Dragon Boat Race Carnival

I actually woke up at 7am this morning to go to my company's 5th dragon boat race carnival..
Haven't woke up so early for a long time.. think the last time was when K and I were still going to JB to pump petrol.. = )

The carnival was at Lower Seletar Reservior, and because K was not around, i had to make my way there myself. So i took the train from Eunos ALL the way to Khatib station. Again, can't remember the last time i took the MRT to somewhere so far away. Think the last time was when i was still in NUS, and had to take the MRT all the way from Simei to Clementi. I kinda enjoyed myself already. = )

Upon reaching Khatib, i asked around for directions, and ended up taking a bus to the reservoir.


The reservoir park was super busy with all the hustle and bustle and cheerful ho-hum of a carnival that had just started. As i started to scout for my colleagues, i was greeted by the mascot. Cute.


For some reason, when i saw my colleagues standing in a group with their dragon boat team tee-shirts, i just run towards them, and got all excited... haha.. That was the first of many times i felt a sense of regret for not joining them for the race! = (

Our department did not get into the finals.. although we did rowe twice because we got in third place in the heats. There were plenty of races this morning, and a lot of dramatic finishes where boats in the third place suddenly charge ahead and end up as the champion. Totally fascinating. It's a bonus too that we got a super energetic emcee to host the event. He was so energetic that he screamed and shouted throughout the whole event from 8am to 2pm.. and he even went to stand at the edge of the reservoir to provide amazing commentary on the finals!

Plus, there was plenty of good food.. I had bananas, plenty of water and iced milo, and roast chicken subway sandwich for lunch.

I enjoyed myself tremendously today.. Didn't regret waking up at 7am. I think it was good fun and great bonding with all my colleagues.

I got a lift from one of my colleagues to Toa Payoh MRT station and headed home from there. It was a whole morning and half an afternoon of non-stop "sun-tanning" for me today, so by the time i reached home, i immediately took a shower and slept till 7pm.

Woke up to an empty house, had apples, hung the clothes to dry, and headed downstairs to buy my favourite fried noodles. Received a surprise phone call from my JC friend to invite me to his solemnization two weeks later. On the way home, i got caught in the rain. Run all the way home and was totally wet from head to toe. What a day!! = )












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K Box!

10:37 PM by Adeline Woo 1 comments
I went to the K box at Marina Square after work yesterday evening to celebrate a colleague's birthday. I heard there was gonna be a buffet dinner, and since I wasn't planning to sing, i told my colleagues they could entertain me while i feast on the buffet spread.. = P

The K Box @ Marina Square was surprisingly good.. We had a nice room to ourselves, the service was prompt, and they served good food at the buffet spread. I was a happy camper.

First up, drinks. One of the staff came in and took orders for our drinks almost immediately when we went into our room. All of us ordered honey lemon. I was expecting some really lame honey lemon drink to be served (as i had experienced in previous karaoke lounges), but the honey lemon actually tasted good. At least i can taste both the honey AND the lemon rather than just hot water!

Secondly, they served decent food at the buffet spread. I actually liked most of the food they had there, although i had expected a huge variety of crappy food. They had a tim sum corner ( loved their steaming hot kaya bun!), a Japanese food corner (salmon sashimi was delicious), a laksa corner (the laksa is actually not too bad!), fried stuff corner (yummy chicken wings, onion rings and fried fishball), cooked food corner etc etc.. AND.. their fruits are actually SWEET!! Can you imagine that! And all this for $30 per person including 4 hours of non stop karaoke. I think that's as reasonable as it gets.

It was overall a fun night.. i think i overate though.. haha.. went off early in order to hitch a ride from our lawyer colleague who happens to live in the east.. K won't be home for the next week, so looks like i have to start making friends with more car owners in the east!! HAHA.. I know, i'm so pathetic.. = P










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Gym..

I went to the Gym yesterday after work.. The promotion that California Fitness had with UOB Ladies card was ending this month, so I told myself i would use the free entry at least once before February ends..

As usual, when i went to the UOB Ladies Card (instead of the members') section to sign in, i was approached by one of their staff and asked if i want to join their membership.. It happens almost every time i go to the gym.. Nonetheless, the very "experienced" me turned them down without much effort... = )

Did an hour of kickboxing.. somehow, i feel there are too many people in the class.. and the air con didn't seem to be working.. the whole room felt very stuffy and smell of perspiration halfway through the class..

K picked me up after class. By then, i was not feeling very well.. Actually, the whole day i was feeling very cold in the office.. Like going to fall sick kinda cold.. but still went to the gym. I went home and popped the flu medicine before sleeping at 10pm. Haven't slept so early for a long time already. K slept with me. We slept for 10 hours!! This morning woke up super refreshed, and felt okay except now got muscle ache on my arms and legs.

Hai.. if only everyday can sleep for so long !

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Interesting Websites!

I was browsing through the "NewMan" magazine (Malaysian version) and came across a list of 25 useful / interesting websites on the Internet.

These were my favourites in order of preference:
  • http://www.videojug.com
A website with hundreds of How-To videos. I watched a few under "Love and Dating". Such as "How to Kiss Passionately" and "How to Share a Bed". Totally hilarious! They even have videos on "How to Undress a Woman with Your Teeth".. haha.. Too funny ! = )
  • pleasedress.me
A website that searches through tee-shirts available on online tee shirt stores.. some of the taglines and graphics on the tee-shirts are quite interesting and creative!
  • www.goodguide.com
A website with more than 60,000 consumer products that rates the products based on heir health, social and environmental impacts.. Good source of information the next time i want to buy a new consumer product or switch brands!

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New MRT Station!!

I took the MRT back from Grandma's after dinner, and was surprised to see that the last station on the East West line is no longer Boon Lay. It's Joo Koon!! Don't know where the hell THAT is, but apparently, there is one more stop after Boon Lay: Pioneer and then Joo Koon. Interesting!

This just goes to show just how long i've not taken the MRT.. haha..


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Lunch, Mahjong and Dad's Birthday..

9:54 PM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
I invited my parents over to my place for lunch yesterday.. Cooked Mee Sua soup for them.. K kinda got sick of my mee sua soup so he went downstairs to have lunch instead.. I got my dad's maid to help me with the housework, and now my house is spick and span.. I don't think my toilet has been so clean before.. So happy!!

During lunch, i broke the news of my going to New Zealand to my parents.. The reaction i got was as expected.. My mom is never one to be open to the idea of going overseas for anything except for holidays, PROVIDED she must be IN the holiday plans.. Then the conversation on $$ came up.. without a stable salary, i wouldn't be able to give them as much monthly allowance per month.. plus my dad's monthly rehab fees and the maid's wages .. Sigh.. Why is it that there is such a huge difference between my parents-in-laws' reaction and those of my very own parents??

