its the end of the year already!!!

how time flies!! its the last day of the year alr...

looking at the past year... so much has happened... it hasn't been the best year, but it can never be perfect right?

first look at my 2007 resolutions (can refer to my 1st Jan 07 entry), as expected, couldn't really get it right..

1) start to save money - sort of started savings with the bonus payout in feb, but i think i blew it on my 30th birthday party! haha! no bonus this year... so this is a bit difficult in 2008

2) take more buses and mrt - i can proudly say i did use my ez-link card more than 2006!! well, with the change of job, it was more cost effective and convenient to take the bus to office, to outlet even when it is as far as ulu land! hey... bus rides of 1hr05mins is definitely an achievement for the cab woman!

3) be more patient - err.... don't think so... didn't have patience for my new company too...

4) get it right at work - well, think i got it right for the first 6 months, great campaigns, got some recognition... then i guess the next move wasn't the best step... so looking forward to the new job in new year

5) learn a new skill - nope... have a golf set from my god sis, yet it didn't push me to go learn. worked near the driving centre, yet it didn't push me to go take my license. nope... the spanish class didn't even come close!

6) go to san francisco to visit my best pal - never happened... only went to taiwan as i couldn't take leave during probation... so it will be in 2008 resolutions!

so... looking back, this isn't the best year, but i will look forward to 2008... starting a new job in january... hopefully i get it right this time!! pray for me ya?

here's to a fantastic 2008!!! huat ah!!!

a fabulous bash!

first of all... let me thank everyone for all your birthday wishes...

this birthday was special in many ways...

i threw a party for 30 fabulous people... although there were only 28 in the end... but we all had a great time!

as i was called for a last minute interview, i had not much time to prepare myself for the night... had abt slightly more than an hour to get nails, hair and make-up done! went to a nearby neighbourhood salon that had all these services and got it done for only $60! not a bad deal, but the nails were all destroyed before i walked home! so i was grumpy for a while...

reached the restaurant at about 7.30pm and some of my guests were there alr... we hang around outside the restaurant while waiting for the rest with some sparkling red wine first...

the food was yummylicious... the cake was hilarious (thanks gals)... the presents were lovely and most important... the company of my guests was unbelievable fabulous! wish we had more time to chat... my apologies if i was a bad host, tried to "split" myself up as much as i can... well, not going to bore any readers with all these words... pictures tell a thousand words right?

one year older... hopefully wiser...

finally have to face reality... i am officially 30 today...

there are many things going on today... hopefully being 1 year older, i will be much wiser in making decisions...

got to cheer myself up! yes! i am having a party tonight!!! supposed to be a party for 30 fabulous people... but unfortunately... some might not be able to make it... and for those not invited... its not because you are not loved by me, i have space constraint!!! :) trust me... coming out of the guest list was almost like having a rehearsal for my wedding (if i ever have one!)

birthday greetings started pouring in last night via sms... mermaid "lost" her crown for being the first to sms me at the stroke of 12am. haha... i was pretty touched and shocked with some ex-colleagues who remembered my birthday... i know... mermaid will say i am a sucker again... haha... but it does bring back good memories...

oh well... will update more abt the party with pictures too...

merry christmas!!!

its the time of the year again!!! time for giving & sharing... time for being thankful for all the unconditioned love from your family & friends... and time for being blessed for everything given to you... and time for pressies!!!

always loved christmas as i love christmas shopping (minus the crowd part)!!! i find it a joy to be able to buy something for people important in your life! ok... my sister thinks i am a spendthrift, but it is not the "material" benefit of giving, but don't you get a sense of happiness looking at the recipient's expression when they open their present? i love to see the face of my loved ones lighted up when the wrapper gets torn apart and found an amazing gift inside... sucker right? but that's the spirit of christmas... the happy/surprised look on the face after opening the presents is priceless... even mastercard will say so (pardon me... too sucked in by tvcs!)...

i remember posting pictures of my christmas eve dinner last year... seems like almost the same food again!!! haha... except for the new addition - german pork knuckle!! yum yum!

the whole feast!!

this year's turkey was perfectly browned!

the roast beef, german pork knuckle, black forest ham & honey baked ham!

besides the massive amount of meat, there is a huge bowl of greens (the lettuce are all covered up!)

