit dirty or his fren's bike which is nicer looking but will req much more logistics in handling...

N we went for our dental this am... luckily it was q fast but the dentist say that I gota watch out coz my teeth is prone to decay :( So gota brush my teeth more diligently fr now on or else I will haf a cavity again :(( Went to haf lunch aft dat n then Dar dropped me @ Bugis to get the rings cleaned. N blur blur me happily walked into the wrg shop!!! So embarassing!!!

Me: Cld U help me to clean my rings
Shopgal: Sure
Me took out the ring box n handed over the gal
Shopgal(w confused look): U bought e rings fr LH?
Me(thnkin uber then???): Umm yeah...
Shopgal: Oh LH doesn't do cleaning service? (pointing to next door)
Me: Eh... this isn't LH???
Shopgal: Umm no this is SK (pointing to sign behind her), but we can clean for u also (she hurriedly added)
Me: OH... so sorry... n I zoomed out of e store!!!

Dar cldn't stop luffin @ me when I told him!!! Haiyoh, who ask them to place the shops so close 2 each other rites???

Next we went to pick up the gowns b4 I went for my mani/pedi. My mani was initially done by this china gurl but she wasn't confi enuff so she asked a more experienced gal 2 take over my mani for me n it turned out q nice I muz say! I added diamond some more so got bling bling haha. But the colours for my pedi was a bit brite as it didn't really turn out e way I want :( but i fig they will b hidden by the gown anyways so fingernails more impt :P

Hope it will be a brite n sunny day tmr... but not 2 hot or poor Dar n e photographer wld hafta listen 2 my endless complains!!! :P

Preparing for Photoshoot

2008-06-08T14:18:00.002+08:00

The past few evenings/nites have been spent in preparation for our photoshoot. Went to my fren's place on Thurs nite to discuss the places that we would wana go for our photoshoot and I must say this (even though he is my personal fren), he is damn professional!!! He asked us what are the things we like to do and whether there are anything in particular we wana take w. (I understand that for most photographers, they would only ask the couple on e day itself whr they wana go) Then he gave us some suggestions as well & get it, on Fri, he went w Dar & his fren 2 recee the Tanah Merah area to see if it was a suitable location!!! We dicussed for almost 2 hours (well we digressed in between lah) before goin for dinner. So tentatively the places that we wld be Tanah Merah, Punggol n then nite shots @ Esplanade/Fullerton. He suggested some other places like Coney Island coz Dar can drive us there but we were afraid that the gown wld get REALLY dirty so we deciced to forgo it. We will be goin back to Punggol another day for our casual shots whr he will take us wakeboarding, hopefully together. Dar has NO confidence in me that I can stand up together w him... guess I will hafta practise hard b4 e shoot :P

Then on Fri nite, went to see the florist to kinda discuss about my flora bouquet. The guy also v pro worz; he actually studied about flowers in Holland!!! N the farnee thng was, e first thing he told us was dat he doesn't do tulips and I wanted 2 choose tulips as my bouquet hahah! But wat he said was true lah, coz tulips die q easily then they wldn't lk as nice, so I will be having pink peonies, euthasmus (i thnk) n champagne roses. Sounds nice :) will meet up w him again b4 AD. Oh I actually wanted daisies also... like brite pink n brite yellow but he said that loud colours wld take e attention away from me, unless I m dark like Dar... so maybe I shd go get a gd tan b4 AD haha :P

Following that we went 2 meet w a videographer which we signed up w although I wasn't too impressed by him or rather I wasn't v happy that he didn't give us discount although Dar was his fren's fren n he wanted 2 charge us for like extra hrs n blah. *blech* but his video was a little diff than e ones we have seen n we also told him some of e thngs we wanted so hope everything turned out well.

& last nite, we went G2 to buy some shirts for Dar for the photoshoot. We thot they were on sale but they weren't!!! aiyah... made Dar buy an extra shirt for nothing :( oh well... then we walked into Goldheart coz my Grandma gave me some $ to buy a wedding gift for myself n within 10 min I bought a pair of sapphire earrings!!! Was dat fast or wat??? It was a little over e budget but Daddy said it was ok to pay for it myself n Dar offered to pay for me. :) n e gd thng is, I can wear it for the photoshoot on Wed coz my evening gown is blue! *happee* *happee*

Last & First Day

2008-06-07T09:40:00.002+08:00

I began my first day @ TB branch on Thurs. Last day @ NB went by smoothly and Dar was really sweet to buy & deliver e Don's Pies & cheesecake to me to save me on the $12 delivery charges. :)

Have spent 2 3/4 years in NB... how time flies. I remember how unhappy I was (esp coz I had 2 do cash n I was soooo clueless n I was scolded by the chq clerk!!!) when I went there intially & I told Dar that I wanted 2 resign but he told me 2 hang in there n only resign if I was still unhappy 3 months dwn e rd. Thankfully I managed to pick up & get used to their procedures and also coz I had a lot of help fr some of my colleagues. My tellers who although more junior in rank than me were much more experienced than me n they were the ones who told me what were the thngs to look out for. Of coz I made some mistakes alg e way n got chided by my boss but it was fr the mistakes that I learnt & became more aware of the bank procedures. For some reason, after some transfer of staff, e few of us became closer and we often planned to go out for makan sessions & had a lot of fun in between :) Luckily they didn't make me give a speech on Wed but my heartfelt thanks still went to them so I dropped them a mail the next day... m sure gonna miss them n I was v touched by wat some of them wrote in e card. Nonetheless I know I will still keep in touch w them n I will join them for their makan sessions hee.

As for my new branch, well, I didn't particularly enjoyed my first day there coz I was sooo lost and the pp there weren't v frenly. :( I was left alone 2 try 2 fig out wat their work procedures were (coz I was doing cheques n everythng was so v diff!) until the clerk came n she filled me :) She was v nice but v chatty n disturbed me a little but I was happy to have someone to tok 2 hee. But we ended a little late so I wasn't v happy coz Dar was waiting for me n I was juz like sitting there waiting 2 go home haha. Ystd was a bit better, e pp toked 2 me a little more n we went off a little earlier, hopefully next wk will b beta liaos.

Was also telling Dar that I dun like this apprehensiveness of starting work in a new environment and I gota do dat twice in 2 months :( Of coz Dar, being Dar, told me dat wat's done can't be done n I juz gota do my work, dun stress n 2 months will pass v fast. I was actually sup 2 go to Pte Banking by 9th July but somehow it got delayed so I wasn't v pleased hee but bo bian lors, I m looking forward 2 goin 2 Pte Banking n I hope that I can adapt there n e pp n e working env there will be nice. Wish me all e best ya! :)

Dashed

2008-06-01T17:11:00.003+08:00

sobbie sobbie... thnk sleepy's dream HM of goin 2 Caribbean have juz "sailed" away :( It wld cost us abt $10k per pax if we were to go coz we were thnkin of extending our stay in either Miami or Florida after the cruise. Dar says muz save $ so he suggested goin to either Mauritius/Maldives, Europe or the Fiji Islands. The 2 "Ms" are ok I guess; n ordinarily I wld like to go Europe but it is too cliche n I thnk I wld spend as much what w all the shopping there hee hee. Juz googled on Fiji Islands, not too bad but what interest me were the Polynesian Islands of Tahiti & Bora Bora. If we go there, we can even visit my sis or my cousin (= free lodging haha) for our extended stay. But if we go there, I would like to stay in the "over-the-water bungalows" n totally indulge myself which I dun thnk is cheap either. :( sleepy has expensive tastes ya?

So Dar... can we juz stick to Caribbean??? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE :P :P :P

PS: all of u readin this (& pls pass it on 2 everyone else too) pls start saving so that I will have a HUGE angbao for my wedding ok? Thnx in adv! :P

Good & Bad News

2008-05-29T17:20:00.002+08:00

M posting this entry as I wait to have dinner w Mangojo & Bro Bear n hopefully 2 surprise guests :P almost 2 hours 2 kill... xians... wanted 2 go home 2 get e car intially coz we were sup 2 meet @ Central but then decided agst it coz 1) I m lazzee, 2) I didn't bring e keys n i dunno which car Dar drove, 3) petrol is ex now coz cant go in2 M'sia 2 pump :p n more imptly 4) i dun wana navigate a manual car goin up the carpark... it can b q scary LOL

Dar n I went for our fittings ystd n we will haf the final one next wk... getting all excited abt e photoshoot. wld hafta meet up w e photographer for a discussion soon. Dar was happy 2 see my gowns; i got 2 see my lovely lovely bridal gown again also my evening gown w all the beads sewn on... muz say it was v nice. Only dat it was a little too tight due 2 all the yummz food we were eating in Bali haha. Hopefully I can lose a bit of wt b4 e photoshoot but no time 2 go gym n swimming leh... haiz.

As for e gd n bad news... bad news is dat I will be transferred to Tiong Bahru Branch next Thurs :( (n i kept thnkin it was Fri haha) but the gd news is dat, it will only be for abt a month or so coz I was successful in my internal job application!!! :) As there is a "policy" of some sort that the staff wld hafta b transferred within 2 mths, the "latest" that I wld hafta there wld b 9th July but they r pushing for an earlier date. Am q happy although it wld mean that I can't go home @ 5pm anymore n I most prob wld hafta work late n it is further fr home so Dar cant give me a lift to n from work but this is what I wanted when I accepted the job n i m glad that I have been successful. It is also an ops job which is q similar to what i haf been doing but might be boring for the first year or so coz i gota help them 2 set up their new system but the head said that I cld ask for a transfer to do another thngs within e dept aft a year so guess it is alrite. Hopefully everythng wld work out nicely :)

Back fr Bali

2008-05-25T19:16:00.003+08:00

*groanz* I wish I didn't hafta come back fr Bali... Was there for about 5 days but it wasn't enuff!!! Technically wasted abt 2 nites coz we arrived on Sunday nite n our flight back on Fri was Fri afternoon; they didn't have any more seats available on the later flight... Enjoyed this trip other than the fight that I didn't get to walk the nite markets/shops enuff n I didn't get to chill out @ the pool/beach so I didn't get a tan but it was def a rather relaxed holiday :)

A recap of wat I did in Bali:

Day 1 - Surfing in e am which was sup 2 b 2 days but I gave up coz i was damn pissed off w e instructor who spoke to me in a condescending tone. *blech* to that a**hole.
- Had lunch @ Warung Maude which is highly recommended by the locals n food was cheap n good!
- Walked ard Kuta area
- Had seafood dinner @ Jimbaran Bay which was yummz but a little ex... but it was worth it coz we had lobster, squid, 2 large pieces of fish n prawns

Day 2 - Whilst Dar frenz went surfing, we went shopping ard Poppies St. Had q a fun time bargaining w them heh
- Lunch @ Kunti... Jap rest which is def THE best. We had a mix of sashimi (21 pieces of 7 varieties) @ only... get this... $7.50!!! Can u beat dat?!?!? N they had v yummz Avocado Juice as well :)
- Massage time... 1 hour of massage followed by body scrub, body polish n milk bath. Q nice n my skin felt so smooth aft dat :)
- Dinner @ Kudeta in Syminak (dunno how 2 spell :P) sup 2 b THE most happening place in Bali now. Pricey food but rather gd view

Day 3 - ATV!!! It was v fun; I rode tendem w Dar and it rained n my feet got all muddy coz it rained but we enjoyed it v much. N as we were driving thru e village, the kids ran out to say hello to us n i actually saw this gal peeing heh. She muz haf been surprised 2 see us drive past. But it was rather not worth it coz the village was v far n so we spent half a day getting there n back.
- Went to factory outlet whr I bought a camo bikini n 3 quart pants n then... we had dinner @ Kunti again! Dar's frenz thot it was v v v worth it as well! The agedashi toufu was also v nice but I didn't eat lah

Day 4 - Half e am was wasted coz I was watching American Idol haha. Dar was v nice abt it but aft bf he was like "u come on hol to watch TV??" Gave up on the results coz I thot it was a 1 hr show... but in e end caught it @ nite :P
- We rented a motorcycle & went to this place called "Sukawati" whr they sold lotsa carved sulptures which were really nice but which we dun need @ the moment. Bought many handicraft bags of various colours & size coz they were damn cheap! @ least e pp here didn't quote as high a px as those in Kuta did.
- Oh yeah muz mention dat alg e way, Dar actually bought car rims!!! He actually spotted e shop on e way 2 ATV n somehow we came across the shop again :) He said it was cheap n the pp there were q nice coz they agreed to send the rims back to the hotel for us (which was abt an hour's drive!!!). N smart sleepy told Dar 2 ask them 2 tie the motorcycle on the van so dat we needn't take the motorcycle back :P (also coz we were also afraid wait they drive off w e rims lah)
- Walked ard some of the surf shops some more then had dinner @ Macaroni Club. Dar is so sweet, he suggested the place coz they sell italian food n he knows I like Pasta :)) q a nice place, food was ok but cheap heh. n the tiramisu was yummz! Wanted to go for foot massage aft dat but they were all closed :(

Day 5 - Went factory outlet again coz I wanted 2 buy board shorts but dun haf :( Went to some other surf shops n all too soon it was time to go back 2 the hotel, pack up n leave Bali liaoz sobz

Dar n I r definitely goin back again esp since Dar loves Bali a lot! N the pp there were really nice, n they dun pester u if u dun buy the stuff. This was 1 trip where Dar also felt it was too short haha! I told him I wana stay in the villa next time n his reply was "Can... we dun go Caribbean lors" :P much as I like Bali... I thnk i will still aim for Caribbean :)

PS: no pics in this post coz they r all on Dar's comp... will post them up soon

1st day of block leave

2008-05-13T20:18:00.003+08:00

Well, technically I'm on off today; block leave starts tomorrow till next Fri :) Wanted to do my photoshoot this week before goin to Bali next week to relax but Tucky's not free this week so gota postpone till June. Then intially Dar wanted to go to Indonesia to look @ some boats but my cousin didn't reply our email and we didn't want it to be a wasted trip so decided not to go but instead hopefully spend some time this week settling some wedding stuff.

Was kinda bombarded by phonecalls from office tdy; actually was contemplating whether to cancel my off today coz they were actually short of staff but wanted to acc Dar to the eye Dr so decided to heck it. First call fr office came in the am to call some HR gal then subsequently had another 2 calls wrt 2 a cx and also coz they didn't really know how to do e inventory to the staff. Sometimes I really thnk the call centre service sucks big time and I dunno if it is coz of the foreign "talent" they employ and to thnk they juz won some award... GEEZ! Wat hap was that this cx actually came to the branch 3 times to try to find out why there was a transaction which he claimed he didn't do. When he came the 2nd time, the retail side of the call centre actually called him to do some verification and told him that they would get back to him but they didn't. Partly my fault as well coz I didn't follow up w call centre. Cx came again on Mon and I asked call centre to help but they needed verification so I asked them to call cx. (n then e spastic thng is dat, retail side wldn't call the cx so cx wld ultimately have to call retail side... sounds confusing rites?) So the gal called e cx but cldn't contact cx n left a msg w the cx to call back call centre. I told e gal 2 keep tryin 2 call the cx coz he was already an unhappy cx but she insisted that they haf left a msg and didn't want any call back. Well, I managed to contact the cx ystd n told him 2 call the call centre 2 lk 4 dat gal but guess what, apparantly he did call the call centre, but cldn't get thru n so left a msg to be called back but NO ONE CALLED HIM BACK!!! so back he went 2 e branch again tdy n he was fuming!!! That's why my colleague had 2 call me since I was the one liasing for cx. V bad service isn't it? I wldn't b surprised if the matter is still not resolved coz somehow 1 side can see the transaction n the other side cant so I also won't b suprised if he complained n actually I hope that he WOULD call complain haha. N there was this other time when I called wrt some other cx transaction the gal totally didn't understand what I was toking abt even aft explaining like 5 times which got me so irritated that I juz hung up the phone on her :P

That aside, I q enjoyed myself tdy, spending it w Dar :) we ran some errands, had lunch @ Old Airport Mkt whr I had yummy n cheap spaghetti n we went to watch Ironman. It was indeed q good!!! Well worth my $12! Being the cheapo that I was, wanted to use my smart$ to change for the tickets but was told that I cld only use it to the tickets that had free listing. But in any case had a discount w the Cr card so juz as well. Dar enjoyed the show as well coz he found it q realistic :) n watching it on a wkday afternoon meant that there weren't too many pp as well. n it's been a really lg time since we have watched a show in the cinema... since we r always watching dvds instead.

