2010 will be a good good year!

Significant stuff that happened in 2009 (in really bad order):
The Prodigy LIVE! Batam trip with the Batam gang :) Shruti's awesome 21st Birthday Party! I've officially let go of that $ grudge. Shaun and I broke up. Quiet birthday celebration, nevertheless with good friends, old and new :) First branded wallet: Kate Spade! First crush in a long while. It dissipated as fast as it manifested. Lasik! Trip to India, cried as the plane took off from Kolkata. Went to Ruby Photo after all these years. Took 35mm, 2 rolls. First Christmas without Shaun, without Aunty Joan, Uncle Stephen, Aunty Cynthia, without Cheryl, Mark, Natalie, Jordan, Valerie, Constance, Puffy... A little closer to Ade as we heal our hearts together and i can share with her more about Jesus; praise the Lord! Played Rock Band! Joined Twitter!! Addicted to Twitpic!!! Surprisingly miss Shruti quite a lot; people are missed more when they're not around. Feeling a little distant from Tootsie, as he's absorbed into the Obacac room/hell. Recreated my Ginger Chicken Stew, twice! Threw away a lot of old and some really old clothes; bought many new interesting pieces :P

Did i fulfill my 2009 resolutions??
1. Drink more water - no
2. Learn how to make sambal belachan - no
3. Save money - yes
4. Work smarter (go home at 7pm) - fail terribly
5. Be a nicer commuter - dun want to
6. Stop cracking my knuckles - yes
7. Wake up earlier every morning - no, refer to 4.
8. When 7 is done, squeeze in a jog if i hv enough rest. - no, refer to 7.
9. Prepare dinner every Saturday night cos that's the only time i hv full access to the kitchen. - no
10. Eat more fruits and vegetables. - still at it :)

And now my 2010 new year resolutions:
1. Learn driving.
2. Leave work at 7pm at least twice a week.
3. Shut down at 11pm. Sleep before 1am.
4. Cycle/swim at least once a week.
5. Upload photos within 1 week of said event (sigh...)
6. Repaint room to Olive Green once i get rid of the white shelves.
7. Berlin + Amsterdam, New York, Melbourne, Athens + island-hopping, Maldives (with my new bf?!)
8. Weight check: 58kg!!! BMI: 23.2, not good. Watch less TV.
9. Read more books.
10. Cut down usage of plastic bags, plastic/styrofoam takeaways.
11. Upgrade to iPhone.
12. Be more active in Church.

What's YOUR new year resolutions??

Merry Christmas

Just read some of my previous posts...emo or what sia?!

I'll write abt my Kolkata trip later. So first, let's outline how the Christmas week has been so far.

Touched down late on Monday night, did laundry and had 6 hours of sleep.

Tuesday went to work, halfway thru not feeling well...Wednesday MC, really bad throat and coughing plus fatigue; had 7 hours of sleep. Tried to work from home only to find out i dun hv flash. Sigh. Highlight of my day was lunch which i ordered Indian dishes with rice:


Thursday morning, woke up after a 14-hour sleep. Much better. Fetched bunnies home. They are having weird poo. Shredda was the one who brought it to my attention. She pooed on the floor, a lot. Hers is a little lighter brown than usual but covered with green slime. It doesn't stink like diarrhoea but weird and extremely gross nevertheless. Patra one was normal but tiny, not a good sign either. So i fed a little spinach and plenty of hay. Must be the coloured bits they gave them. If i knew, i wouldn't hv approved it. And they use Pine-litter. Let's jus say i really didn't hv a choice :'( Shredda lost a bit of weight and Patra lost a lot of weight! They were also dehydrated, finished a full bottle of water in 24 hours!