Should the next generation be punished if their parents did not plan well financially for the future (thereby having to depend heavily on their children)? Should i sacrifice my future and stop pursuing my dreams because my parents do not know how to save when they were younger?? I continue to ponder.. Sometimes i think i am born in the wrong country. I should be born in Europe / USA or some cultures where parents force their children out of home at the age of 16-17 so that they can live on their own and become more independent. My parents, i think they would want me to stay in Singapore for as long as possible or if possible, live with them forever, so that I can take care of them and continue to give them money every month. It's not that i don't want to take care of them, but can't i just take a break for 6 freakin' months??

Sometimes I just feel so tired.. What is the highest level of filial piety? Rather, what is the furthest we are willing to go to be filial? If one were to sacrifice everything and even be willing to die for their parents, even though he / she has the potential to have a bright future ahead, is that being very filial? Or just stupid? Would the situation change if the parents are the ones who ask their child to sacrifice everything and die for them? If the child listens and does it anyway, is he considered filial? Or plain stupid?

ANYWAY.. after lunch, K and I played mahjong with my parents till 5plus.. After which my parents left, and we headed out for my father in law's 60th birthday dinner. Dinner was at Jia Wei restaurant at Grand Mercure Roxy, with 2 tables of aunties, uncles and cousins. Food was unique and good, plus I got to play alot with a happy baby (K's cousin's baby boy)! Service was quite lousy though. The dumb waiter served the birthday cake while everybody was halfway through their desserts. Totally bad timing, and they didn't even bother to check with us first.

When we met my father in law yesterday, his surgery wound had healed much better. At least now not so red and swollen. He'll be removing the stitches tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes well..

I went to Grandma's for dinner today.. My sis, parents, and cousins were there. Now the whole family knows about my NZ trip. Mom did the whole "black face" thing and complained to my sister. I told them i might not come back if i really like it in NZ. In fact, there is a selfish part of me deep inside that just want to escape from all these and not come back.. hah. I should make this my birthday wish this year, perhaps it will come true.


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104th Months..

6:32 PM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
Today marks the 104th month that K and I had been together..

We woke up early to go East Coast Park for a run / roller blading with Gary and Pui, but was played out at the last minute because Pui couldn't get off the bed.. = )

But K and I decided to go anyway since we were already awake. So we went to the beach, sat down on one of the stone benches and discussed about the marketing strategy and corporate identity for K's corporate travel business.. It was a nice change having the sea breeze and fresh air while working vs. working in our living room. K suggested to do this more often.. We managed to come up with a company name and tagline for the business..

About an hour later, Gary called and said he will be coming over to join us with Pui. Apparently, she had woken up. The boys jogged, while Pui cycled and I roller bladed.. After that, we had lunch at "Old Town White Coffee".. I had Nasi lemak.. not too bad.. can consider going there to eat again.. After lunch, we then adjorned to Carl's Junior for drinks and talk cok for another 1 hour. All the while, K and I were persuading them to join us for our New Zealand trip.. but to no avail.. sigh..

We spent almost 6 hours at East Coast Park today.. But we exercised, did some work, so it was a very constructive day.. If only everyday is like this.. = )

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V-day 2009

For this year's Valentine's day, K and I chose to stay at home. AGAIN. But rather than do the whole cooking a few dishes together thing, I made salad for him. A HUGE bowl of salad with hard boiled eggs, celery, lettuce, carrot shreds, apple cubes and topped with thousand island sauce and bacon bits.. It actually turned out quite well = ) But it was a bit too much so we had the same salad for dinner too..



We also rented 4 DVDs to watch that day, and continued over the next few days. Ahhh... haven't had this kind of luxury for some time already.. Just lay in bed the whole day, eat salad from a huge bowl, and watch TV on my 42 inch plasma.. damn shiok!!

We watched "The Talented Mr. Ripley", which was a total waste of my time cause i think the ending is damn stupid. And I think Matt Damon looks ugly when he smiles..


Then there was "Hotel Rwanda", a true story about how this hotel manager in Rwanda housed over 1200 Tutsi and Hutu refugees during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. The story was so touching it made me tear a bit.. And also reminded me of how ignorant we are of what is happening in the world outside. There was this part where the hotel manager was talking to a news reporter, telling him that it's good he is filming the genocide and broadcasting to the world so help will come. To which the reporter replied: "You think help will come? Most people will just watch the genocide on TV and say "Oh that's terrible!" and go back to eating their dinners."

And I am one of these people. Totally guilty. Then again, we ask ourselves. How can we help? There are definitely ways to help these people. Our people sends aid in the forms of food and donations to war torn / disaster struck countries. But how many of these actually reach the people who really need it? Or will most of these "aid" end up in the hands of corrupted officials?
To me, the only way to make sure we are really helping is to go to the country itself and help these people first hand. By giving them the food supplies, by providing medical care. Then again, how many people can afford the time and the money to volunteer like that? Sigh...



On a much lighter note, there was "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle". Totally hilarious, laughed until i cried. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn't watched it. But apparently, almost everyone i talked to has already watched it..


Last but not least, "The Departed". English version of the original HK flick "Infernal Affairs". Again Matt Damon. But he is much better in this movie. And my favourite Jack Nicholson. His eyes always make me smile..


It was a day well spent in commeration of love.. Maybe we should do this more often.. = )

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Would you choose University of Auckland??

12:28 AM by Adeline Woo 1 comments
I was just browsing through the website of the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

My Paris friend will be going there to study, so i thought i will just check it out..

Upon clicking on the link "Why choose Auckland?", i was shown this page with a picture of two guys holding each other face to face..

Not sure what that is supposed to imply, or who is their target audience here?? = )





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Excursion to Singapore Botanic Gardens

I took a day off work yesterday and went to the Botanic Gardens.

My friend from Paris had stopped by in Singapore for a few days, en route to New Zealand to pursue her studies.. So.. I decided to be a host and bring her around. During my past 2 trips to Paris, she had brought me around, so i thought i will return the favor.

I totally enjoyed myself as a tourist in my own country.. never knew we have such a nice garden in Singapore!! We went to the National Orchid Gardens, and i saw the biggest orchids I have ever seen in my life... really beautiful flowers there.. I also saw the tiniest pineapple I have ever seen in my life.. very interesting.. And because it was her birthday, i bought her a little souvenir from the Orchid Gardens.. = )





Throughout the trip, we chatted a lot.. mostly about New Zealand, since i was going there soon myself.. and also about Tokyo, since she is also a huge fan of the Japanese culture. She is a French girl who can speak really good Japanese! And she's also a huge fan of plants and flowers apparently. She loved the gardens so much that she said she will come here and work after she graduate with her degree in Environmental Management. She even told me she had thought about getting a tattoo of an orchid on her ankle. That started a whole conversation about tattoos. Once she told me she was interested to get one, i showed her mine. We had so many things to talk about between us i felt we were like old friends!