For the remaining days, gotta get all the timings/dates for the wedding customaries (coz the dates they gave us were all in the lunar 7th mth n Dar wasn't v comfy), Dar 2 do his fitting n finalise his guest list n hopefully for him to do his fitting. Oh n 2 finalise the videographer which I have been procrastinating like forever!!! Hope everything works out coz the date is drawing nearer n nearer...

Sore Neck

2008-05-04T18:13:00.003+08:00

sLeePy woke up w a sore neck ystd am n it was sooooooo bad I cld hardly turn my neck sob sob! It muz have been my sleeping position coz I always like to curl up to sleep or maybe it is the many hours spent in front of the comp heh :P

Had a free facial session ystd n actually had a choice to change to massage instead but decided to go ahead w the facial coz I juz went for massage 2 weeks ago n was hoping that the facial came w a shoulder massage n it did!!! :) well it did help aft the gal massaged for me but aft the facial I still felt a little sore and thus asked if I cld do a shoulder massage. Instead, the gal brought me to this machine that was sup 2 help put out e kinks n it did help... a bit lah :P

Met Dar in e evening n my complaints were endless haha! He tried to knead for me but it was still sore so we decided to buy the Yoko Yoko to rub. But i had open skin on my shoulder n it was damn painful when it seeped in... aftwhich Dar was v careful not to apply on the skin where it is open... so sweet hor him :) It is still sore now but is much beta... guess if worse comes to worse, I'll go n see this chinese dr my fren recommended.

Anyways... shd b hafing loads of gd rest aft tmr coz exams are over!!! Yipee!!! I thnk I m happier than my kids hee! :) n m looking forward to my block leave as well!

I dun wanna go...

2008-05-04T16:56:00.002+08:00

It's the worst piece of news that I can ever receive; THEY R GOIN TO TRANSFER ME TO ANOTHER BRANCH!!! My boss told me once she got the news (which was abt 2 weeks ago so it goes to show how long I have been in denial!). And the branch that I will be posted to is... *drumroll* TIONG BAHRU Branch!!! Not only is it an extremely busy branch; it is also an extended hours branch which means the branch is open till 4 on Sat! Well that means that I will have an off day everyweek which Dar feels is gd, well in a way it is gd but i juz dun wana go there.

Although I heard that it is not as bz as last time, & the manager n deputy manager there are v gd, it is nonetheless a heartland branch where queues are formed even before the opening hours & many pp will come and ask what hap to their FD and blah. Fair enuff, I dun thnk it is as bad as Orchard branch where some of the cx can be v demanding but still...!!! Some more there is no pantry in the office, the office space is q cramped and e officers there are umm... kinda slow (I know coz I went there 2 relief b4) n the toilet is outside n apparantly it is v dirty! Haiz... n there's no more lib for me 2 go to during my lunch hee. Dar was asking how come I am being posted over since I will still be essentially doing the same thing when I m there; well they say it is staff development coz TB, being a much bzier much, chances are I will encounter more "variety" of issues and thus will learn more.

My staff r kinda sad that I m leaving too n I know dat I will definitely miss them coz here I know who I can turn to if I need help but there I wld hafta find out all over again. Of coz I wldn't be as free also when I m there and it is also further fr my hse... but oh well wat to do? Was debating whether to ask for "deferment" till aft my wedding but I dun thnk my boss will help; I did try 2 ask her if I cld go NOT go over but she said unless there's a v gd reason. sighz... guess I will hafta accept my fate n find a job aft the honeymoon which was my actual plan as well. But then mkt doesn't seem 2 b v gd n Dar was saying if I change jobs I may get retrenched... then how now brown cow leh???

Dental & BS Appointment

2008-04-17T22:32:00.006+08:00

It was a "me" day ystd coz Dar had to work and so cldn't accompany me. :( I actually wanted to go and try the McGriddles for brekkies but realised that it might be beef (does anyone know if it is chicken or beef pattie??) & thus decided it wldn't be a gd idea 2 go since Dar don't take beef. But he had 2 wake up early 2 work anyways so juz as well...

Went for Dental in the am for my "big" project earlier coz wanted 2 meet my ex-colleague for lunch but ended up having to wait & thus had 2 cancel the appointment. Spent a total of $220 ystd; $40 each for laminating 2 teeth, $80 for retainers for my lower teeth, $35 for polishing & $30 for filling in a HUGE cavity. My colleagues commented that it was q cheap :))) Wanted to make retainers for both the top & bottom teeth but the dentist suggested just doing the bottom one coz i) the upper teeth were still orderly whereas my bottom teeth were getting a little "crowded" (but i dunno why that needs retainers!!!) n ii) coz he didn't want me 2 scratch my nice laminated teeth when i put on n take off the retainers. How thoughtful... Unfortunately, the retainers will NOT stop me fr grinding my teeth @ nite which really irritates Dar. Guess he will hafta bear w it :P The dentist was surprised @ the cavity in my teeth coz it was already q huge; he had to clean the cavity b4 he cld fill it in but it was too sensitive for me & I had cringing away even though he told me not to. I told him I have a huge phobia for dentists after my horrifying experience w my orthodontist extracting my teeth when the anesthetic haven't seeped in... OUCH!!! So in e end, he had to give me a jab even though he only had to clean the area for juz a little bit more. But later in the afternoon after the anaesthetic have worn off, there was this sore feeling & I felt really uncomfy. Asked Dar if it was normal n his reply, "Huh? How wld I know? I m not a dentist... Ask ur dentist lah!" gosh some help he is! :P

In the pm was my appointment w my BS for trail makeup & also the fittings for my gown. Am so happy to see my gown again hee hee. She has done some alteration for me so it fits much beta now, only that the spaghetti straps were a little too tight & the gown was a teeny weeny too long such dat I kept stepping on it!!! She will be doing the alterations for me & add more beadings to the gown. I hope she add LOTS more so it will b more bling haha. As for my evening gown which is like a cheongsam, it was q ok, only that the collar was a too tight & a bit too high. She had to keep telling me not to slouch so dat the cloth wldn't crease @ my stomach haha. I haf v bad posture I know but it is too late for me to do anything liao (n anyways i m too lazee haha!) Will be goin for the next fitting together w Dar in late May so hopefully he can take some pics then I can post it here :) The makeup artist was q frenly & I m glad the makeup wasn't too thick... here's a pic of me w the makeup... n check out my new pearlie whites :PPPP

Made an appointment for body massage in the late pm since Dar was working n wanted 2 meet him for dinner. The massage therapist assigned to me ystd was q gd n professional; she told me the body mask she was gona use for me wld make me perspire so as to get the toxins out and also so that my skin wld b able to absorb the massage oil better. & I really did perspire a lot!!! She was really q gd so much so dat during the massage, I didn't feel the soreness in my mouth 1 bit!!! But it came back aft the massage... so strange hor? Tried to book her for subsequent appointments but was told she is full till June for wkend appointments! :(

Finally met Dar @ nite 2 pick him up coz his van broke dwn. Went to eat v delicious ice kachang where the ice was so fine it simply melted in your mouth!!! Dar has been raving abt this ice kachang for weeks so I was mighty happy that I finally gotta eat it! Yummz!

Settled!!!

2008-04-06T14:49:00.003+08:00

I thnk I haf finally learnt my lesson and am NOT goin to lend anybody any money anymore. First lent my JC friend some money many years back coz he got burnt whilst playing the stock market, only to have him disappearing some months later, dropping out of Uni and chalking up many creditors @ that point in time. He has since "surfaced" but I doubt anyone has gotten their money back. & couple of years back, I lent my good-for-nothing cousin a couple of hundred dollars coz his Dad juz passed away & he was as usual jobless. When I told Daddy that he has approached me for money, he immediately told me not to lend him the money but later "relented" & told me dat if I wanted to lend him the money, I muz b prepared not to get the $ back. Well, I already knew the chances of me getting the money back was close to naught but lent him the money nonetheless as he still had a teenage daughter to support. Couple of months dwn the road, he not only didn't return me the money but had the nerve to ask me to be his guarantor for buying his car!!! What!?!?!? No money to return me but has money to buy car?!?!? Of coz my ans was a flat No although he tried asking a few more times. Needless to say, I never heard fr him again. (oh he still came to my hse during CNY n Dar was v pissed coz he juz sat dwn there wout acknowleging us or bringing up the matter of the $)

The latest incident was me lending $500 to my now ex-colleague fr my branch in Oct/Nov 2006. She claimed that her fam was having some prob (sis undergoin divorce n blah) n thus needed some $; I gave her the benefit of the doubt although I believed that she was using the $ to help her then bf pay for some car parts. My colleagues asked me how come I still lent her e $ know that she is q a spend-thrift/extravagant person but it was diff 2 tell her that i didn't have the $ n some more she already tried to borrow fr 2 other colleagues. Her first 2 payments were q prompt (she said she wld return me $100 every month); first payment in Dec b4 she resigned & 2nd on in late Jan/early Feb when she came back for our branch CNY dinner. Subsequently, didn't really meet up w her but still tok 2 her a bit on n off on MSN but didn't chase her for the $ coz she was in between jobs & nice me decided to give her more time. However when she still didn't take any intiative to return me the $ in Oct, i texted her n told her to return me the remaining $300 by the end of the year to which she agreed. My idea was that she returned $100 every month n it wld b juz nice.

Who knows 2007 came n went & I still didn't get the $$$!!! & I was pissed coz here she was here claiming that she had no money but there she was going places w her bf & doing her hair & all!!! So during the 2nd wk of Jan, I msged her again telling her that it was now 2008 and she again claimed she had no $!!! @ that time I was still q nice so I told her by mid Feb and she again agreed. (Mid Feb coz aft CNY mah so shd haf a LOT of $) Whadaya know... she didn't return me the $ again!!! & I gave her like another 2 weeks b4 I tried to contact her but she wasn't contactable!!! By now I was like really fuming! I msged her a couple of times but no reply; got a mutual fren to msg her but also no reply. Then I tried calling her n she didn't pick up her phone, left her a msg on Friendster also no reply. The mutual fren was saying that I shd just leave like a testimonial on her friendster so make her look bad but I thot dat wasn't v nice so I told her I wld only do dat as a last resort. By then, almost the whole office knows abt her owing me $ coz I was like complaining everyday!!! Had e intention to use another number to try 2 call her & my colleague thot of the same thng so she asked me 2 use her phone to call her as she doesn't thnk my ex-colleague has her number. And she picked up the phone!!! But she didn't say "hello" so I passed the phone back to my colleague 2 ask her to help me to look for her. Well either she heard me talking to my colleague or she recognised my colleague's voice coz after dat she simply hung up the phone. But not before she said "hello" once & my colleague thot it sounded like her!!! By then I was rather determined to either call her @ home or go rite up to her hse to look for her. I mean, she is simply too much!!!

But surprise surprise!!! She actually msged me a short while aft e phone call telling me dat she had actually passed the phone to her mum & dat she had juz gotten her phone back. Then she gave me some crap (crap coz I totally dun believe!) abt how her sis was sup to contact me 2 return me e $ and dat the sis had told e mum dat she had already the $ to me. Well the sis didn't contact me @ all lors & so I gave her the ultimatum to return me $100 by the next day or else I will take further action. She kept telling me that she had no money & dat she wld return me the whole sum of money by the end of the month & ask me to "trust her" but I told her No n I told her to take the money fr her parents or 2nd sis coz I dun thnk it is THAT diff 2 come up w $100. She told me that she wun be able to get the $ from them coz "if they had wanted 2 help the sis, they wld haf helped lg time ago". Well that's not my prob so I told her 2 get either the mum or sis to contact me & tok 2 me or give me their contact but she was like, sis doesn't want her 2 give her my number n even if I tok 2 e mum no use. I tell u, I really felt like a loanshark dat pm what w all the smses flying ard... aftwhich I grew really tired n I told her dat no matter how many times she asked if she cld defer the payment till end of the month my ans wld still be No!

Well, I was quietly waiting the next day 2 see if she wld return the money (I told her 2 return by 1pm) but she said the CDM was dwn @ her place so cld only bank @ nite provided dat the machine was not dwn. Luckily for her, she banked in the money @ 7 plus dat nite. As for the rest of the $200, I was rather apprehensive as to whether she wld return me the money by the end of the month or I wld hafta chase her again. Thankfully she has returned me the money wout me hafing to ask her for it. So it's e end of the saga *whew*

I'm really going to thnk 10 million times abt lending pp $ fr now on. (like e other day, this dirty looking lady approached me to lend her $1.90 to take bus coz she has lost her purse but I didn't. In e end she borrowed from these teenagers but subsequently when the teenagers boarded their bus, I saw her approaching some other passerbys for $ again) Even like Dar, he had helped pp in the past (n also recently) but lending $ or letting them use his tools/equipment first b4 paying up and he always end up finding it v diff to get e $ back. Haiz... v hard 2 be nice pp sometimes hor? ...

sick sleepy

2008-04-05T16:49:00.002+08:00

so I didn't meet up w the PA pp in e end coz I was down w fever, sore throat & headache :((( Was alrite in e am, then in e mid morning, started to feel a bit of sore throat & headache n by the mid afternoon, I was down w fever. Muz haf had been the heaty food that I've been eating over the weekend; ate 2 tao sau piah compliments of my colleague & had a bbq on Sat nite. Intially wanted 2 juz meet the PA pp for a while but by the time I knocked off, i cldn't tahan already, so took a bus back n took a nap.

Set the alarm @ 730pm so dat I can wake up to see the dr if I still wasn't feeling well. Called Dar 2 see if he was coming back n was like "why r u @ home?" n he was v surprised that I was sick coz I was perfectly alrite in e am haiz! In e end, had 2 "recall" my Dad home so that he cld accompany me 2 e dr as I didn't feel like driving. Luckily there weren't anyone @ the clinic so managed to go home q fast & went straight to bed haha. Of coz, I first texted Dar 2 get me some food but he took forever to come :P :P :P

Actually I thnk e dr I see is not v gd coz I always take a couple of days to recover. Even now I m still dwn w a bit of sore throat and cough as a result of the sore throat. But wat 2 do, it is co dr n he is e nearest one 2 my hse. The one @ my office is not bad; the last time I was ill, I juz took the medicine overnite n was beta the next day! But the relief dr is not v gd; remember dat she asked me to move hse coz I was having bouts of rashes due to the dust??? really CMI!

Haven't been really sick for a couple of years but this is the 2nd time in this year that I have fallen ill!!! & juz a couple of days b4 I fell ill, I was juz commenting 2 Dar dat inspite of the fact that I take Cod Liver Oil (which is sup 2 build up body resistance), I m still sniffing almost every morning. Dad was also saying that I need to build up my body coz I m like some cold blooded animal that feels cold v easily!!! But wat can I do leh? My body constituition has been weak eversince I was young wor... *ponder* *ponder*

Meet Up

2008-03-30T13:55:00.002+08:00

Met up w 2 of my Uni frenz whom I haven't seen in like 8 years and did q a bit of catching up. The wonders of Facebook which has reconnected us. :) They look e same & still behave the same!!! U would thnk time might have changed us but they were exactly how I remembered them from my Uni days.