Went to NTUC for groceries and bunny vege. Turns out u can buy a whole chicken and ask them to chop it up for u; but i was already at the cashier and pressed for time. So my maid chopped the 12pcs of chicken thighs in half. I started cooking the chicken ginger stew at 4.15pm. It was supposed to be done by 5.45pm but too much water so the stew was watery and bland. Overcook it by 30 mins and added more soya sauce. Later in the cab, uncle and I both felt really hungry smelling its aroma from the boot. We also exchanged cooking ideas, LOL!

Too pressed for time to take a picture but here's how it looks like when it's half-gone at 8.20pm:


I was invited a while back by Eunice so this was my potluck contribution. Thankfully, one of her aunts cooked Curry Devil. I hope one day i will cook my own :)


Eunice had booked a suite at The Fullerton which i totally underestimate the size of it. So 40 people fit really nicely in there, only squeezy in a few sections. Weather was great! Here's sunset and sunrise :) I love after-parties :)



And here's my pressie from the gift exchange: a Mogu Snowman! Will be bringing it to office :)


Besides the Ginger Chicken stew and Curry Devil, there was also egg potato salad, salami potato salad, roast beef with power black pepper sauce, sweet & sour fish fillet, sausage pea salad, gourmet chicken sausage, turkey and stuffing, cream vegetarian pasta, fruitcake, durian cake, plenty of alcohol, premium coffee and this big leg o'ham:


I fell asleep shortly after that sunrise shot and woke up at 10am. Surprisingly i wasn't hungry. Reached home and so awake cos of all the premium coffee i drank, abt 3 cups, i went on FB/Twitter till lunch arrived. I only had some porridge and vege then stone in front of tv watching Rin Tin Tin and Lord of the Rings: Two Towers. Immediately after my favourite scene of Gandalf the White saving Rohan at Helm's Deep, i took a shower and we made it to Christmas Mass at OLPS at 6pm. Funny thing is Mum & Dad both wearing red and i felt like green LOL! Super Christmas combo la!

We then had kopitiam dinner; i had chicken chop. Will be chilling on the meat intake until CNY. Got home and caught Spiderwick Chronicles :)

Hope y'all enjoy the rest of the Christmas holidays!!!

Someday?

Not.

But this song by John Legend, from the August Rush soundtrack, that me and Shaun loved, has been creeping up to me in the darker moments of the past 2 weeks, sometimes appearing on my iTouch shuffle a few minutes after i thought of it.

Someday by John Legend (with lyrics)

At the same time, I've been listening to Wreckless Love again. It's my favourite Alicia Keys song. Funny though I can't imagine us hvg that "wreckless love" anymore. But I can imagine hvg that with a new someone :) Will I be so fortunate to fall in love for the third time?!

Wreckless Love by Alicia Keys

Let's go back in time
When seeing your ID on mine
Made me crazy
Ooh baby I'm saying

Let's go back there
Let's take it there
I'm talking bout
Back in time
When you wanted to know my every move
Tired to keep it smooth
Keepin' up with me
You drove me crazy ohh baby

Let's go back there
Let's take it there

When you
Didn't know me
Didn't need me
Wanted to touch me
Couldn't leave me
I couldn't know how
Far it would go
I couldn't know if
This was for sure
We just could not
We just could not get enough of it baby , let's go

[Chorus]
Have that wreckless love
That crazy love
That off the wall won't stop ti'l I get enough kind of love
I need that love
So baby, let's go

Have that wreckless love
That crazy love
That I don't really care
We can have it anywhere
Kind of love
That wreckless love

Let's go back in time
When our kiss was brand new
An adventure not perfected
A little hesitant

Let's go back there
Let's take it there

Take it back in time
When forever was a minute, and eternity was a second
I'm stressing that we have to go back there
Let's take it there.

When you
Didn't know me
Didn't need me
Wanted to touch me
Couldn't leave me
I couldn't know how
Far it would go
I couldn't know if
This was for sure
We just could not
We just could not get enough of it baby , let's go

[Chorus]

So baby, let's go

[Chorus]

Dun think I'll ever grow up

It was Friday and i toyed the idea of cycling only to discover my left eye was swollen. I panicked inside as I jus did Lasik 2 mths ago! Thankfully after some eye drops, it subsided but i had a fat and lazy afternoon anyway, the sky threatened with rain. Was going to Ade's house but then i finally caught the starting of What Lies Beneath! Ended up recording the second half and arrived her place pretty late at 6pm. Was supposed to be there at 4plus.