We had lunch at the food court in Botanic Gardens, went around for a bit more, before we headed to Takashimaya Kinokuniya to find this Japanese book she wanted, and then for some Coffee Club huge-ass mudpie, which she totally loved.. We then headed to Chinatown's famous Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.. It was a really interesting experience for me because if not for her, i would never go inside the temple to look around. We had to don robes because we were not allowed inside with sleeveless tops.. I thought we looked like Jedis, but she said we looked like monks cause our robes were brown.. = )

The temple had like 5 levels and a roof top.. We toured every floor. Unfortunately, i couldn't take any pictures of the temple, because my handphone battery had gone flat from all the photos taken at the Gardens.. All my photos are on Facebook now..

After touring the temple, we went shopping for some Singapore tee shirts, before heading back..

Overall, it was an enjoyable day for me.. Although my legs were super tired from all the walking, and my head hurt afterwards from all the sun! Maybe I should do this more often.. be a tourist and visit all the brown color road signs in Singapore! Hmmm...


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I'm in Love!

12:06 AM by Adeline Woo 1 comments
After nearly 1 month of slacking, my colleagues and I finally got back to playing badminton and basketball today.. As usual, had to chase after them to pack up and go.. Today we had 2 courts to ourselves cause another colleague of mine booked the same community center as us. I just found out recently that she has also been playing badminton every week with colleagues from other departments. And one of them happened to be this pretty girl that my colleague had a crush on.. So... because there is such a strong motivation, this colleague of mine went with us today. = )

We played a few matches, totally not on form today.. I'm beginning to worry how i am going to play at the sports meet in KL next month. And because the team was seriously lacking female players, i thought i might find a few good female players with this new group. The pretty girl is actually not too bad, not sure if she would be keen though, probably ask her tomorrow. I paired up with this other girl, nearly died.. She's a nice girl, but when it comes to badminton, she is soooo fragile!! She doesn't run for the ball, and when she hits it, it's ever so lightly.. my god.. And there i was, running around and smashing the shuttle like a crazy girl. There were a couple of times when i just couldn't take it, so I asked her to please run and use more strength to hit the shuttlecock, although i said it with a smile.

We continued with basketball after our badminton courts were "hijacked" by the next paying customer.. It was a good game on the basketball front.. We had fun, and we even smashed a light tube that was lying on the wall near the court.. The whole scenerio was quite funny. Somebody threw the ball, it flew too far, and went straight into the light tube. The tube fell and there was a loud smash. Everybody turned and looked at us. We were stunned for a while, didn't know what to do, so continued to play. Nobody from the center came out to investigate. About 15 minutes later, this China man came over and sweep everything up. Evidence destroyed.. haha.. = )

After the game, K and I went home to take a quick shower, change and have a quick dinner before heading to the wake of the grandmother of our secondary school friend.

That was quite an experience. First, when we arrived at the house, we were shocked to see just how large scale the entire funeral was.. there was a jam, and we couldn't find a parking space. I think there were at least 50 tables of people at the funeral. Our friend stays at an old bungalow and there's a small park in front of her house so he funeral was kinda set up in front of her house and on the park. It was the biggest funeral i have ever attended in my life. Apparently, her grandmother had 10 children and many god-children. Her family was a 4 generation one too, which means her grandmother had great-great-great grandchildren. Something like that.

That's not all.. At the funeral, i played with my friend's 7 month old baby boy, Hikaru. . My friend is really into Japanese culture and all, so she gave her son a Japanese name.. = )

The last time i saw him was at the hospital when he was just born. I fell totally in love with this baby.. He's so adorable!! Very "kuai" also, and easy to play with.. and he has a lot of expressions on his face. My favourite expression is when he just stares into space, like he's stoning.. And sometimes, he will just babble non-stop in baby language.. Plus, he smiles and chuckles easily. I never laughed so much at a funeral before! I love the kid so much i wanted to take him home with me. Playing with him just made me want to have a baby now! I hope i will get a baby boy like him! I told K i wanted to visit our friend and her son more often before we go to New Zealand. This baby just makes me so happy! I took some photos of him, wanted to take a picture WITH him, but didn't get a chance to. So sad.. K did though! I thought the baby looked a bit like K .. haha..


K with baby Hikaru


One of his many expressions..



My favourite "Stoning" look!


Chuckling and smiling away..

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My new tenant..

I've rented out my room to an Indonesian Chinese guy starting 22 of this month.. Strangely, K and I kinda broke the agreement we had to rent our room out to females only.. This Indo chap seemed quite nice..

He appeared one night in front of my doorstep. I opened the door and thought at first he was some crazy salesman. But apparently, he came to iron out some misunderstanding between him and the agent. And because he did not have our phone numbers, he just tried his luck by coming straight to our house.

Apparently, he loves to watch Heroes and Friends too! And he actually asked about house-keeping when we were "interviewing" him the first time.. I might get along this guy after all.. haha..

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Flight Tales..

6:27 PM by Adeline Woo 1 comments
I woke up at 730 yesterday morning, wanted to have buffet breakfast at the hotel lobby, but after some dilly-dallying packing my luggage and putting on make up etc.. I had no time left. So ended up eating a banana before checking out. I waited at the lobby for my boss.. and since i have never met her before and don't know how she looked like, I kept a lookout for any Caucasian lady coming out from the elevator with luggage to check out. Finally, I saw one. She walked past me, went to the reception to check out. She didn't see me. So I went closer and waited behind her. After she did her check out, she turned around, saw me and called my name. Apparently, she had seen my photo before and therefore could recognize me easily. We walked to the office and chatted along the way. I thought she looked like a more mature version of Cameron Diaz! = )

We reached the office, did all the usual introduction to the people there, and then began our 1.5 hours meeting. After our meeting, she continued another discussion with my Hong Kong colleague, so i walked around the office and chit chat with some of my colleagues there. At 12pm, we went for lunch. Dim Sum again.. Best! = )

My boss left after lunch to catch her flight.. And because i still had like 4 hours to spare, i decided to go to the gym. Ended up running on the threadmill for more than 1 hour. I was watching CNN while running, and the news of the plane crash in Buffalo, Clarence Center was being broadcast.. So i got glued on it and didn't realize i was running for that long! Now my knees and legs are aching like mad..

As if the world is not chaotic enough, the plane has to crash and kill 50 people, levelling one house in the process.. Sigh..

After my gym workout, i still had 1 hour to spare before i had to head to the airport. So i decided to walk around Causeway Bay again. Bought a few boxes of Wife Cakes for Dad and some super-cheap Neutrogena whitening facial masks..