pasta salad for the carbs (yes... that's bacon bits)
of course, a christmas log cake to give a sweet ending... (its complimentary from my fav printer! hehe!)

fer fer cannot join us this yr because of her flight, but we have a new addition - amanda's bf, ivan. welcome to our "extended" family...

last year i had a braun buffel year, this year - swarovski!?!?! remember my msn pic a couple of weeks back of a crystal eeyore? i am now a proud owner of it now!!! and not to forget - a gorgeous tinkerbell (with a star) handphone strap and a double star necklace (that's actually a birthday gift!) yipee!! big thank you to both my sisters! love all my pressies!!!

so here's wishing everyone a merry merry christmas...

been a long time...

haven't been updating my blog even thou i am not that busy at work! haha... guess life was that exciting for the blog to be updated!

well... so here's a quick summary of what happened in my dull life...

1) went for a short trip to taiwan or taipei to be exact. ate a lot... shopped a little... will post the pictures when i get the mood to upload pictures. haha... only managed to get the food pix loaded on my facebook...

2) braved thru the mad crowd in orchard road twice since my return from taiwan for christmas shopping... its madness as usual... and didn't help with the cab fares increasing!!! shoppings bags (huge ones) and crowded mrt/buses are not my fav combinations! ha!

3) went for an interview on mon... and will most likely be offered the job after a formality interview with the group chairman on friday... this time, i am not sure if i should accept it... ppl are telling me a lot of things... pretty confused... hopefully i can get a sign from somewhere to tell me what to decide by friday...

4) attended a dinner party that my MJ kaki rsvp for me while i was away... haha... but the dinner was great!!!

5) received my first presents (both xmas and birthday) from my MJ kakis as well as some ex-colleagues now friends... thanks to all of you... i love everything!

that's all folks! till the next update!

a crazy christmas...

dec is always my favourite time of the year... its a happy time... preparation for christmas... means lots of gatherings... parties... shopping (not only for yourself... but the joy of buying things for people that mean something to you!)

for the past few years, i was also looking forward to the local christmas musicals... from "cindere-lah", to Alaadin, to "Oi! Sleepying Beauty" and last year's "Jack & the beansprout"... this year... a christmas concert was staged instead - "a crazy christmas!"... it was not just a normal christmas concert, just take a look of the cast below...

all big names of local theatre... how can miss right?

today's show has everything... lovely christmas carols that touched your heart... rock version of "i saw mommy kissing santa claus"... christmas carols that are light-hearted, jazzy, broadway, hokkien (with broadway beng of course), and dim sum dollies style too!

the christmas mood is starting to kick in... finally!!!

trip confirmed!

yay... finally managed to confirm my taiwan trip!

since it was a last minute decision, it was quite difficult to get air tickets... so in the end... the 5D4N trip is more like a 3D trip... but whatever... at least i get to go for a holiday! yay!

another reason to love december!

baby no. 8

the lucky no. 8 baby of the year....

congratulations to JT and his wife on the arrival of their lovely girl Krystal this morning...

went to visit them this evening... and baby Krystal is like an exact mould of the mom...

will post pictures when i get them... :)

bosses...

just a comparison of 2 bosses...

one... supposing to be busy since this boss is part of the snr mgt... however, this boss is actively updating facebook during office hours and in the morning of an event... hmmm... thot only free ppl like me logs on to facebook in the day! so why are the staff of this boss working their axx off? a puzzle to me...

two... a boss who started the business decided to leave due to conflicts with the mgt... although this boss could be tough to work with... but we all knew it was because of his strong passion for the brand... then strangely... the mgt gatecrashed the farewell dinner we planned for him.. and he kept quiet for the night as the mgt started talking business during dinner... felt it was so inappropriate... thank god they decided to leave early... so it gave him a chance to really talk to us and encouraged us as most of us were recruited by him...

well... just a strange observation today...

it just feels good...

its funny... its not a feeling i expected...

went down to harbourfront today for the launch of kfc breakfast... it feels good to see so many familiar faces! from marketing, QA, training and the restaurant managers (all the 3 managers on duty were familiar faces). it felt like home... sort of missed going to an outlet that felt so welcoming... and seriously, i haven't had such good mood or i haven't brought a smile to work for a lonnnnggggg loonnnngggg time.

more changes...

there is nothing except changes after changes at my work place... latest change that happened today... my regional ceo has been replaced by another korean... i don't know what to expect... after the announcement to the team, my chairman also gave a pep talk to some of us individually... will see what happen in the next few weeks...