Still, we played many songs on Rock Band. I'm never good at the Guitar/Drum/DJ Hero when they came out. But Ade is so good at it, Nini and Cow too. Those were the days. So Rock Band is a natural progression. I was average playing Easy mode on drums which i failed on my first song and Ade had to "save" me. Guitar was just as shaky. After a few songs, i kinda got the hang of it.

Aunty prepared dinner and it was awesome. I kinda overate, haha! Drinking daoyou gravy from the broiled pork...mmm...Drinking curry with melt-in-ur-mouth potatoes...mmm...the tumeric fish was so fresh :D And even the caixin was seriously yummy!

We spent the rest of the night playing more Rock Band, watching Simpsons' latest season - i'm so not used to the new intro - and drooling over New Moon. Between buffed Jacob and malnutritioned Edward, i think i like Jacob more; he's warmer too, heehee! The sad news is he's 16; the actor Taylor is only 19!

The next day i was super PMS. I practically raised my voice at everyone. It's quite common within my family. I really dun like my mum spoiling my nieces, esp when it come to giving snacks before dinner. Fiona is so small and just recovered from a fever, so to help her grow, a cookie isn't exactly helping. And the older one, my sis is constantly talking abt her generous weight. So when she didn't finish the barley beans from the stew, my mum gave her a cookie. I was super pissed with her. And the tv was so loud, but they close one eye.

After i left the house, i was analysing my behaviour. I think i only understand when i become a grandparent. Now my reaction is normal like a parent. I only feel comforted that i feel so concerned about their wellbeing; they can hate me all they want, i'm just the aunty.

En route to Cow's house for dinner, i was super late. It turned out to be a small party, less than 10 of us, so my absence was pretty felt. But they are all very accomodating people. I think it's a Catholic thing :) Cow's wife is in RCIA, praise the Lord!

Cow's friend, let's call him Guy, was there too. He lost a bit of weight but looked really tired. He said he slept all day ytd, worked earlier today and was gonna work tmr...scary. After dinner, we skimmed through Cow and Joy's wedding photos, all 1000 of them! It took slightly over an hour! After that, 2 of his friends, a couple 3.5 months pregnant, went home to rest. We hung around, waiting for Joy's friend to arrive, the one Guy likes, but in the end, she no show.

Then we played mahjong! Me, Cow, Joy and Cow's little sister. After catching the last few minutes of the Man U match, Guy felt really tired and wanted to go home and rest. Learning Mahjong is not exactly a way to relax, lol! So Cow sent him off with his mum taking over his spot. When Cow's sister was too tired, he took over her spot, lol! I was literally playing against the family! And i won cab fare for the night, including a 5-double max!

By the time we ended the night, it was already 4am! And i was so drained, getting old...was yawning since 1.30am. So after a 2.5 hour snooze, i took the cab home, watching the sunrse. Despite the little snooze, i still felt so tired. Went home and K.O. right after i fed bunnies. Overslept totally, supposed to go Ade's baptism but i woke up at 12:50pm! Aargh!

I really feel like i'll never grow up until i've kids of my own. But right now, my body is failing me. Aargh! And I reminisce with the song, 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins.

I'm a lot like that during my late teens, or at least i wanna be. And somehow, throughout the events of this week, i wish i was 18 again. I wish i didn't hv to sleep so much. I wish I can cycle in the rain and not catch a cold. I wish I can walk in the noon sun without worrying abt the rays aging my skin. I wish I can drool over a 19-yr-old guy and not feel like a cradle-snatcher. I wish I left Shaun earlier. I wish i knew what I wanted to do in my career, not stumbling like that over and over again. I wish I can get married at 27 and hv a kid b4 I reach 30. But somehow at 18, I wasn't so intuitive. Ok maybe I wish I was smarter, haha!