Back at the hotel, i took my bags, and the bellboy got me a cab.. i took plenty of pictures while I was in the cab, not realizing the "drama" i was about to encounter later..

Upon reaching the hotel, i realized the cab did not accept credit cards, and I didn't have enough cash.. The driver got irritated, and I didn't know what to do.. I had my credit cards with me, so he told me to withdraw money using the cards. But i didn't know the pin number to withdraw from the ATM. In the end, i had to run to the currency exchange, changed all my $24 Singapore dollars into HKD, and then run back to pay the driver who was waiting by the side of the road (when he was not supposed to). Still it wasn't enough. I still owed him 80 HKD. But there was really nothing else i could do. The driver drove off in a huff leaving me completely guilt-stricken.. Sigh... And in al the chaos, i forgot to ask him for receipt. I wil probably get a scolding from him if i asked for a receipt, but now i have to explain to my boss why there is no receipt when i claim for the taxi fare! Damn suay!

After checkig in, i went to the lounge to cool down and have some food.. The food there is one of the best lounge food i've tasted.. They dont have many dishes just a few but very nice. I had the fried rice, and this meat dumpling "money bag". Plus 2 mini tubs of Haagen Diaz ice cream.. Heavenly..

On board the plane, I saw a few other colleagues who were on the same plane. Such a coincidence. Lucky we weren't sitting together.. I usually don't like to sit with my colleagues on business trips.. Don't really feel like talking or pretending to be interested to hear them talk. Most of the time, on the plane, i just want to eat, watch video, play games or sleep..

Somehow, there always seem to be some funny encounters for me when i'm on the plane. This time round, it was the man sitting beside me. He was reading newspapers in the most unconsiderate way. First, the lady in front of him turned around and told him his papers were constantly brushing against her head. Then after that, I got irritated with him as well, and told him that he was blocking my light by holding his papers too high. I think he gave up reading the papers after that. haha...

I touched down in Singpore 3.5 hours later.. When i walked out into the arrival hall, i was looking for the taxi stand cause i knew K wouldn't be there to pick me since he had something on. But as I was walking towards the taxi stand, I saw a familiar silhouette standing by one of the counters.. It was K, grinning from ear to ear.. = )

As we waited in line for my taxi, I told K all my stories.. from the cab driver to the unconsiderate newspaper guy. K said I tend to attract so much drama in my life. = )

If I were to write a book on all the funny incidents that happened to me during my travels
(be it on the plane or at the airport).. i will probably call it "Flight Tales"..

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Dad's Surgery & The Art of Combat..

I went to visit my father in law in hospital yesterday night for the 2nd time. K's father had undergone a surgery to remove this growth in his saliva glands that was causing the left side of his throat to swell. It was the first time I saw a raw surgery wound, still red and swollen with totally obvious stitches. While we were there the first time, Dad puked several times. Apparently, it was normal for someone to puke just after surgery.

The second time we were there, Dad looked much better. K and I were surprised when we arrived at the ward to see so many of his uncles and aunties and grandma there. Think we ended up overcrowding the ward! = )

Dad's due to discharge this Saturday, hopefully everything goes well..

Few days ago, K mentioned that he would ask EK and Gary to teach us some simple self defence / close combat (since they were both commandoes by training). K was worried about safety in New Zealand, that we might meet some poor aboriginals along the way and be harmed. Now he's starting to freak me out.. So far, the thought of going to New Zealand has been all roses and daisies for me. I guess I need to freaking wake up from La La land and get real..

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Lei Hou !!

Greetings from Hong Kong!! I arrived this afternoon after a super bumpy touch down.. I think this is one of the worst touch downs I've experienced.. Maybe the captain is a "new bird"!

During the 3.5 hours flight, i watched one movie, played few rounds of Ninento Mahjong and flipped through a few magazines. Lunch sucked. Had some cheese omelette with hash brown and sausage. Lousy. Plus, the guy in front of me had his seat reclined, and because he was sleeping, the stewardess couldn't ask him to put his seat upright. So i had to eat and watch my movie in a super uncomfortable position.

While flipping through the magazines, i realized that the ranks of the male stewards are actually reflected on their ties. SIA changed their uniforms recently for the male stewards. So now they are wearing the same color jacket and pants regardless of ranks. Previously, the pants and jackets were of different colors for different ranks. In addition, i learnt how to differentiate between the various pilot ranks. Captains have 4 "Gold bars" on their shirts, Senior First Officer 3 bars, First Officer 2 bars and Second Officer 1 bar.. Something like that!

Movie was "Righteous to Kill" starring K's 2 favourite actors: Al Pacchino and Robert De Niro. It's about this cop who took matters into his own hands, and started killing scambags / criminals who are not in jail.. Very interesting twist towards the end.. And of course, great acting from the two veterans..

I slept in the cab on the way to my hotel. I wanted to have a chat with the taxi driver, but as usual, my Cantonese sucked so i gave up and slept instead.

Checked into Grand Hyatt and immediately started work to clear some emails.. I'm actually very impressed at the organization and layout of my hotel room.. Everything is so well-hidden, even a seasoned traveller like me had difficulty finding some stuff like the power points and the in-room dining menu!! haha.. Everything seemed to be kept inside a box or drawer.. Quite a pity that i only get to stay 1 night in my room.. this must be one of the most expensive rooms i've stayed in! 2200 HKD a night leh!! Si beh gui! Then again, not my money.. haha.. = P

My colleague brought me to this chinese restaurant for some yummy dim sum at around 3pm.. They had some promotion for afternoon tea, so we ended up paying less than SGD 20 for the both of us.. Damn cheap loh! And the food is very nice.. I still prefer the authetic Hong Kong tim sum.. After lunch, we parted and I walked around Causeway Bay until i started to feel sleepy.. Nothing interesting to me at all.. and the things here are not very cheap. At first, i thought i could find some nice jackets for my Tokyo trip next month, but their fashion here quite messy to me.. so in the end, i took the MTR back to my hotel. Lost my way a bit and had to ask around before i found the hotel..

