its all black!!!

I was going thru my clothes to bring to Europe... Of all the clothes I picked, almost every piece is black! haha... it's surely a gloomy winter at Europe for me...

The hardest part about packing my luggage... what to bring... On one hand, I want to make sure I have enough clothes for the 14 days... on the other, I don't want to bring too much there... Then the rest of the questions flow like this... how many combination I can make out of the selected clothes (so that I can have different looks, and not that obvious that I am repeating my clothes)? Are the clothes too thin or too thick? Are my clothes too similar (yes... they are just different turtle-neck black tops!)?

What was the final decision... none! Decided to pack tmr instead... haha...

I have checked-in via the internet alr... less than 48 hours to Paris... but why am I not as excited as I should be? The main reason must be because of the tonnes of work piling at my desk! And I have only 2 working days left!!!!

to buy or not to buy?

There is a reason why I wasn't keen to let everyone in the office knows where I am going for my leave...

Today, the moment a particular someone found out that I am going to Paris, she asked if I could help her buy things from LV. It can be stressful... I am a complete idiot with branded stuff! What if I go the wrong item? What if the item I bought has a flaw? It is not going to be cheap and definitely not something I will want for myself!!!! What did I get myself into? Not sure if I should get it for her... it always hard to reject people...

Oh well, let's not be bothered by minor things like this...

the countdown continues...3 days to go...

the wonder of msn

Bonjour! (hehe... I am trying very hard to put at least 1 french word in my postings counting down to my trip!)

Since I changed my msn display picture and personal message, more people are aware of my trip to Paris. Another friend in Shanghai msn me the moment I logged on today. Her exact words "You going Paris?!?!"

Hehe... no need to envy me... you wouldn't want to be in my shoes when I get back... i will be totally broke! Not a good sign, with Christmas and New Year around the corner!!!!

Oh well, I will just have to enjoy it first!

crazy about Paris?

Mermaid thinks I am crazy about Paris... all because I changed my msn display picture to this...



Actually, Paris was not one of the cities that I want to visit in my list of "to-travel" places. It is just pure coincidence that E is there for work, so it is the best opportunity to go... Oui?

Talking about THE list of places I would want to visit, let's review them (never really put it down in writing before...) Drumroll...

1) Holland (no... not because of the vices...but having the slightest chance of meeting Marco Van Basten is a good reason? On the serious note, I had been fascinated by the tulips, windmills and wooden shoes!)



2) Finland (all because of Santa! I want to really experience a white christmas in Santa's Village once in my life! yes... I am still a sucker and I still believe in Santa!)
3) Scotland (Imagine the photos taken there... it will be the most beautiful album you can put together... all the castles etc... a fairytale in the making? Haha)
4) Hokkaido, Japan (The only Japan city I want to go... this was a childhood dream after watching "Osin"...yes... laugh all you want, but the place looks so great. Oh yes, not forgetting all the yummy food!

These are just the few I can think of immediately... I am sure there are many many more for me to cover... :)

P.S: I am proud to say that I have accomplished my dreams of visiting, Liverpool (specifically Anfield), California (for Disneyland of course!) and the other places like Hawaii, Brisbane and London.

official countdown begins...

From today onwards, I am officially counting down the days to Romantic Paris!!! Yey!!!

Haven't been feeling excited about the trip. Most probably due to the work stress... trying to get everything done before I go on leave... There's so much work... it just keeps piling, never reducing... No matter how hard I tried, my to-do list just keeps growing...

E just called me from Paris tonight! Got some updates from her, like the weather, the transport etc...I must be prepared with the high standard of living too... In just 2 weeks, she has spent $1K on just transport and food!!! She hasn't even gone shopping!!! Oh dear, I will be so broke when I am back from my trip... Friends reading my blog... do not expect too much for your christmas present this year! LOL!

Leaving in less than a week, but haven't even take out my winter clothings to be sun! Most of them are still in the vaccum bag since my US trip last year! Gosh, hope I don't find any mould in them! Furthermore, I will be working over this weekend (yes... for both Saturday and Sunday) so I have no chance to sun them too!

Ce n'est rien (It does not matter). Oh well, there is a chinese saying that says (direct translation): when the boat reach the bridge, the bridge will be automatically be straight! What it means is that everything will work out just fine!