My fren's frenz joined us & @ first I was wondering who the frenz were but guess wat? I actually met those frenz like 8 years back also!!! hahaha!!! & my fren forgot that we have met so she was q surprised when were were like "yeah we haf met last time" hee hee. Although it was nice to finally meet them after so many years, felt a little out of place coz they all have been keeping in touch w each other n so whilst they were updating each other abt wat they haf been doing, I was a little lost & actually wanted 2 ask many qn but then everyone else will b bored rites? so the usually chatty n talkative me was rather quiet that nite hee. But nvm... hopefully will get to see them more often n the awkwardness/uneasiness will soon fade away :)

& popped by a sec sch fren's wedding yesterday @ chijmes. Popped by coz the ceremony started @ 11 & i was working but luckily chijmes is soooooooo near my office. The ceremony was over & I thnk some of e guests were already leaving but I managed to tok 2 my fren. But only for a teeny weeny while so I was a little disappointed. Was hoping to meet up w her b4 she goes back to the States where she is based but she was too busy... hopefully will get to meet up w her the next time she is back.

& shd b meeting some of my PA frenz tmr... so it is a series of meeting up w old frenz :)))

"Trial Run"

2008-03-30T13:30:00.003+08:00

Dar has been stayin @ my place for the past 2 weeks, as his cousin & bf were in twn & so they were stayin in his rm. Had 2 move q a lot of his files over 2 my place n luckily I have cleared out part of my cupboard for him or else it will be all over the table.

Guess Dar still prefer to staying @ his own place compared to mine :) but well guess it is something that he has to get used too haha! It was a tad inconvenient coz sometimes I sleep q early & we gota pull out the bed afterwhich the room becomes v cramped w barely any walking space. But he is really sweet; no matter how late he has slept the nite b4, he never fails to wake up w me each morning to send me to work :)))

It's such a good feeling 2 wake up each morning 2 see him, although not beside me hee n so I m definitely looking forward to Aug where he will "officially" move in w me :) Hope that we will be able 2 find some nice furniture to complement the room coz we are goin 2 keep the wadrobe & the shelves above my table. Might need to do something abt the colour scheme as well... but in e meantime, I thnk i will hafta clear out more stuff else Dar won't haf any space 2 put HIS thngs which are also a lot!!! :P

Say Cheez!

2008-03-21T16:52:00.002+08:00

sLeePy has finally gone to get her teeth done! :) I've always had yellowish front teeth which my childhood dentist attritbuted to the fact that I have eaten too many antibiotics. So when I was in JC or wassit Uni, my mum brought me to the then Pegu Rd Clinic to have my teeth capped. The dentist didnt give me a v white cap so as to match my other teeth or @ least that was wat he said.

Fast forward many years and I went to the dentist last May & the horrid dentist scraped of the capping!!! n my teeth was soooooooooo ugly!!! I mean I had the intention to change liao but he didn't have to scrape it off mah. He also quoted me a price of about $6/700 per tooth and coz I wanted to do 4 teeth it was gona cost me $2k plus! Thus I decided to wait till I got my bonus this year to do. But in e meantime I had found this other dentist recommended by my colleague and they were only charging $350 per tooth! Almost half price!!! :)

Coz the receptionist thought I wanted to do crowning, she said I had to go for 3 visits before the whole process cld be completed. Not wanting to waste anytime and coz I wanted to do the teeth b4 the photoshoot in June, decided to go down on Thurs since I was off anyway. Went there (& this dentist was sooooooooo much nicer!!!) n was told that I didnt need to do capping; I only need to "laminate" my teeth and he could do my 2 front teeth there & then! So 20 minutes later I came out w nice white front teeth!!! *mighty happy* & it only cost $40 per tooth!!! Dar initially thot it was expensive until I told him that the other dentist wanted to charge me soooooooo much more for capping my teeth which I didn't need; he also agreed it was a gd price!

So I'll be goin back to do my other 2 tooth and also to polish my teeth n get my retainers done! Juz hope that this laminating will last me for many years still :)

So I got it...

2008-03-16T19:14:00.003+08:00

...but i dun thnk i deserve it though. I didn't know that the bosses have gone to get the letter until my colleague fr another branch called me to tell me she got it n hope that I got it too. It was totally unexpected when I received the message fr my boss that nite.

Called Dar as soon as I cld & he was v happy for me but I was telling him and above-mentioned friend that I totally didn't want it and they both said I was being silly. It didn't help when I found out the next day that one of my staff missed the boat yet again!!! She is a v gd n knowlegable worker; conscientious and v helpful and the officers have been putting her up for it for q a couple of years now and still she didn't it!!! Felt v bad abt it coz even I sometimes go to her for help!!! Needless to say, everyone in the branch was v surprised and sad that she didn't get it again. I dunno if she was disappointed (coz I told her we gave her a gd appraisal) or if she expected it (coz finaly appraisal is still done by my boss) but I felt v sad for her; it is like she is not being recognised for all her hard work & effort whereas lazee me managed to get it. I attributed the fact that i got it to being they wana decrease the turnover rate as I thot most pp my batch got it but which I later found out wasn't exactly true!!! (But those pp whom i expected to get it r all v good workers as well!) So what does this mean? How come my staff didn't get it but pp like me can? Is it really about how you get into your boss's gd books? Doesn't this mean that it is all not about working hard?

My boss spoke to me privately when she gave me the letter and I took the chance to kinda ask her how come my staff didn't get it? She told me she knew that everyone wld be surprised but she said that to her, it is not juz about working hard and having the attitude, it is also about how the staff can progress from the next level. I guess I can comprehend a bit but if you do not give them the recognition with the bigger shoes, the staff will never be able to prove that she indeed CAN do it and that she is capable to make it to the next level. I told some of my colleagues what my boss said and they said that what she said is not valid, but I guess we can never understand unless we are sitting in that position. I can only hope she gets it next year or that she finds a new job whr she will be recognised for her job.

Anyways I dun thnk my boss really put me up for it; she might even be as surprised as me that I got it hahaha! How do I know? Coz compared to my other peers, I thnk I got lesser than them leh :( :( :( but I guess i shdn't be complaining coz 1 of my fren who got rather significantly more than me has to work really hard; goin home late and she is also the deputy so like my staff was telling me, the extra $ is not worth it even. So meantime, I shall juz carry on w my work and hope against hope that they dun transfer me out of my branch or even worse make me a deputy somewhere coz I am soooooooooooooooooooooo not ready for it!!! :P

Why 好心没好报?

2008-03-15T09:49:00.002+08:00

Weather's been really kinda deary these few days; been raining and raining nonstop such that I couldn't go swimming on Tues when I was off but instead ended up being stuck in Punggol w Dar for most part of e pm which of coz made me a little pissed :P I dun mind soooooooo much when I m in e office (less queue also!) but not when I am goin home! And I don't have the habit of putting a brolly in my bag so if it starts raining in the middle of my journey I m really done for! :P

Had to rush off from work on Wed coz I had 2 tut back to back... and whilst crossing the road to the bus stop, I decided to shelter this china lady who was only using a little plastic to cover her head. As a result, I missed the first bus I could take (I can take all buses back to Kallang except for 1 which takes me rite outside my hse) and thus went to wait @ the bus stop. Who knows along came this bus @ a rather fast speed and splashed water all over the passengers @ the bus stop!!! I was a little luckier than this other guy coz I was standing further in but the bottom half of my skirt & my feet were all WET!!! :( & when I dropped off @ Kallang, the rain had gotten heavier & I was totally drenched whilst getting in the car!

So my conclusion is dat, if I had not helped dat lady, I wld haf gotten on the first bus that came, then I wldn't haf gotten splashed on e bus & the rain might not haf gotten heavier when I reached Kallang.

BAH!!!

Long Overdue VDay post

2008-03-09T18:21:00.003+08:00

Yep this is a super looooooooong overdue post coz as usual, sleepy has been way way way too lazee but haf always wanted to pen dwn abt this year's Vday. :)

I guess for most couples, whilst Vday is an overhyped day and ultra expensive day, it is still an excuse for couples to spend time together and cherish each other over dinner. Wanted to go to this Italian Rest recommended by Shanster but heard from her that you gotta book 2 weeks in advance so dumped the idea. Cldn't thnk of other places to go so decided to leave it to Dar (as always hee hee). Was intially rather pissed w him coz he was late in picking me up but after that I figured out why :)

Half way thru our journey, I noticed that we were goin to Sentosa and thot that Dar was gona bring me to the Marina to eat or something... little did I know that he had this planned out:

A picnic!!! I can't remember having a picnic ever so it was really a v pleasant surprise. & Dar was still teasing me abt me paying for dinner tonite :P As u can see, we had spaghetti (my fave), oyster omelette & fish & chops (Dar's fave) & white wine. The food was still q yummy although they were a bit cold. Dar also brought candles so that it wldn't be sooooooo dark & little containers to put the candles in. However, by the time we burned a big enuff hole in the container's cap, the lighter had run out of gas. But it wasn't all that dark lah, coz there were some construction nearby and the lites were q brite.

& to add to the surprise, Dar got me a jewellery box as a prez!!! I totally didn't expect this coz we had bought Nike watches for each other already!!! (& believe it or nots, mine was kid's size haha!) So thnx Dar for the arrangement & for the surprises! *huggies*

It's Done!

2008-02-12T12:42:00.000+08:00

After many many many months, sleepy has finally finished doing up the ROM album :) Bought some decorative and confetti to decorate the album and I must say I am rather pleased with the overall "effect". Got Dar 2 help me a bit n once again he has shown his creative side hee hee.

Had a lot of fun doing the album and also coz it brought back memories of that special day. So once again thanks to everyone who attended the ROM, and also to those who weren't there but gave so many well-wishes on that day. Special thanks to Chris for helping me to take e pics & for making this collage for me!

Newest Addition

2008-02-12T11:13:00.000+08:00

Tis e latest addition to my piggie collection:

Welcome 猪布点!!!!

Cute hor? I actually wanted 2 get it for myself when I saw it but Dar refused to let me get it which made me rather upset but who knows that he has actually gotten it for me which was why he didn't allow for me to get it haha!!! Then I wanted 2 get e whole set but Dar said No coz he said that my collection wld then be endless :P :P :P

So here's e littlest one w e rest of the "brothers" who r all nice n pink after a bath

Gong Hei Fatt Choy

2008-02-06T20:23:00.000+08:00

Look who's here?

It's Ratatoiulle n he wld like to say this to everyone:

GONG HEI FATT CHOY!!!

& may it be a Ratastic year for everyone! :)

Pretty?

2008-01-30T19:28:00.000+08:00

Yipee!!! Haf finally booked my BS!!! First went to this shop recommended by my senior in May then after a break of 6 mths, went looking ard w my GRL last Dec. But we then decided that we wana take a look @ the shops that so not have in-house photographer so gad 2 drag Dar ard last Mon 2 take a look. Also wanted 2 show him my senior's works 2 see if he liked them n he did! :)))

Actually spotted a gown @ Emmanuel dat was v nice n elegant & she cld sew more crystals on e gown for me so dat it will haf more sparkles but it was kinda plain... when I went there w Dar, they were actually having a sale & it was really q worth coz we get 2 keep e gown & Dar really liked this one w lotsa lotsa French Lace... but then I m a bling bling sparkle sparkle kinda gal & thus I wasn't too keen. Besides... we both liked this gown that we saw @ Divine Couture & after some calculation, Dar said it was ok 2 pay a bit more if I really liked that gown :))

Being e typical kiasu Singaporean, I wanted 2 try on more gowns when we went back again e 2nd time 2 take the package. But we still liked the one dat we saw e previous time & thus we decided to choose this gown:

Front & back view of e dress... it's a low back dress which I haf always wanted & it has these frilly thngy on the straps & sweet pink ribbons in e train!!! & there are pink & silver embroidery on the gown as well making it v sweet... like me! haha!!! Really like this gown & hopefully she can add some more bling bling on it :)

I like this shot & I cant wait 2 wear it for the photo shoot & on the actual day; 7 months to go!!!

2008-01-26T19:18:00.000+08:00

e reason why this took forever 2 b posted is coz i was trying 2 upload the video but i tried like 10 times but it still wun b uploaded so I eventually gave up...

Went for my 3rd concert in e past 2 years & coincidentally all the singers' name starts with the letter "J"; First JJ's in Jun 06, then Jacky's 3 weeks ago n Jay Chou's last Fri. Aft which a lot of pp asked me how it was & I thot it was great... first reason being that I was so near to the stage:

But I didn't really like e seats coz they were really kinda cramped together; in fact this man behind us was "complaining" that there weren's any "personal space" haha! As u can see, there are 2 blocks of these kinda "make-shift" chairs & we were seating sleepy's left which I overheard was all the "sponsored" seats. Which was GOOD coz the block on the other side consisted of a lot of the fans & they were standing thruout e concert!!! I stood too lah if not cannot see but had 2 keep sitting dwn coz I felt so tired haha! & we were given these "hands" to wave:

cute hor? :)

Tis was his first costume, but his hairstyle was a bit strange though hee hee...

& he was v funny when he stopped & 1 of the first few thngs he asked was "你们知道今天是设么日子吗？" coz like I mentioned previously it was his Bday!!! & coz it was his birthday, 南拳妈妈 his special guest artistes got the crowd to sing him "Happy Birthday" song which the crowd sang heartily. The contented boy : He sang q a lot of fast songs & most songs from his latest album which I wasn't v familiar w, so I was v thrilled when he sang 听妈妈的话 which I really liked. If u all haf read e reports, there was this part where there was a video clip of Chow Yun Fatt kinda like rapping along & Jacky singing the chorus as they were mentioned in the song. Here's Jacky:

Of coz he also sang Dar's recent fave 菊花台(I like also!!!) & 千里之外 wearing his white suit... machiam like 白马公子 like dat:

But the best part of the concert gota be his talent in playing the various instruments, from the piano, to the guitar to the drums & even the 琵琶 the audience were really awed!

On e whole, I really enjoyed the concert inspite of 1) he didn't sing some of my fave songs, 2) his encore was WAY too short & I was really expecting him 2 come out even though the concert had ended haha!!! It was sooooooooo high & made me feel like a teenager again :P When he comes back like 10-20 years dwn e rd, I m definitely going for the concert where I m sure he will sing all those songs I really like & can 陶醉 in them :) Meantime, here are some more pics... took q bit as ordered by Mangojo so missed some parts of the concert but wat 2 do... now times change liao... Ya Huan can order Princess ard liao... sighz :P

I like this attire best :)

Jay being "harassed" :P

Pressies fr Japan

2008-01-20T09:18:00.000+08:00

Yep yep... Dar's finally back from Japan!!! He said it was freezing dwn there n he bought some thicker clothing but it was still not enuff!!! & such a pity dat he didn't get to go up Mount Fuji coz it was snowing so they closed it off as the roads were slippery. He also commented that the stuff there were v ex (esp e transport) but that the pp there were v disciplined. Hope we'll go together sometime soon :)

Here's what he got me:

& a close-up of e stuff on the jacket he bought me. I like e jacket coz it has got that furry furry thng @ the cap hee.
The little bag on the rite is v popular in Japan now. Can be used as a slingbag or as a waist pouch. Material is a bit on the wooly side n has 2 compartments. Dar got 1 for himself too! Then there are Fancl collagen tablets which are like almost half price there!!! 3 packets cost about SGD50 whereas here, each packet cost $40 without any rebate or discount. I was contemplating asking him to buy the drink back but figured it would be kinda heavy & inconvenient to lug it back. & those blue bottles are a Kose cleansing set! I was q surprised he bought them for me as he doesn't like me to use all these "chemical" stuff!!!