Just finished watching one whole hour of Fashion TV, and 30 minutes of National Geographic while having my in-room dining.. I learnt that Mumbia is becomming the most populated city in the world, and 3500 peole died on the railway tracks in Mumbai every year. One lady who was interviewed said in Mumbia, time is so precious that you see people running every minute. In fact, time is more precious than life. Such that people run across the railway tracks, into the platforms just so they could catch the train. Also, I finally learnt what the meaning of "Haute Couture" is.. There's always so much to learn!! = )

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"Patterns of Excellence" Preview

When I attended the "Patterns of Excellence" preview last Sunday, I (together with all the other participants) was told to do the following exercises:

  • Write down the top 4 most stressful things in my life on a piece of paper. These must be the things that are worrying me the most. By doing this, we are supposed to help "lighten" our stress. Somehow, as if by a miracle, the "stress" really doesn't seem so overwhelming when you write it down on paper and read it. = )
  • Write down 10 thing you are grateful for
  • Write down 10 things you are proud of in your life. Most people criticize themselves too much but seldom boast of / think about their achievements. While the former is good, the latter helps to motivate too!
  • Write down 4 goals you want to achieve by end of this year. We were supposed to share these 4 goals to at least 10 people, so that we will be more committed to achieving them. It's so true that sometimes, when we make a promise to ourselves, it's easier for us to break the promise and give up because we don't have anybody else to explain or "lose face" to if we fail. By actually telling someone about it, it gives us "pressure" to make it or break it!

And now, presenting... MY lists!!

4 most stressful thoughts in my life (for now):

  • K's business
  • My Dad's health
  • My Grandma's health
  • When i can achieve financial freedom

8 things I am grateful for:

  1. I have a loving husband who always pushes me to bring out the best that I am, even though it means we have to quarrel sometimes to the point where i want to kill him .. = )
  2. I have friends and family who are genuinely concerned about me.
  3. I have food to eat everyday and hot water to shower and drink everyday (which many people take from granted)!
  4. I was able to complete university education (only 1 out of every 100 people born have the chance to attend university).
  5. I have a nice house and a nice car.
  6. I am born healthy, normal and pretty! = P
  7. I am born in Singapore where there are no natural disasters, no war and minimal corruption.
  8. I can have ambitions and have the ability to make these ambitions come true (there are places in this world where people don't even know where their next meal will come from, much less be ambitious)

7 things I am most proud of in my life:

  1. K: For who he is and who he will soon become..
  2. Myself: For working so hard and making it to where I am today, and still going strong!!
  3. Breaking through to becoming more honest with my family
  4. My degree (and my thesis of course!!)
  5. I'm finally taking steps to bring umbrella and protect my complexion!!
  6. That i learnt to overcome my insecurity and started wearing skirts despite the ugly scars on my legs.. = )
  7. That i have in some way, inspired (in a positive way) people around me.

4 goals I want to achieve this year:

  1. Have a healthy and very adorable baby.
  2. Travel and live in another country, and REALLY make it worthwhile.
  3. Build on Vivatech, break new accounts and triple last year's revenue.
  4. Be even healthier and slimmer!

Although not all the lists contain the required number of items, this is only temporary. I will definitely add more along the way!

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The 4 Ds of Financial Success

11:26 AM by Adeline Woo 0 comments

We need the 4 Ds to achieve the 5 Cs (Condo, Car, Cash, Credit Card, Club Membership).. = )

The Four D's of Financial Success By: Brian Tracy

Start From Nothing and Become Financially Independent

More than eighty percent of self-made millionaires in America began with nothing or in many cases, less than nothing. I can certainly relate to that because when I was growing up and right into my early 30s, I never had any extra money with which to start a fortune. It seemed to me that there was always enough, if not more than enough bills, to absorb every penny I earned. I was always in debt.

Be Ready for Your Opportunity

And even if a great business opportunity did come along, I wouldn't have been able to do anything with it. As I began studying financial success and self-made millionaires, I noticed that almost everyone around me was in pretty much the same boat. The idea of becoming really wealthy was a distant dream with very little possibility of coming true. You may be in the same situation, with more bills than money or assets.

Look at the Numbers

The statistics are a little scary. Of 100 people who reach retirement age, according to insurance industry statistics, only one will be wealthy. Four out of the hundred will be financially independent; fifteen will have some savings put aside. And the other 80 will be dependent on pensions, still working or broke - this after a lifetime of well-paid work in the most affluent society in human history. Now why does this happen?

Why People Retire Poor

There are two main reasons why people retire poor. First, they never decide to retire rich. They wish and hope and pray, but they never make a firm, unequivocal decision that they're going to do it. Second, even if they do decide to retire rich, they procrastinate until it's too late. They always have some good reason for putting it off.

Start With Desire and Decision

If you sincerely want to beat the odds, to achieve financial independence and retire wealthy, there are four critical steps that you must take, all starting with the letter D.The first step is desire. You must want it badly enough to make an unshakable commitment and to be willing to make sacrifices. The second D is decision. You must make a decision right now to do whatever is necessary, to be willing to pay any price, go any distance, to achieve your goal.

Practice Determination and Discipline

The third D is determination, which is to keep at it until you succeed in spite of all the problems and obstacles you will experience. And the fourth D is discipline - the discipline to master yourself to develop the habits necessary for achieving financial independence.Those are the four Ds. Desire, Decision, Determination and Discipline. And you can measure how successful you're going to be in the future by measuring how well you're doing in each of those on a scale of one to ten.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.First, make a decision, right now, that you are going to be financially independent, no matter what obstacles you face in the short term. Then write it down, make a plan and start to work on it every single day.Second, resolve in advance that you will persist in the face of every setback or obstacle you face. You will never give up. You will keep on moving forward until you finally achieve your goal.

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My quest for learning..

12:06 AM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
For some reason, I am so hungry for knowledge and learning these days. I'm reading,more, attending more talks and seminars, listening more to news etc. I think I should make it my resolution this year to learn and read as much as I can.

I'm almost done with my audio book on Jim Rogers. I'm at the chapter where he has driven half the world and is in Asia, talking about Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

I've really learnt alot about the world through listening to his book.. For example, did you know that in Ethopia, the calender is 7 years earlier? Apparently, when Jim drove across the border into Ethopia on 1st January 2000, it was 1st January 1993, so he and his wife was instantly 7 years younger when they crossed the border... cool! But this is just some useless trivia. What's more important is the social and political situations in the world, in some countries that i have never even heard of before. The poverty, the corruption, the living conditions etc.

On Sunday, I attended a 4 hour preview at the Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Center in Tanjong Pagar. My colleague was a graduate of their "Patterns of Excellence" program and he had invited me to attend the preview. Basically, the program was one of using Neuro Linguistics to motivate people to believe that they can do whatever they want and be successful in life. Kinda similar to the 3-day program that K and I signed up for 3 years ago.. Truly inspirational and motivating.