Need to be more creative

i just realised i haven't done anything creative for months. With exception of Lala's bday, haha! She had a really bad day and still OT_Ting just minutes before midnight. Meimei asked me if we should get a cake at 11:52pm from 7-11. Er...1. We are not sure if 7-11 has cake, let alone candles?! 2. If hv, we dunno if it can all be arranged in now 7 minutes. So i thought really fast and thought of stuff to blow. I only hv paper, so paper it is. But it has to reveal something, so I wrote a simple birthday message and decorate it with little hearts and stars. Meanwhile Meimei MSN countdown. When i reached downstairs, I waited for that one last minute b4 midnight then we started singing Happy Birthday. Lala got a shock! Haha! She was also quite puzzled abt what to do with the paper thingy. When I explained and she had made her wish, she blew the paper confetti bit by bit, making sure as many fell into the wastebasket. So dainty lah! It was really the least we could do and I'm glad she had a little fun, even for just 1 minute :)

Ok back to creativity topic, i suck recently for a microsite design. I was simply not focused and following orders. I just simply cannot visualise the finished product. In addition, for a flash banner, I really loved my idea but the client didn't, so it was back to the drawing board after my present idea had already been implemented into flash and lived.

Met Shaun ytd to settle M1 only to miscomm again. He wanted to cancel the line after all. So he accompanied me while i sign a new line. I thought of hvg an iPhone but just think i will under-utilise it. So i bought the Nokia 6600i slide after all. 5.0 mega-pixel camera with flash. It's still charging. All the new numbers suck so i had to buy my own for $32.10! So ex! The ugly numbers start with 9766 or 9328, the former is 1 short of the devil's number and the latter is more for my sister. Anyway Shaun will cancel the line tmr so I hv time to notify all my contacts my new number.

It's weird meeting someone you used to love so much. I'm still crazy about him esp when he's lost a bit of weight and looks happier now. I was so tempted to squish his ears but kept to tapping his sideburns since he mentioned he just had a haircut. We had something at Caffe Bar after M1, he had dinner while I had chicken wings and coffee. Caffe Bar updated their menu, the all-day set meals are still available :) Shaun had the carbonara which is just as good as it was. Then he fetched me to Bugis and we waved goodbye.

Met Ade for dinner. We went MOS as we both weren't so hungry. Had Natsumi Fish meal, she had Natsumi Teriyaki Chicken meal :) It's always fun to meet De spontaneously and we chat for a good 2 hours b4 taking the train home.

I told her my salary-woes and she said taking a degree just to up my salary is quite sad. So i've decided to take up some courses like AS instead. Definitely more value-adding to my career :) Lala took one recently for PM, which i think is rather admirable :) I still wanna write books in future, so maybe a course in English will be beneficial too.

Hv been reading Roald Dahl's bio-anecdotes. He had such an interesting childhood. After Boy, I'm now reading Going Solo which is his time in Africa and later the war during which he was a fighter-pilot. I also discovered he doesn't spell very well and is not terribly good with English grammar/vocab. But entertaining and humorous, no less :)

I miss hvg a boyfriend

I'm not okay. Last Friday i took off to hv a massage, my back has been killing me. After that I went looking for a light lunch but the prices are all scary and are full meals. Somehow, my hunger dissipated so I was exploring ION instead. Everything there was so expensively disgusting; i even walked into the opening ceremony of Faber Castell where atas people were drinking champagne.

A little farther down was this Medieval Cottage themed shop. There were many wooden figurines smoking pipes. From the word "Haus" i gathered it was German. But in the centre of it all, was something i hv only conceptualised in my head. So to see it realised was quite surreal. It was a Christmas tree shooting styrofoam beads into the air, like it was snowing. Many years ago, when we had the beanbag filled with these, i used to open the zipper and play with it like it was snow. And because we never had a Christmas tree; mum says it collects dust, just about everything in solid matter does really, so you must understand how Christmas-deprived I was as a child. Anything Christmas-related shown on TV was my only escape.