Significantly missing are my "cutsie Little Twin Stars & My Melody stuff" :( He saw dat I was q disappointed but he was saying that there were that silly cat everywhr but no Twin Stars. To which I asked "But U know what is My Melody or nots?" & he was like "Ya, dat one w the 2 long ears". :P Oh & he bought the Jap Muah Chees for me too but I hafn't opened them yet so I cldn't take a pic... Yummz!!! Thnx Dar for e Pressies!

Counting down to Friday

2008-01-14T19:08:00.000+08:00

4 more days to Friday... cant wait!!! Why? Coz Dar is coming back! Yipee Yayee!!! A lot of pp have been asking me where he is & how come I didn't follow him... Well... he went Japan & much as I would wana go since I haven't been there b4 & it is a country that I have always wanted to go, he is goin there w some frenz to check out car shows & look for car spare parts which is TOTALLY boring for me so I'd rather not waste my leave like dat hee. Mangojo was asking if I wrote a long list of stuff for him to buy, not really leh, juz e collagen tablets, some foodie and "cutsie Little Twin Stars & My Melody stuff". He luffed when he saw what I haf written but I like mah... I juz hope he can recognise these characters n not buy me bak the cat w no mouth, if not gota give 2 Ya Huan liao :P anyways spoke 2 him last nite & he said he has already bought some prez for me *smiles*

He actually intended to extend his stay coz his best bud's sis stays there & thus they wld haf free accomodation but he didn't really wana spend another wkend overseas & coz I managed to get these:

Ok so I am a teeny weeny bit guilty coz he can't even extend his stay for even 1 day but it's JAY CHOU leh!!! Tickets are all sold out but my colleague managed to get e tiks for me & I am paying like half px for them! WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! Of coz Dar had 2 come back for it coz intially b/w the Jacky & Jay concert, he chose Jay so I wld thnk he is q happy to come back for it. Actually I thot i would like to go on the 2nd nite which is 19th Jan but juz found out fr my other colleague dat 18th is actually his birthday so I thnk the concert on the 18th would be much kewler coz might have bday cake n all! gosh I m getting so excited!!! N on top of dat, managed to change my off day to Fri, so I can pick up Dar @ midnite, we can both go back n haf a gd rest, spend some time together n then zoom off to the concert!

La-la-la-la da-da-da... a v happy gal sleepy is :)

Rat Babies

2008-01-10T21:34:00.000+08:00

Just learnt fr my fren/colleague that she is pregnant!!! That would make hers the 3rd Rat Baby I know after Dewdrops & my GRL's. Whilst Dewdrop's little one will be saying hello to the world come June, the due dates of the other 2 Rat babies are near end Aug which means that they would not be able to attend my wedding. Whilst I am disappointed about that, I am still real happy for them & touched that they have shared their joy w me coz some pp are "pantang" & believe that they can't tell pp they are preg till aft e 1st trimester or something.

Actually, as a horse, "theoretically" i m not "sup" 2 get alg w rats coz of the 6 year diff thngy so i m glad i cant be having a rat baby hee. But these kinda thngs may not be true coz I do know of pp whom are 6 years diff fr their spouses n i get alg w my deputy who is a rat as well as my GRLs' kids who are rats too. Dar also get alg v v v well w Germaine who is a snake whilst he is a piggo so this kinda thng sumtimes cannot believe too much heh.

Whilst I don't exactly believe, I did tell Dar I wanted a Horse Baby... to which his rxn is "马很会跑的!" But I told him I m v "guai" n dun really run abt mah hee. But then I will be old... so will hafta consider again. heh... hope to hear more gd news soon :)

Simply Awesome!

2008-01-06T19:36:00.000+08:00

My first post of 2008 and it's gona be abt 1 of the memories I know I will look back v fondly upon...

Guess whr Dar & I were?
Yep yep... the Jacky Cheung World Tour 2007 Encore!!! & what can I say cept that it was really awesome!!! I didn't go (& didn't thnk abt going) for the one last year but was full of regrets when everyone told me how good it was & thus I was definitely not going to miss it this time round. Intially Dar didn't really wana go coz as much he liked Jacky too, he preferred his Canto oldies to the chinese songs... so decided to "kill 2 birds w 1 stone" by giving him a ticket as Christmas prez. :) It was definitely a prez he "enjoyed" as well. =))

Jacky Cheung definitely evoked a lot of memories in me; when his 吻别 album came out in 1993, my whole class was crazy over him, so much so that even the teachers knew abt it! We got his albums, sang his songs @ karaoke, bought those idol cards of him, read up on news of him... & with a couple of friends, we attended his concert here some 13-14 years ago! (incidentally Dar also went but he can't rem which nite). I rem we went on the first nite and we were all v excited & we even bought s stuffed dino for him; I still haf e pic but no scanner to scan it in hee. He was having a sore throat that nite but still did his best to sing but half way thru, he decided to postpone the concert as he wanted to give his best performance. We left the stadium & I dunno how it happened but my fren's father who came to pick her up actually sent the whole lot of us to the hotel that Jacky was staying in!!! We didn't manage to see Jacky & his assistant told us that Jacky was resting but nonetheless, he gave us an autographed pic of Jacky each. Of course we were over the moon by then & of course I still have the treasured pic.

It was Jacky's 92nd performance since his start of the tour in Feb 2007 but still he gave nothing but his best. U cld tell he really enjoyed singing & he kept thanking everyone for their support & thus giving him the stature that he has now. He was so true as a person, telling us about his life & how life had its ups and downs and how “不快乐的事情过去后，快乐的事就要来" which touched a chord in me coz I was reminded of a v diff period in my own life. (He also mentioned that his Dad passed away before his world tour started in Feb last year & thus it was w a mixed feeling that he started his World Tour) His clothes weren't as fancy as those 13-14 years back but the performance was dear to me; perhaps coz I m now older & not a young fan; perhaps coz I had Dar next to me whilst he sang his love songs & I feel blessed to be loved by Dar; but most of all, I thnk it is coz I can now look back on those sec sch days, smile & be reminded of the frenships forged esp w my dear fren, Sis Aneja who even wrote me a story loosely based on Jacky's 她来听我的演唱会 n I was a bit disappointed that he didn't sing this song last nite. But he sang my all time fave 每天爱你多一些 which Dar also liked & he sang it in Canto!!! Almost swooned when he sang it and I was clapping my hands in delight when he announced. He also sang Dar's fave Canto song 月半弯 which apparantly was liked by a huge number of fans as well. He also sang songs that he had written for his wife, elder daughter and a song in rememberance of some frenz who passed away in 2003. @ the beginning of the concert, he told us that he wanted to sing more songs & he did, his encore was terrificbulous!!! Singing a lot of Canto oldies (like 还是觉得你最好!!!) & finally rounding off w 祝福 @ 1145pm.

Whilst there weren't many young fans as you would see in Jay or Jolin's concert, the fans still waved their light sticks, sang along w Jacky & even stood up to dance when Jacky sang his fast songs. It is truly amazing that after performing for 23 years, his popularity hasn't waned but instead has grown tremendously; 5 concerts in less than 6 months & all were almost sold out!!! Definitely not an easy feat to be accomplished!!! & whilst he was singing the songs, I had e urge to go sing all his songs @ Karaoke haha!!! But for now, I thnk I'll just take out his old records.

So thanks Jacky, for this great start to 2008, for such a soulful performance, for giving me a treasured memory w Dar but most of all, for the wonderful memories that you have brought back =))

More Pressies!!!

2007-12-30T20:32:00.000+08:00

Though Christmas has passed... happee sleepy is still "collecting" her presents! :)

As mentioned, the PA gals had our yearly Christmas gathering last Fri, 28th Dec. Sad to say, only CL, Dewdrops, Sharon & I turned up; the others had something on & Judy had fallen ill. Nonetheless we had a good time having steamboat @ 鲜得来, another steamboat place opp Bugis. Much prefered this to the one we haf a week plus ago with MangoJo coz it was air-conditioned & they had more variety of food although it was v cramp. & we each paid about $27 each so I felt it was q worth it :) We almost didnt get to exchange pressies coz someone kept picking her own name & there was one instance when we all picked our own names!!! It was hilarious & we were joking dat we would still be there picking names even aft they have closed shop! & when we finally got different names, we then spent a bit of time deciding whether we should give to the person we chose or to receive from the person!!! Gosh! heh... so anyways I got this fr mum-to-be Cheryl:

I like the print! As CL said, has a bit of Jap 感觉 hor? Thnx my dear!!! & had a good catch up with Sharon on our bus ride back... hopefully we can meet up more often instead of these once a year gatherings coz if someone misses the it would be 2 years b4 we see her again!

Doesn't this look yummilicious? M&S Belgian Choc biscuits from my tut kid's parents! :) I actually went to their house on Christmas Day itself but my kid & her Dad forgot to give it to me & the mum has gone to sleep!!! I was still lamenting to Dar that I had no pressie from them! Was telling him dat when I walked into their house that day, I saw the M&S package on the table & guessed it was for me so I was awfully disappointed when it wasn't given to me @ the end of the lesson. Such a greedy teacher I am ain't I? :P :P :P

Whaddya know? Sleepy had another surprise pressie!!! Fr my dear dear fren, Hwee from Shanghai! Had a really good time catching up w her on Sat although Coffee Club was a tad too noisy but it's the company that mattered. It was really a treasured time coz I didn't meet up with her the last time she was back & m sooooooo touched that she is v concerned about my wedding & even offered to be my emcee!!! Sleepy is truly blessed with so many pp helping her along the way =)))) & what did she give me....?

It's another wristlet pouch!!! This is the 4th one I've received this year; Cheryl's, Dar's Sis, this & 1 fr Mangojo as a bday pressie. They r all different sizes!!! & to thnk I was gona ask my cousin 2 buy back a Coach one for me... guess can save $ liao!!! :P

Last but not least, I have been meaning to put this up but haven't... not exactly a christmas present but it was from Dar's mum:

Just a normal pair of slippers u may say... but she MADE this!!! Yep she MADE it for me! & it fits perfectly!!! I didn't wana take it intially coz I thot she bought them but when she said she made it I quickly took it! First time I have a pair of shoes MADE for me!!! I kept telling Dar that I have & he doesn't & he was totally amused haha!!! & it's vcomfy as well; the strap didn't hurt, esp between the toes & the base was v soft, not like some slippers which are too thin or too rough/hard. Yipee yayee!!! Maybe I can design some shoes for her to make for me next time! :P

It's Christmas Time!

2007-12-25T18:31:00.000+08:00

It's Christmas time again!!! Really like this time of the year coz it feels so festive n jolly n happy! :) And it is great time for gatherings & catching up and not to mention the sales (but I cant seem to find anything nice to buy for myself) and the pressies! I thnk I got more pressies this Christmas than I got on my birthday hee!

Initially Dar wanted to haf a nice dinner on Christmas Eve with the kids since he didn't get to see them the other day but he had to go and help to "inspect" his aunt's house and as we didn't know how long it would take, decided to forgo the idea as it might be too late to bring the kids out. Instead, we joined his fren's frenz for a bbq @ Tanah Merah. Nothing special u might thnk but the BBQ was not @ some condo, but instead it was held near the beach & we had to go off-road to get in there! It was q an experience sitting in the huge truck bumping along and splashing through the mud. The uncle was q an experienced driver so even though there were many bumps, he managed to avoid potholes where possible and did clever maneuvering of the car. @ our "destination", they started to dig a hole in the sand, putting the charcoal into the little pit and starting the fire. Soon the food was cooked & it was yummz! We had chicken wings, saussages (my must haf @ every bbq) n bacon that was cooked till it was real crispy! It was a gd place for chilling out; lit by the lites from the Land Rover; the kewl gentle breeze... and soon sleepy had fallen asleep on the beach chair! haha! Definitely a v diff kinda Christmas Eve :)

Was hoping dat Dar could accompany me today... but he is bring some customers to Sebana so bored me, being left alone on Christmas decided to take pics of my christmas pressies!!! Some were real surprises!!! Let's see...

From the christmas exchange that I had w my colleagues... I got this:

which when opened up became this:

It's a jewellery box :) left portion for me to put my rings and on the rite, for me to put my earrings & necklace.

& toking about jewellery, the Santarina in my Office gave me these:
A ring w semi-precious stones from Soo Kee & a really nice arm bracelet!!! Intitially I was wondering what the arm bracelet was & I was thnking maybe it is a choker. I did try to put it round my fat neck but obviously it was way too small!!! Close up of the ring & bracelet:

Hmm... not v clear hor... but it's nice! n I m goin 2 wear it for new year! Was really shocked when she passed me the pressie coz I m sure the pressies are not cheap!!! & she gave a prez to everyone in the office!!! Thnx Ms Choong!!!

& this is wat my Ya Huan gave me... why she give me towel I dunno... I thot she is the that is supposed to be wiping all the dust everywhr n not me??? (hee juz kidding ah)

& now for the suprise pressies... Dar's sis got me these:

A bag, pair of earrings & a ring.

Close up of e accessories:

Kinda expected to get a prez from them as Dar & I were getting something for the kids but didn't really expect these! The earrings match with this charm necklace which I recently bought & I like the ring... only that I can't figure out whether to wear it as a finger ring or toe ring!

& from Dar's best buddy Clifford... I got this which was a TOTAL surprise but brought such a HUGE smile on my face when I opened it during the BBQ... What is it??? It is a...

PIGLET MUG!!!!

Super cute hor!!! This is my 2nd piggie mug; 1st being the one Dar bought for me last year & it is also the bludging out sort which I like. SO thnk I will keep this mug first & use it when my other cups are older...

The biggest surprise of all was definitely Dar's gift which he gave me after we came home from the BBQ.

A Perfume & Body Lotion gift set from Bvlgari!!! Gosh I was totally surprised coz Dar really isn't the kinda person to buy pressies. Plus he is bz working everyday and accompanying me @ nite so I didn't really expect him to have the time to buy me the prez!!! Also thot he was gona get me a watch coz I did tell him that I am thnking of buying a new watch. Nonetheless... Thnx Dar!!!

Still have another Christmas exchange w the PA gals this Fri so that'll be another prez!!! Yippeez!!! Hope everyone enjoyed themselves this Christmas & may it be a wonderous 2008 for everyone! Cheers!

Better Than None @ All...

2007-12-24T21:01:00.000+08:00

Darn!!! Like almost 3/4 of the world had half today but not poor sleepy :( So envious that most pp had half day and it was rather evident @ the branch coz there was this HUGE crown b/w 12-1 thereabouts afterwhich it quietened down considerably which was good! Even the volume of cheques was lesser than other Mondays; but still, they took sooooo long to be processed and before we could go home.

But actually, I am wondering why there is half day on Christmas Eve but like not on Hari Raya Puasa or Deepavali? Different case for NYE coz it is NY to everyone but not EVERYONE celebrates Christmas though my colleague thnks otherwise. He feels that everyone can celebrate christmas hence the half day is justifiable. But anyways it doesnt apply to me; if I am in an organisation that gives me half day on Christmas Eve then I wouldn't be complaining on my blog now :P

& I suspect that we won't have half day on the eve of CNY which totally sucks!!! I remember when I was temping @ Citibank, as it is a foreign bank, it is full day on CNY eve and I was really shocked! But I got to leave early coz I was juz a temp and there wasnt much to do. & in PA, never had to work on CNY eve & past 2 years, CNY eve fell on Sat which meant it was an official half day for me. I hope by some miracle, we will be given half day on CNY eve... not that I am helping with the dishes or 2 clean the house n blah... but coz i feel kinda cheated haha.