Here are some key takeaways i had from the 4 hours I spent on my precious Sunday afternoon:

  • One of the speakers, Conrad Lim, was a successful stock trader, author and investor who has failed in business 3 times and became a bankrupt when his wife was pregnant with his 2nd child. During his presentation, Conrad flashed his resume, which listed his 3 failed businesses and the year of failure. Then he proudly displayed to us the only certificate he possessed, which was the certificate showing he had been discharged from bankruptcy. He said not many people has this certificate, but it was much more valuable than any educational certificate. Simply because it's proof that he has suffered through the worst times (he almost wanted to commit suicide), and proof that he can make money.
  • One of the speakers shared a quote by someone famous: "We are the sum average of the 5 people around us / closest to us." So if I am always surrounded by people who are very negative, always complaining about life and constantly depressed, i will never become a successful or happy person. Having said that, i'm not saying that we should leave or avoid friends and family who are like that. Rather, we should try and increase our sum average by either increasing our own, or by helping the 5 people around us increase THEIR sum average.
  • I learnt that it takes 10,000 hours of constantly doing something repeatedly before you become "World Class" at what you do. That translates to about 10 hours a day for 3.5 years. Interesting...
  • We watched an Oprah Winfrey interview on You Tube video, which made me cry.. it's amazing just how powerful the human mind can be. If we set our mind on something and believe in it totally, NOTHING can stop us. And we can be strong no matter what happens, as long as we WANT to be strong. If nothing is happening the way we want it, it is simply because we are not hungry enough to pursue and to do whatever it takes to get it. Instead, we simply become lazy and give up.
Of course, the above is not all that i have learnt during the 4 hours. There were plenty more. I walked away from the room, without signing up for the course. Rather, i was tempted to join the company and become a coach myself, so that i can learn how to speak like them, think like them and then influence other people around me to become more positive. Then i can convince my Dad that he can do it, and recover from his damn stroke. That he should believe in and depend on himself rather than on his religion to help him recover. Sigh.. Maybe i should show him the You Tube video..

I think more people should start attending these free previews. After all, there is nothing to lose and there's free food and lots of new people to meet. Especially in this current situation where everyone is just feeling negative and depressed. It's good to once in a while surround yourself with positive people. It's the Law of Attraction. We attract what we believe in. So if we believe that we are born losers, we will do things that born losers do, and then at the end of it, we really become losers. But if we believe that we can be rich and successful, we will take steps and do things that will increase our chances of becoming successful, and Viola! we become successful..

I hope i am not sounding too idealistic here, especially since i have nothing to show for in my current state.. There are just so many things that i want to share with so many people you know!! = )

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My Last Loh Hei. for 2009.

I had my last Loh Hei during lunch yesterday with my colleagues at Tung Lok. We had more than 30 people and occupied 3 tables. This time round, the food was not so fantastic compared to my previous time there. I was quite disappointed cause i was actually looking forward to it. Nonetheless, i had the Loh Hei, which was good. And we ended up eating until 3pm so it was an official "eat snake" session.. haha..






We recently had a new colleague in the Singapore team, a Latin American lady who was expatriated from the US office to Singapore as the Asia Pacific LPG Manager. I cannot understand the criteria used by our management in selecting employees to expatriate. If you ask me, it is very strange to ask an "Ang Moh" to lead the LPG business in Asia Pacific, where she has to liase with all the LPG dealers in Singapore (among other countries), and these dealers are mostly uneducated "uncles" whose main business is to sell LPG cylinders to the coffee shops and hawker centers. It will be interesting to see how they communicate with her. = )

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CEO Unplugged..

11:30 PM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
Yesterday was Yuan Xiao Jie. Supposedly the Chinese Valentine's Day. K said that the term "Chinese Valentine's Day" was nonsense because there is no such thing, and that Valentine's Day was derived from Western beliefs where Feb 14th was a day to honour Saint Valentine and Christian martyrs who were named "Valentine". So to K, having a Chinese Valentine's Day was like saying we have a Chinese Christmas Day i.e. nonsense.

Anyway, my "Yuan Xiao" evening with K was not too romantic. We attended a talk at the NUS Shaw Foundation Alumni House, called CEO Unplugged. It's basically a series of talks where the NUS Business School invites CEOs and high level managers to participate in a discussion (interview style) on their success stories.

This is part of my quest to learning as much as i can this year. And what other way to learn about success than hear it from the horse's mouth right?

This wasn't the first time i have attended such sessions. I love attending talks and just listening to people share their stories of how they struggled and finally made it to the top. The last time i attended the CEO Unplugged, it was Olivier Lum, CEO of Hyflux. Enjoyed it tremendously.

It was a nice feeling to be back to NUS again. I felt so nostalgic, especially when i was walking towards the Shaw Foundation building under the full moon light. = )

The Shaw Foundation Alumni House was quite impressive. I wonder how much of the Alumni's donations they spent on building this!


Apparently, K happens to be one of the principal benefactors of the Foundation .. = )




The 2 invited CEOs were Stanley Tan, Chairman of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Center, and Howie Lau, General Manager & Executive Director of Lenovo Asia. There was an interesting contrast in the discussion, given that one is a business man in the IT industry, whereas the other has never used the internet before.. = ) Plus, the moderator used to be my professor in year one.. although i can't remember what module she taught me!


The turnout was pretty poor. I think it's due to the fact that the talk started at 630pm, and not many people can knock off work and rushed to Clementi by 630pm. We sat right in the middle of the auditorium. There was this guy sitting in front of me who totally pissed me off. He was reading his newspaper even though the people on stage had started speaking. I was on the verge of throwing my handbag at his head. So rude! Then i looked around and observed that a few others had their laptops open and typing away while the speakers were talking. I wonder why they even bother to come at all if they are not interested to listen. It's interesting how reading newspapers and using laptops while somebody on stage is talking are considered equally rude, but one just seems to "look" more rude than the other.

I thought Stanley was quite gay.. the way he sat and crossed his legs, the way he spoke. At one point, he even mentioned that Howie looked cute.. OMG.. = ) But i must say he is very good at what he does. He mentioned something that i totally agree with. He said that many people , mostly idealists, are always advocating that businesses should have more social responsibility, that businesses who make a lot of money should donate some to charity to help the poor. What these people fail to realize, is that the greatest act of philantrophy /charity is to help create a booming economy. Because that is sustainable, and long term. And it is precisely because of these big businesses making money that we are able to have a sustainable economy. It is precisely when these businesses are making money that they are able to employ people and lift the country out of poverty! Simply giving $1 million to charity will not solve poverty because it is not sustainable. How true!!

There was free buffet after the talk, but K and I didn't consume any. Instead, we headed to Bugis Junction to pay our M1 bill using credit card (to clock points!). Apparently, the whole Valentine's Day vibe had invaded the shopping mall, cause there were soft toys, flowers and all that lovey dovey stuff being displayed at the stalls.. It's quite sad to see love being commercialized like that.. Although i do love receiving gifts!! = )



We drove top down on the way home.. I couldn't help staring at the full moon, and take some pictures of it. My pictures of course, does no justice to just how beautiful and bright the moon was..