A-Mei Star Tour

went for A-Mei's concert on thursday night...

it was a center stage layout, and the stadium was packed. nothing too fanciful about the stage but it was a great concert for the following reasons:

- she has great showmanship

- her voice was brilliant... flawless

- she interacted with the audience like chatting with her friends

- a concert of emotions... there were laughter and tears

- it was like a big party... everyone was dancing to her fast songs

- it was like a mass karaoke session... it helps that the lyrics of all her songs were flashed on the big screens.

friends?

i am enjoying the use of facebook... yes.. never thot i will say that since i have rejected friendster for the lonngggggggest time! but since ms J. Neo got me started a couple of months back... i have been regularly logging into my facebook to see if anyone "poked" me, sent me "gifts" or wrote on my "wall"! guess it helps kill time when you have plenty of time to spare at work... (sorry gals... don't mean to rub salt to your hectic work schedules!)

anyway... with facebook, i am suddenly back in contact with old friends aka school mates! especially my secondary school mates, many i have lost touch since we left school (yes... i haven't been doing a great job in keeping in touch)... it was good to get a msg from them, found out who is married and who is working overseas etc...

well... but the strangest thing happened, someone i never spoken to, or introduced to... yes... not even a "hi" was said to each other... added me on her facebook. my first thot... who was she (i couldn't even place the name to a face!!!). she is a new hire in my ex-company, whom i met once at one of my ex-colleague's wedding... read... MET, NOT INTRODUCED, NEVER SPOKEN TO!!!

so i checked out the definitions of a friend from www.thefreedictionary.com:
1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade

nope... she is none of the above... so she is not added into my facebook...

christmas time...

was at vivo city this evening for dinner and realised the x'mas decor was up already!!! how time flies!!! its going to my favourite time of the year!!! finally something to look forward to!

a peek at ulu land...

its been a week since i moved my office from a CBD area to ulu land... ok... i know those staying in the east will think otherwise...

this is my new desk... bigger office but smaller desk... oh well, just mean i have to keep it clean... at least i have plenty of space to keep marketing materials...


and after a few horrible lunches, we discover this little thai eatery. it looks shabby, played thai mtv on the tv, but it was next to a thai grocery, so we guess it should be quite authentic.

tried on monday & ate claypot tanghoon... pretty good stuff!! so today, we decided to have thai food at the same place again! today, the 3 of us tried 3 different types of fried rice...

i took seafood fried rice (doesn't look great above, but definitely taste better than it looks) while my colleagues ordered pineapple fried rice and salted fish fried rice... all 3 were yummy and inexpensive... $3 / $4. before the meal ended, my MIS exec is alr thinking of what to order for the next visit! haha...

nowadays... i need to find little things like these to make myself happy. it will be a better day tmr!

baby no. 7

the counting of the piggy babies continue...

baby no. 7... danielle ng / huang yu yan (hope i got the hanyu pinyin right!) was born on 2 november 2007 at gleneagles hospital... congrats to my dear friend G!

that's danielle - 54cm long!!!

this picture of danielle really resembles her mommy!

finally waited for her to open her eyes...

wedding lunch...

after 3 wedding dinners, today's wedding lunch is a refreshing change for a few reasons...

* its the wedding of my sister's childhood friend since primary school... not going to reveal of how many years! haha... the bride is like another sister, attending my primary one birthday party (if you still remember!!!)

the childhood friends

* it was a cozy event with 4 tables, gave the bride loads of time to mingle with her guests... which is especially lacking for the normal wedding dinners

* the really cool venue.... its like an art gallery, really nice... check out the pictures below...

the website of Xi Yan - the restaurant


my table and the table setting

* the unexpected menu... its fusion, tastes yummy, got me trying a lot of things that don't usually end up on my plate! it is also unexpected as the menu is prepared according to the available ingredients... so even the wedding couple didn't know what will appear on tha table

the menu

started with the sparkling champagne

green house tomatoes in sesame sauce

steam scallop with pickled olive and black bean paste

Sichuan salivating chicken with century eggs

deep fried shrimp paste grouper - the best for me!