But as the title goes... better than nothing @ all... branches will only operate for 2 hours next Mon... YIPEEEE!!! Rest of the day if supposedly for us to pack our office n blah... but we r doing a bit of packing now so hopefully can leave real early next wk *keeping my fingers crossed*

& till my next entry

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Oopz

2007-12-16T08:43:00.000+08:00

Oopsie 1 - It was only during the sumptous dinner that I realised that Ms Tan has a blog!!! & I was even mentioned in her blog too!!! (4 not being able 2 attend her wedding heh... sorry lah... e old man is rather pantang & i had 2 skip 3 weddings including urs) But being the efficient me, I haf promptly linked up her blog :) & juz fin reading her blog... such a funny gal she is but though she claims she is a huge procrastinator... I thnk i m an even greater procrastinator; @ least she has put up her wedding pics... me??? My ROM pics r nowhere in sight yet and it has been 5 months!!! HAHAHAHA! It took us several weeks to get the pics from frenz, another several weeks to sit down n choose the pics we wana dvp and it is gonna take us several more weeks to dvp e pics n put them in e album! Yeah yeah, I know... i got the soft copy so I can upload e pics rites? But they r in Dar's comp & everytime I m there, I m either playing facebook; he is using the comp or else i have promptly fell asleep so dun haf the 嫌情 to wait 4 e pics 2 upload :P

Oopsie 2 - & aft e really filling dinner, we went to Bugis to 消化消化 our food and also coz Ms Tan wana buy a bell for her doggie. walked to this kiosk where they sold little bells (to be used as hp accessories or keychain). Me took 1 to shake to hear the "clarity" of the bell and was happily shaking when the bell flew out of my hand & I expected 2 hear a "clink clank" sound on the floor but it didn't. Puzzled, I looked down on the floor & guess whr the bell landed?? In the jeans of this lady standing next to me!!! (coz she folded her jeans so the jeans landed in the "pocket" where the jeans were folded) I didn't dare say a thing & only mentioned it 2 Mangojo & Ms Tan aft Ms Tan has made her purchases!!! They had a gd luff & I was like thnking when the gal walked, maybe the bell would "ring" & she would b wondering whr the sound came fr haha!!! (btw this is a special request fr Mangojo that I gota post this!)

Oopsie 3 - thnk I offended 1 of my colleagues the other day coz I spoke 2 her in an irritated tone. But she actually went 2 complain 2 other pp abt it & i was damn pissed!!! Gosh she is such a petty person; I mean pp have their ups n downs... she needn't hafta complain rites??? Didn't exactly spoil my day lah but juz sometimes wonder why some pp r juz like dat... haiz!

BS shopping

2007-12-09T12:12:00.000+08:00

Finally!!! Me got down to some BS shopping!!! It seems to have dawned on me that I dun haf much time left to decide on a BS, choose a gown that I like and then there's still the Photoshoot! And coz the wedding date is the 1st of the 8th Lunar month, this means that I can't do anything during the 7th Lunar so everything would hafta be settled by June. *gasp* Actually I feel that it is good in a way coz Dar n I are HUGE procrastinators and this would kinda force us to settle everything and not leave it till the last min. That would also mean both of us can have a good rest during the 7th Lunar month and look nice brite n radiant on the actual day! haha!

Intially, I thot it would be good for it to be a whole day affair but am soooo thankful it was only a half day affair coz I was rather tired by the end of it. Added to the fact that I was rather irritated by the sales staff who kept trying to drag us into their shops!!! I have been warned of certain studios and that other than the design of the gowns, the photography..., most importantly, it is the feel of the shop when I first stepped in.

Dar n I actually went to 1 BS recommend by my senior a couple of months ago and we both liked the photography and the gal was rather frenly to us as well and gave us q a good package so that was the first stop we went to as I wanted to try on the gowns there. Tried on 4 gowns there this time and liked 2 out of the 4 gowns but the gal wasn't too frenly this time rd and was a little put off by her coz when she saw the package she offered me, she actually commented " 哇，你那天给我吃了设么药？我给你这么多东西！！！" I suspect that they gave me such a good package coz I told them I was recommended by my senior and now she has forgotton. And also, I clarified w her abt the package and realised that I might have to top up q a tidy sum of $$ which I intially thot I didn't. I asked Dar if he cld rem wat he said but of coz he cldn't lah :(

Wanted 2 go to the Tanjong Pagar stretch when my GRL spotted this lovely gown on display @ another shop and we went in. My GRL has actually heard of the shop and saw some advertorials in mags but I haven't really heard of the shop hee. The gal was q frenly and when she found out that I knew my senior who is a photographer she used, she actually suggested that I go direct to him!!! I was rather surprised that I cld do that and she said that it is coz the do not earn any commission from the photographers. (but when I asked my senior, he told me that they DO give me a bit of comm wor... hmm...) Rather liked the shop and the gown coz it was made w Swarosvki (sorry dunno how 2 spell haha) crystals and the gown I tried had the crystals even on the strap and had pearls and 3 ribbons on the back train. Definitely shortlisted on my list!

Went to a couple of shops alg the Tanjong Pagar stretch; 1 offered a v good package and the gowns were ok nice (they also haf their own in-house designer) but I didnt really like the lady who toked to us coz she commented that all the BS same one. Happened to another of the BS I walked into where I was served by this lady who served us @ the bridal fair @ Marina n Dar n I were rather put off by her coz she told us dat since we were not signing on dat day, no point tokin 2 us! What's more, she kept showing us pics on the comp, so aft dat we juz walked out without really enquiring abt e pkg!!! Saw some q nice gowns @ this other shop & such a coincidence that the boss recognized my GRL n her hubby as they took the package from their main shop some 11-12 years ago!!! But though the gowns were nice, she didn't really give an attractive package despite e fact that she recognized them... BAH!!!

Was contemplating whether to check out more shops when the best news came yesterday... my senior said he will give me a v special price if we asked him to do our studio shoot!!! (we haf already engaged him for our actual day n he also gave me a too-good-to-be-true deal!) Sooooooooooooooooooo tempted coz I really like his coffee table book concept and my GRL n fren told me that I shd juz engage him without any 2nd thots! Similar to Dar's rxn who said dat since he has already given us such a good deal, not v nice not 2 engage him but still, I want Dar to take a look @ his coffee table book concept before deciding! Really as wat Dar told me before, "It's not what u know but who u know"! So excited & many thnx 2 my this crazee but v v nice senior! (m refraining to put his name here so dat pp won't bugger him for a good deal n make him diff hee hee!)

Innocence & Arrogance

2007-12-09T10:39:00.000+08:00

Had a really short wk this wk; only worked 2.5 days as I was clearing leave on Mon & Tues and off on Fri :) Actually wanted to plan a short trip to Bkk w Dar's frenz but our schedules didn't work out and anyways I heard from them that the hotels there were rather ex. Anyways we have gone on 1 long trip and 2 short trips this year already so it was also a good idea to save $$ for next year!

Didn't planned anything much on Monday, merely lazed around and then accompanied Dar to find the eye dr @ Gleneagles. Dar's eyes (thankfully) are pretty much ok now after 3 ops on his rite eye and 1 on his left eye last year. But due to the retina ops, he has now developed cataract in the rite eye :( whilst it is not as serious as retina detachment, he has to go for an op soon as his vision is becoming more blurry. We reached the hospital rather late; about 5pm and were a bit worried that the clinic might have closed. Luckily they were still opened and Dar went in to enquire. Initially there was only 1 nurse/receptionist @ the counter and she was rather nice, giving a form for Dar to fill up and telling him nicely that he would have to check w e Dr's nurse whether the dr was still ard. But suddenly this nurse came up fr behind and said v rudely "We are not accepting anymore patients u know!" I looked up from the newspaper i was reading through and I was going to go up and scold the nurse but somehow decided against it!!! Gosh... so wat if u work in a high class clinic?!?!? If u were capable enuff, then u would be e dr and not juz the nurse rites!?!?!?! On the other hand, the dr was super nice! He recognised Dar as the "water-ski instructor" and they had q a good talk!!! The best part was... get this... he DIDN'T charge Dar for the consultation!!! We were q surprised but Dar told me dat this Dr is v nice and compassionate, he did a cataract for this guy they both knew for free as the guy did not earn a lot of money!!! It'd be good if there were more drs like that...

& on Tues, brought my little nieces n nephew out. Wanted to bring them to try wakeboarding but the boy said dat he would get seasick and requested for us to bring him to the fish farm instead whilst the 2 gals wanted to go the playroom @ Ikea. The boy wanted 2 buy a fish for his mum but we thought to buy a fish for each of them anyway. @ the first shop, the boy bought a Black Molly and the younger gal bought a little tetra. We left the 2 fishes in e car whilst we went 2 e 2nd fish shop coz we fig it was only for a while and whilst it may get q hot in e car... the fishes shd survive. However to our horror when we came back 10 min later, the little tetra has died!!! :( :( :( We were wondering how come the Black Molly cld survive whilst the tetra didnt when Dar figured that the Black Molly might have attacked the little tetra as it was v v v v v hungry! The little one was really upset and it didn't help that her brother kept teasing her. Her retort to her brother was "I'm goin to kill your Black Molly... I'm going to kill your Black Molly tomorrow!" And when her told her she can't do that as he suspects that the Black Molly is pregnant (which I honestly do not think so) and if she kills the Mother, the little babies whom are innocent would also be killed... the little one replied that the tetra was innocent too!!! It was really q funny listening to their conversation :) Hopefully, can bring them out on Haji or something... n then I will haf more stories to tell! :P

e wk dat passed...

2007-11-26T21:49:00.000+08:00

Wanted to post this entry yesterday but ended up playing game the WHOLE day... yep the WHOLE day from like 11am till about 9pm @ nite save for toilet & meal break!!! Haha... yeah i can be q a game addict but not those war or shooting games lah... they'll give me a terrible headache. Prefer to shoot bubbles or serve food to diners or build houses like I did yesterday.

Anyways... thot that I wld haf a LOT to complain about last wk coz I was doing cash but thankfully everything went on smoothly. The machines didn't play pranks on me and perhaps due to the ASEAN summit, there weren't that many cx so I could do my work and override for my colleagues without feeling too haressed. :P However there were a couple of complaints against staff; some of which I thot was rather unreasonable. Added to that, have heard LOTSA complaints that the hotline is really hard to get through and thus cx come to the branch thnking dat we have some magic numbers to call. We do (which was only given to us recently) but NO ONE ever picks up the phone so we end up calling the hotline as well. And then we gota pass the phone back to the cx coz they can't reveal account details to us... what a waste of time! Adding to that, they recently implemented the 2FA for Biz Internet users and a lot of cx cannot access and so they also call up or come to the counter to seek our help. sigh sigh...

Other that that, was a really smooth week coz my boss also helped me to solve some prob and we finished work early almost everyday... thanks to my efficiency (haha). Have been feeling v... peaceful... shd I say ever since I went to the temple 2 Sat ago. I m definitely not a religious person... though the temple is so near my workplace, I hardly ever go there. Decided to go coz I have been meaning to go for q a while and also coz I wanted to take the 福 for Dar & myself. Sometimes this kinda thng is v "xuan"; coz Dar's biz has not been v gd lately, so I prayed that he wld haf gd biz soon and wadda ya know? He got a call that afternoon re some biz deal!!! Oh well it wasn't successful but for the next couple of days he had q a number of calls... maybe it is coincidence... maybe it is not... who knows? :)

Also went for Shanster's Hen Nite on Sat nite. This was a really really tame Hen's Nite where we juz have dinner and subsequently they stayed on for drinks but Kelly n I made a move. I was rather surprised her frenz didn't make her do silly things or ask her to wear funny hats or badges; a total contrast to Mdm Tan's Hen's Nite where we watched raunchy dancers @ Goutham's Penthouse!!! In fact, Shanster's guy fren who joined us for drinks was asking how come we were not @ Goutham's!!! hahaha!!! But honestly, though everything is in the name of fun, it wld be nice to b just able to sit dwn w close frenz and reminisce about the good old daes isnt it? :))

Now I know

2007-11-11T11:43:00.000+08:00

Hmm... I actually went for an interview of sorts @ a headhunting company couple of weeks ago. The gal actually called me about 2 months back but I was bz n thus missed the call. Was fretting about it until she called me back about a month later. Was intially thinking the same reaction as Dar "wah... got headhunter call u ah..." n floating ard then I realised that I m not that good aftall :P

Was actually finding it rather strange coz the gal told me "I've heard so much about it so someone muz have put in a v gd word for u..." n I was telling Dar that if it was really my fren, how come they didn't give my hp number??? So i did ask the guy who interviewed me (who thot i was rather "plasticine" but then hey, I barely know u, cant expect me 2 tok 2 u like my best fren rites??? :P) n he gave some excuses. I told him of my intention to go into department rather than stay on in branches n was thus rather disappointed when he said that he felt that I m more suitable for branches n dat i prolly can't survive if I go into deparmental work. But I seriously do NOT wana be in branches forever!!! Much as I like to meet people (@ times! haha), it would also be fine if I juz do a mundane job as well hee hee :P Some friends have been giving me some lobangs as well... thnx folks, but have kinda decided not to find a job till next year... get bonus first n also to settle the wedding :)

Then I found out that 1 of my colleagues who just left was also approached by a headhunter as well so I thot she was e one dat gave my name to the headhunter but she said she didnt! Bumped into my fren over e wkend n she told me dat another local bank is very aggressive in recruiting ops staff fr my bank n dat both she n her boss were also called up by the headhunting company!!! So now I know!!! Dashed my hopes of thnking i was really THAT good! Haiz but shd haf known beta lah... :P

Disappointed

2007-11-04T16:56:00.000+08:00

My kids haf gotten back their results and I must say overall i m very disappointed and wonder if I shd still teach them anymore :( 2 of my kids got "demoted" to NA stream (oh well technically 1 coz the other 1 was already NA n he cldnt cope w Express Maths this year so drop back), Dar's niece n nephew didnt do well either n even my best kid only got B3 for her Maths (disappointed coz i was expecting her to get @ least an A2).

Though I oughta say that a lot of effort should come from the student themselves, i m wondering if I haf done enough for them. Take Dar's niece n nephew, I thot I have gotten them pretty well prepared but still it turned out like that... wonder if it is their own carelessness or that they have forgotten the important points I have pointed out.

Haiks... hope that they all will buck up next year and they will all score beta next year!!! Thnk this is e 1st year dat my students have done sooooooooo badly... sigh sigh sigh... but yet i m not looking forward to starting lessons as yet... or maybe... who knows the parents will decide to change a tutor heh!

sPlisH sPlasH sWim

2007-10-19T14:30:00.000+08:00

Sleepy's aching a little after goin swimming w Dar last nite... we swam 10 laps in all taking short breathers in between. Kinda chilly to swim @ nite n intially i was reluctant to get into the water. But as Dar said, after immersing for a while the body would get used to the temperature :)

me like to swim, guess it is from the swimming lessons fr young and perhaps also due to the fact that my parents used to bring me swimming every week when I was young. But stopped going when I was older coz pampered me hates bathing in public toilets!!! The floor seems so grimy and the cubicle is so miniscule dat it takes extreme skills to manuever inside. However the water was full of chlorine which is so so so damaging to my pretty tresses heh heh. Told Dar that I wanted 2 buy a swimming cap then he commented that it was v "aunty". but oh well... i really dun want my hair to become too dry so gota sacrifice something.