Success in Europe

Yes... Finally something to cheer about...

Liverpool rules Europe! A 2-0 win over PSV sees them seated comfortably at the top of the table... Stevie G back at his best... Nothing beats watching him scores! Just hope that they keep up with their form for EPL! Seems like the Champions League will be the cup that Liverpool has a good chance to bring back!

Yeah.... barely 1 more week to my trip!!!! this time next week, I would have been on the plane, flying to Paris... tick tick tick... counting down... sept (seven) days to go!

Bonne Nuit (Good Night)!!!! Zzz Zzz

zombified...

yes... that what I wish I could do the whole day...

was at a tvc shoot till about 2.30am early this morning... I could hardly open my eyes this morning at work! But with the crazy schedule I had today, I didn't had much trouble keeping awake... From now till the day I depart, I will be working my a-- off! Pardon my language! But it is actually more tiring to go on leave!

Arrgh!!!! I got to be in a happier mood! For goodness sake, I am going to Paris! I should be looking forward to it... Oui! I should relax! Paris... A bientot! (that means see you soon!)

7 bags full!

yes... the answer to my question in my last blog is 7 bags full of trash I threw out! hehe...many people were impressed with the cleanliness of my desk! Haven't seen that for more than 6 months!

Been really tired, and the work is just piling! Well, I guess I will just have to bear with it... think on the bright side... work hard now... enjoy later... to be exact 10 more days to my flight out to Paris!

working hard for my trip

Well, as the saying goes... "no pain, no gain"

As the date of departure draws nearer, I get more stressed at work! My desk was starting to pile up with my files! There is just not enough time during normal office hours to pack up! So I went into the office today, on a saturday, to spring clean

Guess the total number of trash bags I managed to throw out? To be reviewed in next posting!

Just to give you an idea how messy my cubicle was... I was in the office from 10.30am to 7.15pm and all I managed to clear were my 2 cabinets and the back of the cubicle! Didn't get the chance to do any filing!!!! I really need some special powers to help me speed up!

I keep telling myself, I will be seeing the light coming through the tunnel soon! Then it will be Europe... here I come... :)

shopping starts before the trip...

Haven't updated the blog for a few days... ok... been too busy at work is a lousy excuse, but hey... at least i am still updating my blog now!

Just to keep things simple and short (because i am so tired!)... went for a short shopping trip to IMM this evening... Basically I went all the way there to get some items for the upcoming France and Spain trip. You must be thinking: "what the hell does she need to get from IMM?"

Well, a tip for travellers: Daiso (the $2 shop that sells all sorts of items ranging from food, households to make-up etc) sells those vaccum bags that look like Ziploc bags, in many sizes! These bags are a must for all travel trips! Simply packed your clothes into the bags, seal it up then flatten by either sitting on the bag or using a vaccum cleaner to release all the air. This action will reduced the space by 2/3! Especially important if you need lots of luggage space for shopping overseas!!! Of course, these bags are available in many places like Winter Time or shopping malls. However, Daiso's price is only 25% - 30% of other retailers!

Also managed to buy heat packs (just in case it gets too cold in Paris!) and a pair of leather gloves (these are so cool!)...

Of course, I walked around the new wing of IMM too. Realised there are many more eateries around. Finally decided to try Pepper Lunch for the first time (yes... remember I said I was a laggard in my first post? This further confirms it!) I must say the food is quite yummy, though I almost forgot to cook my beansprouts/vege!

I am so full now... but got to sleep as I will be waking up early tomorrow... I promise there will be more post leading to my long-awaited trip!

Now its time to say... Zzz Zzz Zzz

Air ticket frenzy!

As promised in the last blog, here's the only stuff I managed to get done for my upcoming Europe trip...

Economy must be good (So I better get a good bonus!) coz everyone is travelling this december! Every agent I called told me the same thing... Sorry, there are no seats left for your return flight from Barcelona to Singapore ... and that was weeks ago!

Thank god for friends! My sister managed to contact a friend working in SIA and we finally managed to get seats at a good rate - about $1600 (from SIN - PARIS, BARCELONA - SIN) Yey!!!

Is that all? Obivously NO!!!! Originally thought that travelling via rail from Paris to Madrid and Madrid to Barcelona will be cheaper... but after rounds of research and emails between E and me... decided that flying domestic airlines will be cheaper. That begins another round of frantic search for airlines, fares and availability!!! Now, I am keeping my fingers crossed coz I have never heard of the airline that I booked! Air Comet?!?!