steamed glutinous rice with spareribs

stir fried kimchi prawns with Shanghainese rice cake

stir fried mushroom with pickled cucumber

abalone ginseng chicken soup

oopsy... forgot to take pictures of the dessert... signature dumplings... which was really interesting as the fillings were a mixture of 5 ingredients - sesame, peanuts, wintermelon, salted egg yolk and butter. it was sweet yet saltish with crunchy bite from the wintermelon... i enjoyed it even though i was extremely full!

congrats to Angie and Sam, and wishing you everlasting happiness!

first day in ulu land...

shifted office today... i was at the old office at tanjong pagar in the morning so i have not officially taken the morning bus ride yet to kaki bukit...

the place was still not completed when we went there... trust giving the job to the contractor because of his nationality ( my bosses' fellow countryman)... so in the end, i wasted the whole afternoon sitting at the table using my wireless...

decided to avoid the traffic a little by leaving at 7pm, doesn't help much... but the journey wasn't as long as i thot... board the bus at 7.05pm, reach my place at 8pm... so about an hour... i am more worried for the morning traffic jam, so let's see how tmr!

a hairy experience...

its my sister's birthday today and as usual, we celebrate with a good meal!


as mom has to work in the afternoon, we had to take early lunch, and decided to go tung lok at vivo city... instead of our usual dim sum, we decided to try the seasonal hairy crabs from jiangsu! this will be my first hairy crab experience! amongst the 4 of us, only the birthday gal had tried it in shanghai before... so we decided to go for it!!

4 hairy crabs arrived on our table...

all ready to be eaten by moi!

nothing left but a plate of shells

love the roe... thats the reason to eat hairy crabs, not the meat... but it is tiring to eat the crab... the meat has to be dug out etc... it was a good experience... at least i finally tried it once! haha... my biggest bill at tung lok so far... $316 for 4 pax! my birthday treat for my sister... so hope my sis enjoyed the meal!

last wedding of the month...

attended the 3rd and final wedding for the month of october...


the bride is an ex-colleague that we got close in the recent years even after i left the company... was glad to be able to be of help to her... help her with the montage of the video as well as photo co-ordination at the dinner... really happy for her... congratulations mountain turtle!!!


as usual, some pictures to share...

that's the bride...


the gals...

me and the girls

disappointment...

liverpool lost... chances of advancing for Champions League... as slim as a toothpick... so the day started off badly...

fustrations!!!

tmr is my official 3rd month into the new job... what i have gotten out of these 3 months is nothing but fustrations!

* fustrated at myself for not having much to do at work... i know... many of you would love to have a day or two like that... but trust me, when it happens like 4 out of 5 days, you will be bored to tears and start to doubt yourself... i feel worthless... and it is a terrible feeling... so different as compared to last time, when i am always in control...

* fustrated at how bosses make decisions... strange decisions... in 3 months... there were change in restaurant concepts, there were price changes (not once, but twice), there were change in business directions, and many many more... it is not 3 years but 3 months... didn't they think it through before they start the business... (apparently... no proper market research was done, just their own survey of their community to decide to dump in the money to invest!)

* fustrated that i no longer have the drive and passion to fight for what i believe... it doesn't work here... tried in the first month, then i realised i am fighting a losing battle... its so not me... now i am like a doormat... easily stepped on...

oh well... most of my readers alr know my fustrations at work... just that today wasn't such a good day... not agreeing with a lot of stuff my bosses wanted... now, it is just a job... just get it done.

let's hope there are things to cheer me up like tonight's Champion League's game (Liverpool must win), my sisters' birthdays (1 tmr and the other on sunday - happy birthday gals!) , my sister's interview (good luck!), SC's wedding on saturday. see, there are happy thoughts!

jen's wedding

today is jen's big day... went to both the church wedding and the wedding dinner...

always like attending church weddings... it is always very simple, sweet and romantic... easily touched during the ceremonies... with the hymns (hehe... love singing them), the exchange of vows, the simplicity of the celebration of a couple's love... what to do, when you are not planning to get married, you go to other's weddings!!! maybe get so inspiration if i ever get to realise my dream to be a wedding planner!

so... some pictures to share...

the church wedding...

the sabotaging of the wedding couple...

the "rose" girls

gathering of the girls...