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Lazy old Saturday..

I woke up to the yelling of the rag and bone man this morning.. Got dressed and hurried out of my house in search of my savior.. As luck had it, he was on the 5th floor. I managed to sell off all the paper and magazines that i had stacked up in my study room and store room for a grand total of $1.50. Words cannot describe how happy i was to have finally gotten rid of all these bags and bags of paper, which was a total eye sore to me! So many a time had i wanted to just throw them all away during my Chinese New Year spring cleaning.

Today is a lazy Saturday for me.. Went to the wet market to buy some minced chicken meat. I had planned on cooking lunch today but forgot to buy the minced meat yesterday during my grocery shopping. I ended up also buying some roti prata and soya bean milk for breakfast. I actually enjoyed my short trip and thought it was nice to just soak in the atmosphere created by the crowds of people doing their wet marketing and having breakfast at the hawker center.. = )

I made mee sua soup for lunch, but ended up overcooking the noodles so we ended up eating "porridge" haha.. = ) tomorrow i'm making cold pasta..

K had gone cycling with Gary at Bukit Timah this morning. So during lunch, K was sharing with me his cycling adventure. He seemed to have enjoyed himself tremendously. He was telling me about a certain area in Bukit Timah where the air actually smelled sweet. Interesting. He also told me how he and Gary were sharing stories about their wives, and comparing how crazy their wives can get. Apparently, Gary's wife is also a clean freak like me. So then, Gary was sharing about how his wife would scold him whenever he brushes his teeth and leaves toothpaste on the floor. And K countered that by sharing how I would scold him when it's just a matter of him placing the toothpaste on the wrong side of the vanity top.. haha.. he won hands down! = ) Didn't know i was THAT crazy..

I was so bored yesterday i went to google myself.. I was quite surprised to see that my name actually appeared a couple of times on the search results page.. didn't know i was that famous"! = )

Last week, K and I attended a marketing talk organized by Marriott. We sat there for 90 mins listening to this sales girl (who shared the same name as me) promoting their Marriott Vacation Club membership. Basically, we were being persuaded to pay a 5 digit sum over 10 years, in order to enjoy 47 years of luxurious accommodation worldwide for up to 5 days a year. It would be enticing if we were the frequent travellers sort, flying to far away countries for holidays and looking for 5 star hotels to stay. But no thank you. So we ended up walking away with a $200 Takashimaya voucher for our time, which was the reason why we went in the first place, and K marketing his service apartments to the same sales girl who was trying to sell to us. = )

Tomorrow, K and I will be attending a 4 hour talk by the well known Adam Khoo. One of my colleagues had invited me to attend. Something on "Patterns of Excellence". I wonder what i will learn from that.. Look forward to it!

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Cold War

K and I are having a cold war.. Think we are both very stressed up and therefore easily pissed off with each other.

The cold war was started by me, when he told me that he had agreed to rent out our room to this Indonesian guy who came to view our house yesterday. I was angry that he did not consult me before doing so, but just went ahead and make the decision, then come and tell me like it was a "FYI" kinda thing. This wasn't the first time already. Something similar happened recently as well, though i can't remember what.

He tried to explain, but i kinda cut him off cause i didn't feel there was any reason good enough to explain why he couldn't even give me a call to discuss before deciding to rent out the room. The fact that the house is in a mess (because of all his things that were brought back from the office), and there is a bicycle sitting in my living room (which is a huge eye sore to me!) just makes it worse. I just can't stand my home so untidy!

Yesterday, K went to clean up his bicycle. Then he left the cloth (that he used to grease his bicycle) in a bucket. So when i came home this evening, i tried to wash the cloth. When i poured the dirty water out, the grease got stuck to my bathroom floor, and the entire floor turned black.. I had to scrub the floor so hard with bleach and all kinds of detergent before it finally came off.. That pissed me off as well. In the first place, i was totally reluctant towards the idea of bringing his bicycle home cause there is no place to keep it! And he refuses to lock it outside the house.

I went to my parent's place for dinner. K drove me there. He was supposed to join me there. During the drive there, S called him and asked him out for dinner tomorrow with the rest of the gang. He agreed. After hanging up, he then told me that we were going to have dinner with the gang tomorrow. Like a "FYI" message AGAIN. Which pissed me off again, cause he didn't even bother to ask me if i was free before agreeing to the dinner. And i was just sitting beside him! When we reached my parents' block, i got off the car and just kept walking without turning back. He never followed. Don't know where he went. I didn't bring my keys or money, so I had to borrow money from my parents to take a cab home. And then ask my tenant to open the door for me when i got back. Until now, K is still not home yet.. Sickening.

We seem to be having quite a few conflicts recently. Yesterday, we discussed about the New Zealand trip and us having a baby. K said we won't go to New Zealand if i am pregnant. But going to NZ was also his idea. Now he already got me so excited about NZ, i'll be damn disappointed even if I am pregnant. Sigh.. sometimes, I really dunno what he wants..

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My Asia Pacific Year..

10:44 PM by Adeline Woo 0 comments
2009 is the year of Asia Pacific for me.. Seem to be travelling to all the Asia Pac countries.. I started the new year in January in Hong Kong/ Macau and China, then next week, i am going to Hong Kong again... K won't be around on Valentine's Day so i am still thinking whether i should extend my stay over the weekend in HK.. I'm still quite sad that i will be spending Valentine's this year on my own.. = (

Come next month, going off to KL for 3 days for my company's regional sports meet. As usual, i will be in the badminton team. We had the last sports meet in 2006 at Pattaya, and the Singapore team beat Malaysia and Thailand and emerge overall champion for golf, badminton and bowling! So proud leh! But i lost my badminton match hehehe.. Then early April, flying off to Tokyo for meeting.. Been busy planning for this Tokyo trip, cause I kena "arrow" by my boss to organize the trip since i am based in Asia Pacific. Also good lah, cause i get to choose all the things i like.. Planning for a sight-seeing tour as our team building activity.. still waiting for the tour company to give me a quotation. I asked them to to include all the places that I want to see.. hee hee.. Cherry Blossoms is a must.. although not sure if it will bloom when we go there.. supposed to be Spring time in April, but nowadays the world's climate is so screwed up, you never know!!

I also requested for the Onsen hot springs, so went to research a bit on the website. I read that people with tattoos will be rejected at some of the hot springs parks, cause the tattoos are usually associated with their local mafia. haha.. so interesting!! = )

Then end April / early May, K and I will fly off to New Zealand for the rest of the year!! I spoke to my direct boss this morning about my unpaid leave.. she seems quite okay with it, although she did mentioned that she had some plans for me to help out with some projects and she intend to discuss with me next week in HK or during our meeting in Tokyo.. haha.. lucky i quickly "siam"!! Actually i also feel quite bad, cause my boss is new, and i will be leaving at the peak period in end April / May, so whoever take over my job will be quite "jia lat".. i did tell my boss that i can still be contacted in New Zealand if they need help, then she joked that she can arrange for meeting in New Zealand and meet me there!