Hopefully i will haf the energy and the "determination" to swim more often heh heh. Thnk swimming's gd form of exercise as the whole body is being worked out and somehow i feel rather relaxed after the swim. :) hope to say byebye to my little tummy soon hee hee :P

Happy sLeePy

2007-10-17T14:19:00.000+08:00

sLeePy is happy and touched as some of her frenz who r overseas haf agreed to come back to attend her wedding! yayee yayee!!! Although I know it is still early and it may be rather impossible for everyone to plan their schedule ahead, am still touched that they have agreed eagerly to come back! happee happee

N my bosses' leave has been extended so it looks like my carefree days are here to stay till the end of the week. Although there were some rather difficult cx I had to attend to but oh well... is part of my job lah. Sometimes wonder how lg i can tahan more here (although i m still happy n still not THAT many complaints) but after reading Mangojo and TBN's blog, i thnk i m still v lucky and blessed in my own working environment. :)

Relaxing Wkend

2007-10-14T15:10:00.000+08:00

What a nice zuo bo wkend it has been... only had 1 tut yesterday compared to the numerous numerous lessons the weeks before and it was a rather easy lesson as it was just goin through sum papers in prep for O-Levels.

For once, I did wake up late on a Sat am (my body is tuned to wake up @ abt 720 everyday!) n could laze ard n had lunch b4 going for tut. Wanted 2 take a nap in the pm but ended up chatting w my gfs online so didnt. Had the time to try to finish my cross-stitch which is lg lg overdue and read my novels so I am q happy. Wanted to go shopping w Darling after work but he is knocking off late on both days so can't make it... sob... but as he always tell me, he is earning more $ so as to give me a more comfortable life! So sweet he is... Thanks my hubby darling!!!

Actually the past wk in office has also been kinda zuo bo coz I have been letting my trainee officer sit @ my position whilst I sit behind n enter fluff races, poke pp, send ice cream, fight werewolves/vampires/zombies etc on facebook! haha!!! It can be q addictive but like Mangojo said, some of the applications are a tad bo liao...

Anyways I will haf 1 more day of zuoboness before my boss comes back, afterwhich I will hafta resume my own position. But oh well, it has been a nice week (except on Fri where I had to do cash!!!) while it lasted :)))

Prank Calls

2007-10-10T14:03:00.000+08:00

Recently there was a report about the high number of nuisance calls the police is receiving. And today there was an article about this pilot who called for pizza/KFC/burger and got it sent to his asst pilot's house as a prank. Actually heard this over the radio this am and found it v amusing as the DJs were bantering about whether it was something good or bad; coz the receiver would hafta pay for the delivery but if it juz so happens that the receiver was hungry, then it would have been like a miracle that food did truly appear on the doorsteps. :P

And toking about nuisance calls, have anyone else been getting calls from China Ladies about some survey thingy? Got 2 calls in office and received 1 on my hp 2day. My Cisco guard also got 1 on his Cisco phone ystd and he is a Malay. And yesterday, a cx called wanting us to prevent any withdrawals from her account. Wat hap was dat she received a call telling her that she has won a prize in a lucky draw in JB and they wanted 2 credit her a/c w the $ and thus she has given the pp her a/c. We advised her to close the account if she felt unsafe but then she ask, then wat happens if it is a real case and if she closes the account, the money could not be credited!!! Umm... well, to me, that is just a risk u hafta take and besides, there is no free lunch in this world mah.

So everyone, be wary of such calls and Mangojo, rem 2 provide the rite address when u call for delivery ah. I dun mind the food provided u haf paid for it already LOL!

The Verdict

2007-10-09T15:15:00.000+08:00

Just found out that my maid was jailed a total of... 3 weeks for her thieving actions. Too little??? I thot so... considering that the maximum sentence would be 7 YEARS!!! 3 weeks seemed like such a short time esp as I mentioned that she was unrepentent and was not guilty @ all. But then again, we did kinda help to plead for leniecy so perhaps that's why the sentence was shortened.

We didn't even know that she has been deported back (although she did call up some time back n told my Dad dat she was @ ICA but my Dad didnt know whether to believe her) until my Dad received a letter from MOM stating that he has breached the bond n that he would hafta pay a fine of $5000!!! He was shocked coz we thought the police mentioned that they would help to inform MOM but apparently they didn't. And MOM wanted a letter stating that the maid was in custody but the police claimed that they do not issue such letters so he was sandwiched in between. Ultimately, the police did give us a letter which stated that she had been jailed for 3 weeks and subsequently all matters were resolved.

Glad the whole thing is over although for a while I kept imagining her sitting on my bed when I came back home @ nite... it was THAT eerie!!! I just hope she has hopefully learnt her lessons and do not cause nitemares to future employers. Better yet, hope she just remains in her village and not get to work overseas anymore!

Booked =)

2007-10-07T16:24:00.000+08:00

For the eagerly anticipated to pen down:
Date: 1st Day of the 8th Lunar Month (go figure :P)
Venue: Rasa Sentosa

Was actually wondering whether to hold it on the 1st day of the 8th Lunar Month coz it means that we would hafta haf everything settled b4 the 7th month which might be kinda rush esp since the 2 of us r such HUGE procrastinators!!! Dar actually preferred the June date but I liked this date coz it is near our bdays mah! hee... My excuse for a triple celebration in future :))

As for e venue, some of the venues we wanted either didnt have the date we want or were too small, so we finally decided on Rasa albeit the fact that the older folks (like my Dad) would find it a tad inconvenient n that the banquet manager is not v gd. But then Dar n I r q "beachy" pp n though it wld b nice 2 haf it outdoors, we thot it would be too humid n there wldnt be enuff time to mingle w everyone. Besides, I was telling Dar, we can hopefully take some pics there b4 the dinner so we can save 1 place to go during our photoshoot :P

Talking of photoshoot, went to the small Bridal Fair @ Marina last Friday. When we walked into the foyer, we were immediately "attacked" by the staff of the bridal salons!!! Sat dwn 2 see some packages but they were all like only having specials for these 3 days only. Oh well whatever, they didn't really impress me a lot (did see some nice photography n some nice gowns that the salons have), and some of their attitudes totally suck!!! Maybe I can put in my 2 cents worth in the bridal forum too!

sLeePy & the Lancer is Back!!!

2007-09-29T18:50:00.000+08:00

WOW!!! It's been 3 weeks since I blogged heh heh... did anyone miss me??? Hafnt blogged much coz haf been rather bz esp w exams coming up n also there hasn't been much to blog about. 1 of the more interesting things that happened was CL's hen's nite last Fri where we went Goutham's Penthouse in Clarke Quay. It was my first hen's nite and I gota say that though I haven't been to any hen's nite before that, this must have had been 1 of the more "mild" hen's nite (well i dunno if her frenz saboed her aft dat lah...) as we didn't get the dancers to do a "special" dance for her, unlike some of the other hens' frenz dat nite... all in all it was rather fun :)

& finally the Lancer is back w us after being rented out for 2 months. The guy actually wanted to rent for another 3 months but Dar only wanted to rent it for another 1 month but I was indignantly against it!!! I mean Dar still had e van to drive whilst I had to cab for my lessons and sometimes it can be really difficult to flag dwn a cab :( So anyways the guy is now renting fr someone else but apparantly another of Dar's fren wana rent the car for 2 months and Dar is contemplating it since my lessons are gona stop soon (can't wait for the exams to be over!!!) and he cld get income out of it.

May be finalising our wedding dinner banquet soon :) Have been to 2 BS as well but other than that, wedding plans have been kinda stagnant heh. Luckily frenz have been offering to go BS scouting w me but I dun really wana go on wkends and feel bad asking them to take leave on wkdays... guess shall hafta see how it goes. Stay tuned to this page for more! :P

My Sister's Keeper

2007-09-07T15:47:00.000+08:00

Have heard that the books by Jodi Picoult are good and have been meaning to read them but cldn't seem to find them in the library. Finally decided to reserve for the books online and surprisingly, there was no "queue" for it, unlike the previous time when I borrowed David Edding's new series; guess they do have the books, juz not @ the branches where I go to. (BTW, have any of u been to the Central Library? They categorise part of the books by the type of books e.g. Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi etc i dun like it!!! Still prefer the conventional way of categorising by author's name).

Collected my 3 books about a week later; Mercy, Vanishing Acts and of coz My Sister's Keeper. I am glad I kept My Sister's Keeper for last coz it has gotta be 1 of the best books I have ever read! Mercy was okay and I thot Vanishing Acts was a little dull but nonetheless, all of the storylines are still good. :) My Sister's Keeper is a story about a gal who sues her parents for "abusing" her body; she was genetically born so as to use her cells to save her sister from a very rare form of leukemia. But as the sister kept on getting relapses, she had to give her palettes to her sister so everytime her sister was in hospital, she was too, only that she was actually a healthy gal.

Almost cried when I read till the end of the book and also evoked a lot of emotions and thots in me; how much can a parent love their children? What is just sufficient and when does it cross the border to "too much"? I'm sure the love that a parent has for any kid is boundless and most importantly, every parent would want the best for their child. However, I felt that the parents shouldn't have neglected their other child despite the fact that 1 of their children is v ill. I guess for children, some things they may not mention, but it sticks with them for a long time to come and it is their childhood that moulds them into the people they will be in future.

I think of my Mum and her love for me and not only did she just care about the family, she also cared about the other people around her. I often wonder how she can do that and still has so much to give. For those of u looking for a good book to read, this is definitely a gd recommendation... I am definitely goin to buy the book for keeps!

Another Year Older...

2007-09-03T08:52:00.000+08:00

& soon I will be hitting the big "3-0"!!! *gasp* It's a little hard to imagine that I have already spent 3 decades on this earth. & whilst I m lucky to have a babyface, I'm sure those tell-tale signs of wrinkles n watsoever will soon be appearing... sighz...

Didn't really do anything special ystd coz Dar was working n I had tut. But he surprised me by sending me an sms wishing me Happee Birthday @ 12 plus am!!! Was pleasantly surprised coz he had dropped me off @ home n I thot he had gone back to sleep heh heh. Waited for him to knock off fr work ystd n then we went w Daddy to Chinese Swimming Club for dinner. Initially wanted to bring them to The Cathay Rest again for the 1-for-1 but Daddy suggested we go CSC instead coz of the $10 he had to pay every month towards F&B. Food was reasonably priced; we had 4 dishes plus coffee for Dad n Chendol 4 Dar n myself n the bill was only $30+!!! Cheap n food was ok too! They had fondue also... surprise surprise but we were too full to eat it! Perhaps next time. Also q like the club, v cosy feel...

N so today is Dar's bday!!! Rather like the fact that our bdays r only a day apart... it's like an extension of my own bday haha.

Happee Birthday Darling!!!

It's e start...

2007-08-30T16:06:00.000+08:00

of moi Block Leave!!! yippeee yayeee!!! Was actually intending to visit Hwee in Shanghai during this hols but since we have already gone on 2 holidays this year, thot we would save some $ n perhaps go to some nearby places instead.

Nothing much planned for this break, hopefully can finalise the hotel details and perhaps look @ some BS. But i duu thnk Dar is v interested to go n visit BS w me leh... hmm... so we shall see how. Afterall I still haf 1 off day n i guess I can take leave if needed.

Hope can bring my little nieces n nephew out as well... Dar misses them n i hafnt seen them since April or something... but schedule looks tight... hope to work something out... heh

Home Cooked Meal

2007-08-26T16:06:00.001+08:00

Finally got to eat a home-cooked meal after a week plus of outside food!!! :))) Was @ Dar's place n MIL insisted that I pack home some food for Daddy n myself instead of buying back so we had soup (yummz... love soup!), chicken, brocolli, fish (which I gave Daddy coz i m not a fan of fish) n fried prawns!!! V yummy!!! She took a lot and whilst I was already v full, felt q bad to waste food so I tried to finish up most of the food.

Have always preferred home-cooked food which is why I try to have meals @ home @ least 2-3 times a week, not including Sundays. Miss the days when we would wrap po-piah @ home, have steamboat, my mum's claypot rice/noodles, or even just the plain porridge with a few dishes which we used to have for lunch every Sun.

Pampered me do not know how to cook @ all, n this past week, my poor Daddy has been the one doing most of the housework :P maybe Dar n I can go for some cooking classes so dat next time we can cook for ourselves :)

Still paraniod

2007-08-24T19:29:00.000+08:00

Had to make a trip dwn to the Police Station e other day to give my 2nd statement. Luckily it didn't take very long and it was more or less to reaffirm what I had already told the police. Also learnt from the IO that he had already spoken to my maid n dat she was v smart n only admitted to taking to the stuff that were found but not e other stuff. We also learnt that the max penalty given to such an offense is 7 years!!! Was q shocked to hear that... didn't know that it is so serious but then again dun think she will be locked up for so long anyways... the police asked if we wanted to plead for leniency... didn't exactly say yes or no, juz told the police I juz dun want her back here lah... but then after dat, pp were saying why plead for leniency since she is not goin 2 appreciate it anyways... well...

The IO also asked if we wanted to pursue on the matter of the $ lost n my shoes but he also said that it most likely wld not lead to anywhere. He also told us that in the case of the $, if we pursue the matter, everyone in the household would hafta go dwn to give their statements coz we cant assume she is the culprit juz coz she is the only outsider. So in e end, decided not to pursue abt the $ as I didn't want my granny to go dwn to the station. Well, hope that she wld plead guilty so that the case won't hafta go to trial...

Still a little fearful n paranoid n e fact that my colleagues have been scaring me dat these maids have gangs were not helping either!!! Wonder why she had to take e stuff, issit coz she is soooooooooo greedy or issit coz she is poor? Apparantly she told the police that she told the IO dat she took e stuff as she doesn't haf such luxuries back in her village. Whatever it is, juz hope this nitemare ends soon!!!

Caught!

2007-08-19T15:33:00.000+08:00

Those of u who have read my "shoutout" on MSN wld have an inkling of what hap, like i was telling Mangojo it was a rather dramatic Friday nite and my colleague, GRL n Dar's bro n sis were all v shocked abt wat hap.

It all started with me looking for my black tube dress on Thurs morning and as I cldn't find it, I asked my maid abt it and told her to help me look for it when I have gone for work. @ that moment, I did not suspect anything. I then went to my shoe cupboard intending to wear my URS sandals which I bought a while ago but never wore, but I cldn't find them too! I again called for my maid and she started showing me all my other pink shoes which were NOT the pair I wanted & frustrated, I asked her if she took them and she told me she didn't. Pissed, I had no choice but to wear another pair to work (which eventually broke on me! ARRGH!!!)

On Fri am, my dad asked her about my shoes (realised she took at least 3 pairs!!!) & dress, she had e nerve to tell my dad that @ times, I do give my stuff away thereby implying that I cld have given them away but I told my Dad that I did not give my shoes away. I was so pissed that i told my Dad that i wana bring her to the police station that nite but we were "handicapped" as the agent could not house her (like what crap is dat rites???)after we have brought her to the station n we didn't exactly want her in the house after that. We then changed her air ticket so that she would leave us the next day. We were pondering whether to check her stuff that nite since I won't be around the next morning as I was working but we also didn't expect to find anything. and Thank goodness we did coz we caught her red-handed!!!

Before we checked her stuff, we again asked her if she had taken anything fr us, be it my Dad's money, my grandma's money or my stuff but she kept denying vehemntly. So we told her that if we find anything in her luggage we were gona call the police. Initially I was the only checking thru her stuff coz it was mostly clothes n thus not so convenient for Dar n Daddy to help. Then dunno why, Dar said 2 check e cupboard in her rm n we found another luggage under her bag which she did not take out!!! Whilst going thru that particular luggage, WE FOUND MY JEWELLERY HIDDEN IN THE NIVEA LOTION BOTTLE!!! N get this, she was still v calm when Dar shook the bottle n asked me to listen to it. She only lunged forward when she saw Dar opening the bottle to empty the contents. And when my earrings came out, she said she bought them; when the pendent my parents bought me for my 21st bday came out, she said I threw it away!!! Gosh!!! Needless to say, we called the police and she was subsequently taken away.