If you are reading my blog, do pray for me!

monday blues?

Meetings after meetings... that was how my Monday went!

Sorted and cleared out my accessories boxes last night. Yes! boxes! I have 1 box for my bangles, 1 for necklaces and chains and 2 drawers of bracelets. I realised I have so much accessories that I could wear them for a month without repeating them at all! So my sister warned me to start wearing them or she will stop me from buying accessories in Spain!

Oh yes... I forgot to update that I will be going to France and Spain in 17 days!! Yey!! Haven't had the chance to really plan for this trip! The only things that are done? My air tickets and my lodging. Those details should be used as another posting... there is so much work to co-ordinate especially when you are travelling with people (My sister and a friend - E). Will let you know the process in my next post! Too tired now... Nitey Nite zzz zzz

P.S: Decided not to use the actual names of the people I write about... as a respect for their privacy (unless they are well-known celebrities! I am sure they don't mind a little publicity on my blog :p )

the high and low of my sunday

This post is back-dated (hehe... but juz a day!)

The high: The day didn't really start till the afternoon. Went to watch Little Shop of Horrors (Matinee show)... the show was good with a strong cast (what can go wrong with the Dim Sum Dollies, Hossan Leong, Lim Yu Beng Robin Goh etc). Strongly recommend you to go for it! (Ok, ticket prices are a bit steep, but i thought it was worth it! For the first time in my life, I actually got the cast to sign my Programme! Haha... all because my dear friend (remember the mermaid mentioned in my 1st post? Yes... her again) wanted a picture with the Dim Sum Dollies for her blog!!!!

The low: Everywhere I went, I see a Liverpool jersey around the corner!
1) a little boy in the theatre sitting behind me
2) a guy at level one of Raffles City
3) another guy (where did all the female supporters go?) at the food court!

So I thought it must be a good sign... the night's clash with Arsenal seems to point towards the bright side! I was in high spirits while waiting for the match to start. Everything went well until... damned! 1st goal scored in 41st minute by Flamini (Arsenal). The night (or early morning) could get much worst when 2 more goals were scored against Liverpool in the second half! Just couldn't believe it! Sigh... I have to be positive... at least the team should know... they'll never walk alone!

A gloomy day

There is nothing to cheer about today...

Received news that my colleague's dad passed away yesterday night, and went for the funeral wake this afternoon. Lyn... be strong!

It was also raining the whole afternoon!!! The strange thing was... I had this conversation this morning on the weather in England... We were commenting how gloomy London gets during winter and the amazing fact that walking in the rain (usually drizzle) seems normal! Guess what? I felt like I was in London when I walked home from the bus stop. There was a slight drizzle, I had no umbrella, the sky was dark, the only thing missing was the awesome architecture of London... Sigh... if only I was in London!

previous trips

Since 1 of the reasons for starting this blog is to write about my travel, I thought I should post some pictures from some of my past trips... (Unfortunately, I wasn't using a digital camera during my England trip...)

My scrapbook starts here...

Yummy breakfast in Hong Kong!
I stayed near the Bund in Shanghai...
Oh... my cutest find in Brisbane
My first Disney Parade in California
Who is honoured on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

after much persuasion...

yes... I am a laggard! Not a good sign for a marketing person... but like what many people said... "Its better late than never!" I've finally started my own blog, thanks to the persuasion of "the mermaid" (private joke that only the group of sea creatures understand!)

Took a long time to decide on what to write, the name of my blog, the design etc... It's not that simple afterall!

Here's how I got the name of my blog:
My life is not that exciting! (haha... otherwise I wouldn't have time to sit in front of my laptop at night) So this blog will be all about the loves of my life - Travel and Football. OK, I am no copywriter, but still wanted to play creative... so names like Travelling Gal, Travel and Football, Football loving gal etc was a NO NO!

Then the name "Travelling Footie" just strike me like lighting! Hey...why not? Footie has 2 meanings in my blog:
1) Foot as in the foot that will bring me around the world (or at least places I visit)
2) Also the short for football.

Ok.. if you don't get it, or don't love it... Too bad... it's my blog! I'll name what it whatever I want!