Dancing Cat was showing me pictures from the Orchard Christmas Light-up. I shrugged cos I know they're just lights. There's no longer Christmas Spirit in Orchard. It's all about getting the dollars and cents now. There are no fairytales, no reindeers, no gingerbread-houses. No candycanes, no snow, no frost, no singing angels. I know these are not very green at all. But do u know u can reuse and repaint these?

When I have my own place, i'll most prob hv half the storeroom filled with Christmas decorations. The other half with fancy boxes and luggage cases. And a giant red bag for the presents; i dun like wrapping paper cos it's v hard to not tear it to reuse it.

Anyway after I left the Haus, i felt v sad. Cos I want nothing in this expensive place, not even a branded bag, they can't beat the cushy simplicity of my Kenneth Cole anyway. I just wanted someone I love to spend the day with, to hug and know he loves me too and wanna spend the rest of his life with me. So, I waited for my colleagues to knock off while reading my beloved Q magazine, Prodigy was on the cover :D. God bless them, they managed to ditch/finish the work to hv dinner with me :)

In the spirit of Christmas; the monsoon's here, so it's Christmas la, the Christmas song from Nat King Cole:

The weekend's too short!

Worked till late on Friday. Vivi's back from Melbourne! Yay! I was feeling lethargic so came down and chat a bit. She going Fly later with Lala and her friends and asked me along. Sure!

When we got there it was supercrowded, we had to wait to get in. I heard it was Cheena, but it was ok. I felt I was in Hong Kong when a Canto song come on, and in Taipei when it was Chinese. The live performers were really good, i can see why this place is quite popular. Unfortunately it was just too crowded, i almost lost my shoe a couple of times and i was wearing flats, my ankles cut by others' heels/shoes. And my big butt got brushed many many times. Some guys just take advantage at the same time, while others jus by accident cos there was really no space.

Lala's friends are dancers. When she told me, I felt more as ease cos they both look like they need a Carl's Jr. And they dance really well of course. Upstairs was a karaoke, some were really bad but one guy sang Jacky Cheung which i thought was really impressive.

Soon we all got tired and went home. I sent Vivi first then got home and KO-ed till 4:45pm! Crap! Was supposed to go cycling to East Coast Park :( Then I checked my hp and Jme smsed me 2 hours ago. Just in time! So I brought her to Jin Wee for Chestnut Chicken. It was simply awesome as always. After dinner, we chilled at Coffee Club :) When i went back to tear more parking coupon, Shaun called. He saw me at the traffic light while driving. I was wearing this Salmon/Pink top that he liked. I cut the call short and finally, the lychee drink was here, divine!

After that got home but there was nothing on cable so went online. My aircon is leaking again...sigh...Then Shaun called for the second time. He said I looked good and as we talked abt work, he was undecided again. I really didnt know what to say. We talked a bit more but it just felt weird. Him being radio-listener, i asked him if he knew this song Vivi and I hv been into lately. And he did! It's Krazy by Pitbull. And apparently I got all the lyrics wrong, haha!

Next week will be hell. Another campaign done in a hurry. I'm so sick of these tight deadlines; we all are. I really feel overworked and I'm so afraid i'll just snap back at my bosses one day. I dun wish to be that person anymore, but i do wish we're more compen$ated for all our diligence and dedication. While the company trip may be fun, it only lasts 3D2N. And most likely, i'll miss Church; Tootsie reminded me. Well, i see if i can catch an earlier ferry.

There are so many things i wanna do tmr.
1. Go cycling - 3h, including shower
2. Have a massage - 3h
3. Go Church -1h
5. Go office and finish some work - 4h.

Wished the weekend was longer. If only we had Monday off.