The whole saga lasted about 4 hours!!! N @ 1 point in time, she screamed, ran in2 the rm n tried 2 lock herself in. We dunno if she was goin 2 jump out of the window or like the police officer said she was juz looking for a chance to do something. So they had to handcuff her to the chair, n we had 2 close all the windows & doors whilst the police investigated. U all wldn't believe it, but she had like 6-7 sets of handphones that even the police officer was shocked!!! She also had a lot of old watches w her which she claimed that pp threw away n she picked them up!!! Got so lucky or nots??? We suspected that maybe her other frens stole from their employers also and they exchanged.

Actually I do feel a bit guilty n sorry for her coz afterall I am putting someone to jail. But then again to think about it, it is not as though we have not given her chances; Daddy himself gave her many chances when he found out that she has stolen from him n before we checked the bag, we kept asking her if she took anything fr us and yet she denied. And when we found my jewellery, she still said that she bought them or that I threw them away and she also refused to admit that she took my dad's money when the police officer asked her. Also, when the police took her away, she did not even apologise to us, n was instead more interested in her clothes that were still in the toilet!!! Dar was also commenting that she didn't even cry and was still v defensive when the police asked her questions. So my GRL was telling me, no point feeling guilty or sorry... but still... haiz...

Haf a bit of phobia of maids now... n also worried that she may do or have already done some black magic on us or something (i actually found strands of hair tied up in knots n then tied in a cloth!) or that she had duplicated the hse keys or something. Having sleepless nites n thnking that my home which was sup to be my haven doesn't seem soo safe anymore...

Yummy Meal!

2007-08-19T15:18:00.000+08:00

Had a really yummy lunch w my colleagues @ "The Cathy" yesterday. :) We now have rather regular meal get-togethers which always bring about much laughter and is something we look forward too! Granted, not everyone's keen to join us, but nonetheless the few of us regular meals also enjoy yourselves!!!

Actually planned to go Merchant Court for their lunch buffet but was told that their lunch hour ends @ 230. We then booked for the tea buffet but some of my colleagues feel that hi-tea buffet is not very worth it and that the variety may not be alot. Finally decided on "The Cathy" after browsing thru the Citibank catalogue and found that there's a 1-for1 offer!!!

The food was really nice; shark's fin with real shark's fin n w fish maw, super fresh fish in yummz sauce, nice big piece of pork chop, soft tasty tofu, mian xian w prawns & cooling dessert of white wood ear. We all felt the food was really good & filling too. But then we also ordered some timsum also lah. Only qualm I had about the place was that the service was not v good. Dunno if it is coz it was Sat or wat. The table was not ready when we reached & they didn't ask us what tea we wanted till we asked them. And the waitresses all seemed to be in a rush, like wana rush us away as it was time for their break. But my colleague said the last time she came, the service was not that bad... so guess u all can try... offer's till end of the month! :)

080808?

2007-08-12T20:15:00.000+08:00

Q a few pp haf been asking if our wedding dinner will be held on 080808 following 070707. Answer is No coz it is the lunar 7th Month... thot 060708 wld be q cute also but that is during lunar 6month than there's the supersition of "半年新娘" I muz admit I have never heard of this till we went to the geomancer the other day. Apparantly it is believed that if you marry during the lunar 6th month, then the bride will only be married for half a year. Perhaps that's why there are seldom weddings in July bah...

In any case... just to update the kaypohs or rather the concerned pp out there... Dar & I r looking @ 2 dates... either end of June or end Aug. Personally I prefer the end Aug date coz it is near our bdays but Dar wld prefer it earlier if possible so we shall see. Been calling up the hotels and some of them have reverted w quotes whilst still pending some others. Gonna look through the list and then perhaps go down to take a look @ the set up n all.

Will hopefully be looking @ the BS during my leave laters this month. Hopefully my senior can help us get a good discount n hopefully we will see something we like. Gonna be a lg ardous process I thnk... but hopefully it will also be mighty fun coz aftall it is a once in a lifetime thngy!

Is that It???

2007-08-12T19:55:00.000+08:00

Sleepy recently wrote in to a certain cab company in Singapore to complain about their taxi driver who chided sleepy for giving him $50 as cab fare. He even told me "小姐，帮帮我好吗？“in a sacarstic tone claiming that he had no change as he has just started his shift. He then asked me to pay by Nets without telling me that there is a 30C service charge!!! Although it is only 30C, I was irked and decided to write in as this was NOT the first time that I have been chided for giving $50 as cab fare. U got no change, I also no change mah!!!

So anyways, the company replied saying that they have "investigated the matter" and that the "said driver was given a stern warning" and how my complaint "would be filed in his service record and his performance monitored." The letter also stated that drivers are expected to keep sufficient change for commuters and if "should drivers find themselves short on small change, they are advised to drive to the nearest petrol kiosk or shop to break the note" and later "send the passenger back to the desire destination, AT NO EXTRA COST". I didn't know that!!! I always thot that they wld still let the meter run if we were to go somewhere to get change. Anyways I confirmed this with another cab driver the other day and he told me that indeed, they are not supposed to charge the customer if they need to break the note.

The thing is, whilst I can understand that the cabbie may not have enough change coz prolly the past 2-3 passengers all gave big notes, can't you ask me nicely if I have small change??? and if I have, I wld definitely give them small change. And if it is in their policy to go somewhere to break the note, why can't they just do that and explain nicely??? Afterall we are paying for this supposed service wor!!! I juz hope that I do not meet another cabbie like that, I will really scold him upset down. And the company didn't refund me my 30C!!! :P

NDP 07

2007-08-12T19:37:00.000+08:00

Did everyone catch NDP this year? Thnk this is 1 of the most anticipated NDPs in recent years as it is the first time that it is held @ Marina Bay on the world's largest floating platform.

I rather enjoyed the parade; it's been q a while since I watched the parade. When I was much younger, it was something that I looked forward to, also because we stay near the stadium so we can see the fighter planes and the plane w the huge Singapore flag and not forgetting the fireworks. As the years went back, the parade didn't have as much awe as it did when I was younger and I stopped watching the parade, choosing to watch the fireworks outside. Caught the NDP @ Dar's place last & this year. Both times his mum cooked and invited friends n relatives over to catch the fireworks. Last year, the parade was still held @ stadium which resulted in the car parks being filled @ Dar's place and a jam once the parade ended. I remember his cousin uturned back to the house coz they were stuck trying to get out of the carpark for 1 hour!!! Gosh!!! Dar's rm actually face the stadium so if we use a binoculars... we can even see the pp @ the stadium... too bad only 4 1 year n now they r goin 2 tear dwn the stadium...

Back to this year's parade... didn't really catch the 2nd half of the parade but I really liked the display by the Navy. This being the first time the parade is so near the waters, this is also the first time they are able to put up a display. Dar esp liked the apaches (which then flew past his hse) n the chinook (is diz how u spell it?). He was telling me it is v diff for the Chinook to hover just slight above the water & thus he was rather impressed. The "underwater" performance by the primary school kids were also v cute!!! Esp the starfishes!!! heh :P And when it ended with the fireworks display and the songs, Dar n I sang alg juz for fun!!! All in all it was q a fun nite... until...

Laters in the nite, we went to watch The Bourne Ultimatum w Dar's fren and I had the misfortune to sit next to/infront of/behind a person w either body odour or HK feet!!! ARRRRRGH!!! Smelt it moments after I sat dwn and kept on catching a wisp here and there. So much so that I felt nauseous and almost threw up and I cldnt enjoy the show :( Kept looking @ the time to try 2 fig out when the show was goin 2 end and like 3/4 thru the show told Dar I wasn't feeling well. He was v nice n wanted 2 acc me 2 the washrm but I didn't really thnk there were stuff I cld puke out... juz dat I felt really uncomfy. @ the end of the show, i told Dar that I suspected that the gal next to me had HK feet coz i was looking ard and she took off her shoes! (4 a moment I thot it was myself coz I also took off my shoes but I almost always take off my shoes whilst watching movies n there was no smell!) Dar n his fren had a gd luff aft dat coz I looked so pathetic!!! Sighz... why cant these pp coat themselves w some strong cologne or perfume b4 going out???

Free Meal

2007-07-22T08:36:00.000+08:00

Got a free meal ystd!!! Went w Dar & his frenz to eat "nice & cheap food" @ Restaurant I alg Chander Road in Serangoon yesterday. Apparantly his fren goes there pretty often & told Dar that the price is like $20 for 3 pax.

We got there later than them & by then they had ordered the food & we juz had 2 tuck in haha. The food was really q tasty but a tad 2 spicy for sleepy's liking. However the fish in the fish head curry we ordered didn't seem fresh. Me & the other guy didn't really sense anything but Dar & his fren said that the fish was v smelly. Hence we asked the waiter over & told him about it, but he attributed it to the spices put in. Dar's fren then requested for the boss to take a look. (who took such a lg time in coming gosh!!! by the time he came we had already finished our meal!) Though he promptly took the fish away to the kitchen, he came back a minute later telling us that "we should have told him earlier then he can charge us half price" as he claimed that we had already eaten half the fish but we DIDN'T!!! Dar only took a small piece for me n himself & the other guy also only took a small piece!!! Dar's fren then pointed to all our banana leaves n told him that we only took a little as it was evident that there were no fish bones on our banana leaves. She then asked him to cancel the order as they were all too full to eat.

As we were leaving the table, the boss apparantly said v loudly "FREE MEAL! FREE MEAL!!" n the guy who was holding the small piece of paper realised that "Free Meal" was written on the paper and asked the boss about it. (I was walking in front so I didn't hear him shout that but Dar was saying that it was v obvious that he said it loudly for the other cx to hear!) The boss then told the guy fren this, "Since U can't appreciate the meal then it is Free. N if u cant appreciate the meal then phish (signal hand to indicate we shd leave)". My goodness!!! I mean how do U expect us to eat the curry when the fish was B-A-D??? N the fren did tell him that the curry was gd, it was the fish that was BAD!!! Added to that, we tried to tell the lady @ the counter that we would pay for everything and she rudely brushed us off saying that the boss said NO!!! So we left lah!!! What bad service n attitude n arrogance!!! But whatever... we got a Free Meal haha!

& toking about arrogance, was @ this nice dessert store @ Temple Street ystd when I almost witnessed a fight. I was sooo engrossed in my novel that I didn't know what hap until I heard a lady shout "why did u hit his head? I'm goin to call the police!". Apparently this is what hap; Guy A was going back to his seat from the toilet when Guy B apparently hit him on the back/waist area, Guy A then retaliated by hitting the guy's head. & Guy A was still q yaya about it coz after he sat down for like 3-5 min, he again went to confront Guy B asking him why he hit him. He felt that it couldn't be accidental as he claimed it was a hard hit & if it was accidental, then Guy B should have apologised to him which Guy B didn't. When the staff of the shop tried to intervene, he even hit Guy B back on the back to show the staff where Guy B hit him!!! Gosh!!! I am surprsied that Guy B didn't blow up or something. U cld tell that everyone in the shop was q tense n there was this couple who left immediately.

What a day wasn't it??? But i ain't complaining about my free meal!!! Dar was telling the fren, "wah really v cheap hor... it's free!!! haha! :P

Forgetful Sleepy

2007-07-20T18:23:00.000+08:00

Forgetful me forgot to bring my staff pass & sup card 2 work 2day; was packing my bag this morning n i distinctly thought I put them in the bag but I was wrong. Without the Sup card, I would have to use the temp card which is kinda inconvenient so I quickly msg Dar 2 ask him if he has already woken up. But when he replied me, he was already @ Punggol n so cant bring the card for me... DARN!!! He asked me to ask Daddy instead but didn't wana trouble Daddy lah...

Did tell my boss to take out the sup card for me in the am but she forgot & my tellers were calling me for overidding so bo bian called Daddy. n he was sooooooooooo nice!!! Although he wasn't going out, he offered to bring me the cards!!! I love my Daddy!!! He's the best!!! *muaks*

N of coz me got kena "accused" for "abusing" my dad :P

Superstition

2007-07-15T19:10:00.000+08:00

As Dar is a rather superstitious fella, I will be missing out on a couple of wedding dinners come this Sept :( Seems as though end Sept/early Oct is a good time to get married, there's my colleague (who actually also asked me to be Jie Mei luckily I didn't agree), my ex PA colleague CL, the daughter of Daddy & Mummy's dancing fren & Mr Ea who was the one who brought me wakeboarding!!! His is 1 wedding I would really wana go to but he was really nice about it. Told him that he would HAVE to come for our wedding dinner next time though...

Yeah n coz Dar is superstitious... which is partly why we haven't decided on the date for the dinner as we wanted to consult the geomancer/fortune teller first... anyone has any lobangs???

Phuket

2007-07-15T15:44:00.000+08:00

Let's see... wat did we do during out 4 days in Phuket...

We visited the famous Wat Chalong temple...

... watched the infamous Simon Cabaret show...

Drove past various beaches & then to Promethepe Cape intending to catch the sunset but it was raining :(

Drank Pina Colada from a coconut @ this quaint eating place situated ard Kata...

& we went elephant trekking & got bitten by lotsa mosquitoes!!! :P

The elephant was really smart; could totally understand the guide's instruction whether to turn left, turn rite or to lower its head for the guide to come off!!! Dar & I were both amused & impressed!!!

It was also q an adventurous trip as we rented a jeep & then a scooter to get around. Check out the jeep... only 1.3L... almost couldn't make it up the hills as we drove from place to place.

Went around the markets q a bit & it was amazing @ how high the stall owners would quote u n wat we end up paying!!! I bought this top that the gal wanted to sell me @ 1200 bht but in the end I only paid 350 bht for it!!! But some of the stall owners who were originally from N were q pissed that we were always cutting the price and they made comments about us in their language once our backs were turned but we were not far enough for them not to be heard. As Dar commented, they can't really blame us for giving them such a low price coz they did ask us how much we were willing to pay & they were the ones who quoted such a high price intially mah.

But all in all, it was q a fun & relaxed trip... first together as a couple... & we got a rather big room as we told them we were on honeymoon hee hee! Got bathtub & shower place plus a small balcony inside the room :) *pleased*

Reflections on my Special Day - Part 2

2007-07-15T15:39:00.000+08:00

Was @ Dar's cousin's hse last nite & saw the short video he took of us during our walk-in... was q surprised as I thot that he only took pics. We had a good luff @ ourselves but it also brought back many memories... has it been 1 week already??? So fast...

PS: might put up e video once i fig out how 2 link to youtube. if not will give u all the link to whereva i can upload the video :P

Reflections on my Special Day

2007-07-12T16:09:00.000+08:00

It was a lovely day... starting a new chapter of my life with the someone I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with & witnessed by our family members and closest frenz... thank goodness it stopped raining by noon time & we could have the ceremony outside.

Dar had to go down early to help shift the "tent" to the position we wanted. His friend who was also the owner of the restaurant was really helpful; coming down early to help & also arranging for the electrician to come down to "stub" the electricity so that the tent could be shifted. The poor guys had to shift the tent in the rain & the florist also had to decorate the tent in the rain which had her lamenting that it was hard-earned money hee hee. It was really q pretty with the sunflower decos; brite & cheery :)

Me reached @ ard 11 with the makeup artist and she started dolling me up. In the meantime, Dar & his best fren Clifford arranged the chairs and the other necessary setup. By the time I was ready, (Dar got his hair styled as well and his hair was full of glitter as requested by me & Clifford urged the make-up artist to put more haha) it was already 130pm!!! Wanted to go out together with Clifford & the makeup artist for lunch but we still have yet to reherse so they went off wout us whilst we practise our walk-in. In the midst of which, Dad arrived w my china relatives but to my dismay, he didn't bring Granny along. Wanted to go back to fetch her but as she was feeling giddy, she decided to rest @ home.

Then Chris came & hiao me started taking pics whilst Dar did more touchups to the set up. Which is why we didn't really take many pics together coz by the time the ceremony was over... i was eager to rush off for the food :( can only blame my greediness... sigh...

By then, guests have started arriving & they were asked to sign these little cards that I printed out. I must say they were really q nice coz the paper I bought was a bit shiny *beams* However we still could not start as the management somehow misplaced the pins which are to be used to pin the skirting together. It was actually rather confusing coz we had the idea that someone was going out to get the pins but it just never came... in the end, they used staples or something & finally everyone could gather around the brite & cheery tentage :)

We were kinda expecting the emcee to say some stuff before introducing us but he juz immediately introduced us!!! So there was a bit of delay in playing our march-in song. I wonder how the mega stars do it, whilst I was walking in & looking @ everyone whipping out their cameras to take pics of us, I had to do my best to surpress my laughter & also I didn't know where to look!!! But I thnk we walked too fast as we reached our seats before the chorus started... oh well... i guess in time to come, no one will rem that :P

We got my ex GRL, Mr Gopala to be our solemnisor & he was q witty. Prior to that, Dar was checking w him how the set up should be like as we wanted to be photographed against the nice fountain/trees behind so there was a bit of chairs shifting. Following that was the signing of the document, exchanging of vows & rings, & TA-DA, we r pronounced man & wife. :))) Was q nervous actually as I didn't know when to say the "I Do" & "I Will" & also coz our rings were actually detachable, I was afraid that I would drop them but everythng went smoothly.

Next was the photo-taking session w family then friends. It seems as though Dar had more frenz... but oh well, expected since he had a couple of years ahead of me mah :PPP Then everyone proceeded indoors for the food & we mingled around, proposed a toast, mingled some more (though I didn't really get to tok 2 everyone... soweee...), before everyone baded farewell.

It was a rather tiring day but I can't deny that it was a very happy day for me. As it was a small ceremony, I couldn't invite everyone that I would have wanted to invite and am v touched that people like Dewdrops & Stella msged me their well-wishes... thanks galz!!! & having my really good frenz witness this special day; the gals who watched me grew up & r still a huge part of my life -- Dora & Siping, the gals whom I spent crazee days with under the LT doing anything but studying -- Shan & Qixia to my ex colleagues who are now such gd pals of mine -- Pearl, Da Xiong & Chris & not forgetting my "Ya Huan" MangoJo who kept on stressing me prior to the actual day & for asking the Mangogods to make it stop raining by noon; I couldn't ask for more.

So thanks once again folks... I'll be counting on everyone's help during the wedding banquet ya? :) & with all your blessings, I know Larry & I will live...

Happily Ever After...

PS: wanted to post up some pics but they are not ready & there's something wrg w my phone cam & the cable for the camera doesn't work... so guess u all juz gota wait :P

7th July 2007 --- 070707

2007-07-07T10:03:00.000+08:00

My Special day today!!! Woke up to heavy rain this am & was q worried but thankfully the wind has stopped blowing and though there's still intermittant light rain, hopefully it will clear by 1pm laters *keep fingers crossed*

M mighty excited!!! Actually woke up @ 5 plus this am but luckily can go back to sleep. Woke up again @ almost 8 with butterflies in my stomach and till now they have not settled down. Was worried that I'll have puffy eyes and pimple scars this morning but thankfully they lked q alrite *whew*

Gota go now... chauffeur's already on the way... stay tuned for more!!!

PS: Thanks to all friends for your congratulations... sorry cldn't invite everyone as we are keeping it small but your well-wishes are much appreciated. *hugz*

1 More Day to Go...

2007-07-06T19:36:00.000+08:00

*gasp* can't believe that tomorrow is really here!!! As of this time tomorrow, i would have taken a new step in my sleepy life and status wld haf changed... *ahem* :P

Went 2 pray mummy this am; been meaning to do it for q a while already but everytime when I am off, seems like there are just so many things to do and I forget *guilty* Was pondering whether to go today being so close to the ceremony tomorow but as it is also her birthday, Dar said to just go today. Always thought it was q kewl that my parent's birthdays are 3 days apart... ha... now Dar & I too!!! But just 1 day apart hee hee. & mine is b4 his; when I was younger & had more creative juices flowing, I used to make birthday cards for Mummy; when Daddy asked how come he doesnt have, my reply would always be that I am too tired to make another one after finishing the first one. So the "benefits" of having your birthday come earlier :P Really wish Mummy is ard to witness the start of this important chapter in my life... but wherever she is, I know she is giving us her blessings.

Afterwhich we went 2 get our certs which was really crowded!!! Read in e papers that there were 772 couples who registered but the staff who attended to us told us that there are 777 couples or more! Wow!!! Coincidentally we met Dar's friend who are also having their ceremony tomorrow... and guess what? Their ceremony is just kinda across the road from ours!!! (Their's is held @ Botanical Gardens whilst ours is @ Dempsey). And whilst we were there, we saw some "strange" couples that might be getting married for the sake of getting their PR.

As of now... more or less everything is settled. Had a bit of disagreement @ the rest just now & I was kinda pissed but matter has been resolved. Now... just gota prepare all the stuff to be brought tomorrow and throw them all in2 1 bag for ez carrying. May it be a brite & sunny day tomorrow!

Getting Excited!!!

2007-07-01T19:10:00.000+08:00

Many pp have been asking my that question esp over the past 2 weeks... n like I was telling Mangojo, not excited also let everyone ask until excited liao haha! But anyways thanks thanks thanks for everyone's concern!!! :)

Have more or less settled most stuff; went to colour my hair, permed my lashes, booked my facial for tomorrow & will be goin for mani/pedi on Fri. Invites have all gone out on my side but Dar still has to meet some frenz. Thnk the rings have arrived & they r in the process of engraving the date for us; ordered the wine (coz we feel pp wld prefer wine 2 beer) & also got the florist to go down to the rest 2 suggest about some decor. Thng is dat coz the rest is new, the furniture were still not in place when we went down. As the "tent" like thngy is yet to be fixed on the ground, we cldn't tell where the position wld be & whether it will be in an appropriate position. Thus we are still debating whether to do it indoors or outdoors. Might have the best of both worlds by having the solemnisation outside before proceeding inside for food & drinks where there's aircon. Dun want everyone to melt under the hot weather... so thoughtful rites? hee hee But that is still to be decided till we see how they have set up everything...

And we got our first present!!! *happi* *happi* from Dar's eldest bro & sis in law... was v tempted to open the prez straight away but managed to restrain myself! The presents were wrapped and put in a Precious Moments paper bag so hopefully it will be cute & nice. My fren was asking me whether I prefer red packet or gift... actually I am kinda torn in between the 2 coz I love to unwrap pressies but @ the same time money is ever more practical... well whatever it is, I will like one lah :) It's the thought that counts :)

Actually never really "feel" anything the past couple of weeks coz we were still tryin 2 settle many things & liasing w pp. But in the past couple of days, it juz somehow kinda hit me that my life will somehow be a bit different come this Sat onwards... cannot be so wilful & so self-centred anymore. Feel that Dar & I r rather different in some ways (like he has to do 1 stuff @ a time but I like to multi-task) but yet so similar in others (we both like to make fun of each other & both love 2 sleep! haha). I guess this is how couples complement each other & alg e way learn more new things about each other, appreciate each other & build a life together. Dun thnk lifestyles wld change too much in the near future; v thankful & touched that Dar is accomodating & understanding towards me & juz want me 2 b happy & comfy. So yep... m getting more excited as each day draws near... but juz a little thng dat dampened my spirits somewat:

how come no one commented on my lovely invitation without me asking huh??? The only comment I got was a "lovely card" fr TBN. SOB SOB!!! Dar & I spent q a lot of time on it wor... u all dun like, can return me to keep as souvenir haha!!! Kidding!!!

"Last Minute"... Not lors!

2007-07-01T18:13:00.000+08:00

Arrgh!!! Almost cldn't take off this coming Fri to collect the certs coz my boss is on leave!!! As a result, she wasn't v pleased which admitedly is my fault coz I should have told her early but I didn't coz I was afraid she would ask me to clear my off all @ once but I wanted to use the off instead of leave for my hols. But she was nice enough coz I told her I really need & though I told her I could juz take half day off, she still put me as 1 day off... haha! But then I was thnkin, if I had told her that I need that day to collect my certs n run last min errands (which I can see will be a plenty!!!) she would have let me off. Oh well...

But I m not v pleased coz my colleagues have been told that my this week of leave is "last minute" which is NOT lors!!! See... I was sup to go on leave on 11th June but I asked her if I could take off instead coz I wana take leave next week. She agreed mah!!! Thing is, for some strange reason, too many pp wana take off on 9th July. Was having lunch w some of my colleagues ystd (which was mighty fun!!!) & 1 of my colleague was asking how come dat day is so hot... 什么大日子？I promptly replied "My dad's birthday!!!" haha. :P

Saga Ends...

2007-07-01T17:40:00.000+08:00

In view of my previous post, the saga has ended rather uneventfully much to my disappointment. As GM S had taken over the case, he somehow decided that he would refund us the amount they had previously charged for the hotel & airlines, however they would give the whole refund (including the amount that they had previously agreed to give us in the form of a cheque) in the form of a voucher. Tired of dragging the whole issue any further & also as we intended to go on a short trip, Dar & I decided to just take the voucher.

However I am still not happy about the service & am still debating whether to pursue the matter any further. The TA is damn lucky coz I have so much on my platter now that I hafn't really given much thot about my further course of action. I am rather disappointed coz I was all prepared to bring the matter up to CASE and now I don't have a chance to. See, I have written to SQ to ask them to waive the charges but SQ has denied that they charged anything to us! During our conversation with GM S, he anticipated that we wanted or had written to SQ and told us that thought SQ customer service may tell us that they (SQ) did not charge the agent, but reservations side would have charged the agent. However I beg to differ as I believe that the gal who answered my emails from SQ did ask reservations side about the charges. Further to that, she did help us to call the travel but was told that they are not able to reveal anything to her as she was not the customer. I also wanted to write a letter to an even higher authority than GM S regardless of the outcome of the case to complain about Manager K but i am pretty sure that the letter would be duely intercepted and conveniently ignored. Hence I am v "buay gum guan" coz I am not satisfied to let Manager K off juz like dat!

So what do u all thnk? Shd I or shdn't I write to the boss???

Blessed Me

2007-06-20T18:42:00.001+08:00

Received a email fr Sis Aneja last evening; had written to her giving her some updates about some of our friends & about the preps. Though her reply was short, somehow it really touched me. It read something like this:
Dear Weipei,
It's always nice to hear from you! You're always so bubbly and full of life, hadn't change much since Sec Sch days! Take care and my blessings are always with you, my dearest friend. =)

Just a couple of sentences but it really touched me & I cldn't stop thinking about her last nite. Have known her since we were 15 & the frenship just grew fr there. The crazeee sec sch days, going diff JCs, rooming together during Uni days... Most importantly, during that v difficult part of my life, she not only encouraged me, she also prayed for my mum and even aft dat, she never failed to call me constantly to check on me even though I was kinda avoiding calls fr friends. & even now, I know that I am constantly in her thoughts & prayers... how more blessed can I be? I miss the times we spent together but I am also v happy for her on the path that she has chosen to take.

M also touched that so many pp r concerned abt the preps & offering their help... special thanks to MangoJo & Tibetan Nun. I m such a disorganised & messy & huge procrastinator that all sorts of help are needed!!! Feel relieved to know that I have soooo many pairs of hands & legs & eyes & brains to depend on... thanks folks!!!

& the 2 men in my life who has showered me w so much concern &amp;amp; TLC; Daddy for caring & worrying abt me & always wanting the best for me & Darling for the wonderful times spent together. 1 who has done whatever he can to give me the bestest in life & for putting that smile on my face; the other for keeping that smile on my face for a long long time... indeed I can't be more blessed!!!

Do not trifle w moi!

2007-06-17T19:34:00.000+08:00

A certain travel agent in Singapore has certainly gotten on sleepy's nerves. Not to bore everyone w a long & lengthy essay, the gist is that Dar & I tried to get a refund from the TA for the Bali trip we cancelled due to Dar's emergency eye op. We were told the refund would take about 6 months n despite the fact that the staff were rude when Dar called to enquire about the refund, we simply waited patiently. However after 6 months n no reply; I managed 2 con my way thru 2 speak to the GM n 15 min later, manager K called me back. & that was where our woes started.

As we were not satisfied w the charges imposed on us, we requested for manager K to give us a ltr stating that the charges were by the airlines & hotel & not by the co itself. However although Dar has been calling manager K every other week & having him tell Dar that he would get the letter by the following Fri, the letter never came. & everytime Dar called manager K, he would always tell Dar that the letter sent to us was already the standard letter & that he doesn't know what Dar wants! N this is despite the fact that manager K always claims to know what Dar wants before they hang up the phone!!! GRRZZZ!!! Finally after 3 months of haggling, he finally sent a letter to Dar handwriting the name of the Airlines & hotel but without intialing next to it!! Talk about professionalism!!! & the day before we received the letter, having got tired of chasing Dar to do the calling, I called to speak to him & he actually threatened me to call the police! Talk about cx service man!!!

So Dar called again to tell manager K to again ammend the letter (n Dar specifically told manager K what to write) & if the operations didn't wana issue the letter, Dar is fine that he handwrites it but he has to sign next to it. It ended up with another shouting match between the 2 of them & w Dar telling manager K that if he doesn't receive the letter by the following Wed (which is this Wed) then he would go down to the TA to make noise. Well, we received the letter on Thurs but again without the contents that we want & so we decided to pop down to the agent yesterday.

Prior to going down, Dar called the office & was told manager K was off yesterday (lucky b**tard) but the GM was ard till 5. We reached there ard 4 & was served by another admin manager who told us that GM S had left for the day. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, we told him what happened & told him to get someone to call us back ASAP. Not satisfied that we didn't get to tok to the manager, just as we were about to leave, sleepy decided to call back the office & guess what??? GM S was actually ard!!!! I knew that they were just trying to prevent us fr seeing him... smartie that I am :P so up we went 2 see GM S & whilst he was rather professional about the matter I felt that he was in a way siding w lousy manager K. When he was told manager K challenged me to call the police, he actually said that knowing manager K he must have been v agitated. Well I retorted by telling him that he should never do that in the service line.

I hope that manager K gets a big scolding but I also know that they will be bitching about what a bitchy couple we are. They must have thought that they got their last laugh by telling us GM S is not ard... well if u wana lie, please cover all ur backsides!!!

For a moment...

2007-06-14T18:47:00.000+08:00

... last nite, sleepy forgot how to start Daddy's car!!! The ignition key was turned but I simply couldn't shift the gear from "P" to "D". Issit coz I didn't release the footbrake (aka handbrake)?? But it is already released... or maybe I didn't lock it in place the nite b4 :P Kinda rem that I gota step on the brake so as to shift the gear but I was already stepping on the brake and it still didnt work. (sidenote: for a moment was totally confused coz I was stepping on the brake pedal w my left leg n was wondering if it was correct. Coz when driving Dar's manual car, gota step on the cluth w the left leg but if u drive an auto car, ur left leg actually has nothing to "do") Was just sitting down there for a while... till I stepped on the brake harder w my rite foot and viola, the gear could be shifted!!! & just the nite before, i cldn't switch off the ignition properly. Couldn't figure out why until I realise that the gear was not shifted to "P" properly!!!

How? Getting a bit senile liao... n also getting fat. In the past, when pp commented that I m skinny, I always tell them it is coz everyday, I gota walk out/back 15 min to get 2 the MRT or home. But now, thanks to the convenience of service 175, it merely takes me 5 min to get to the bus stop to work. U will all b seeing a fat & haggard sleepy soon :P