Anyway, we'll see how it goes... this month should get pretty interesting for me at work..

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button & Me...

I had lunch with my administrative supervisor today. Told her about my New Zealand work holiday plans, and then requested for 1 year unpaid leave. She was very encouraging, telling me that it's a good opportunity to explore while i am still young. Nonetheless, she will still need to talk to the AP Zone Sales manager about this (cause she "owns" my career and i am an AP resource), and also to HR. She also advised that i should not state the "work" part as the reason for my unpaid leave during my application to HR. Not surprisingly, most of my benefits of an employee will be suspended during my one year unpaid leave.

We continued to talk further into our lunch, about life, about various seminars and life-changing talks we had both attended. Apparently, we both share an interest in attending talks given by established people, to learn from these people who have made it in life, who have been there and done that. She shared with me about this marketing seminar she attended on the globalization of marketing. How this man who worked for Laurel-Palmolive had to market Laurel sanitary pads in Japan and in Singapore.. How he was tremendously successful in Japan but not in Singapore. He realized he had to try the product he is selling before he can find out the cause of its failure. So he, a grown man wore sanitary pads for the sake of his job (and passion!). And he realized that the pads made for Japanese women (who sits with their legs closed) were not suitable for Singaporean women, who like to sit with their legs crossed, thereby causing leakage. And so he changed the product design to tailor to the target audience needs, and thereafter began to see results. Interesting story.

K and I went to watch the 13 Academy Awards winning film: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I love this show. It has a very thought-provoking plot of how a man is born in his 80s but in a baby's form, and then starts to age backwards physically as he get older mentally. It is so ironic how much similarities one can find between a human being who is just born, and one about to die. We just use different terms to describe them. Firstly, both have no recollection of the world around them, or their loved ones. Just that the baby is said to be "unaware" because he just came into the world and hence naive, and the dying person is said to have "forgotten" their past and "losing" their memory due to dementia. And both don't have much mobility. A baby cannot walk and talk properly because they haven't "learnt" how. Whereas an old dying person cannot walk and talk properly because they are "losing" the ability to do so.

I know this sounds cliche, but Brad Pitt still looks drop dead gorgeous. I love the part where he was in bed with his childhood love, whom he had met when he was in his 70s (physically) and she in her teens. The girl asked him: "Would you still love me when i have wrinkles?" And he replied: " Would you still love me when i have acne?"

I just visited the movie website, and saw another thought provoking phrase in their thriller: "Life is learnt backwards, by living forward." How true. Some people may think that I am a curious case too. Doing all these things that most wouldn't do. K says sometimes it can be tiring explaining to people who simply cannot comprehend why we do certain things that we do. Especially those who, when told about my plans to go New Zealand, would react almost immediately and say: "Are you crazy?" I just hope i don't become one of them. Ever.

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I'm going to New Zealand!!!

K and I both got our New Zealand work visas approved!!! And it's valid for one freaking year!! We were only planning for 6 months. I was so exhilarated when i saw the email that i nearly died.. = )

Now i'm so excited. There are so many things to do but so little time. I am already sending out applications to work in orchards picking apples, in ski resorts as a customer service attendant or a ticket seller.. can't wait!! I wish i can just pack up and leave tomorrow!!

I will be talking to my local administrative boss tomorrow. Am keeping my fingers crossed that the management will approve my request for 1 year unpaid leave. Actually, the best is they offer me to work in our office in New Zealand, since i already got the working visa.. haha.. wishful thinking!!

Just had a telecon with my team members.. towards the end, my boss concluded the call by saying: "Okay, i think most of you can't wait to get back to work or go to sleep for the Asia Pac folks.." And i went: "Yah", without realizing that i was no longer on mute. I heard some giggling in the background, and one of my colleagues from US went "GOSH!" and laughed. Haha... i didn't even bother to undo my mistake.

Aiyah, if i always have to bother about what other people think, i will be so busy! What's more, i can't think of anything else but my very first overseas working visa!! New Zealand, here i come!!! = )






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Reunion dinner @ my humble abode...

Sunday was a totally crazy day for me. I had invited my family over for dinner at my place, part of the whole Chinese New Year Ra-ra that K absolutely hates. = ) I had asked them to come at 5pm, but the day's events got so crazy that i had to call everyone and ask them to come at 6pm instead. Here's a replay of my "Sunday madness":

  • Woke up at 12pm and headed to Ang Mo Kio to swop cars with my in-laws. K needed a bigger car to load some stuff from his office. Had lunch at the same time, and went to NTUC to buy a packet of rice and pandan leaves for dinner that night.
  • Went to M1 @ Paragon to collect a pair of free movie tickets for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".
  • Headed to K's office to empty out all the remaining stuff. We had to pile about 6 paper bags and one fax machine on 2 office chairs, rolled the chairs downstairs, unload everything and then push the 2 chairs back to the office. Then i waited at the lobby for K to drive the car over, load everything in the boot, and drive off. By then it was 430pm.
  • Headed to one of K's service apartments to collect 2 rice cookers to cook the rice for that night. (Yes, my house has no rice, and no rice cooker!!) When we reached the apartment, couldn't find the wire for the cooker, and also the rice scoop, so had to spend time searching for them.
  • After leaving the service apartment, i called to order food for dinner on the way to collect the roast duck near my place. By the time we reached the roast duck place, it was 530pm. And i haven't tidied up the house yet. I nearly went bogus.
  • I finally reached home about 15 mins to 6pm. K and I quickly put the rice to cook, tidied up everything. We had not unloaded all the office stuff from the car boot yet.
  • At 6pm sharp, my sister arrived with her maid, then my parents, then my auntie and uncle with their 2 daughters. Both my sister and mom had brought along extra food in case there was not enough. The study room was still in a mess cause K had not tidied it up either. And our dinner was not there yet.
  • While one maid was helping me in the kitchen, K asked the other to help him unload the stuff from the car boot and go with him to collect our dinner. So with all our guests in the house, K and the maid brought up loads of boxes and bags and dumped most of it in the study room. I tried hard not to faint when i saw the mess.
  • That was not the end. The kitchen was a war zone. While K was gone, i was the only one who knew where things were kept around the house. So I had 4 different women including the maids asking me where my cutlery was, where the dish cloth was, how to use the microwave etc etc.. Before i can answer them, my niece walked over and asked me how to operate the dvd player so she can watch her "hi-5" dvd.
  • Then as i was walking back to the kitchen, my sister's maid spilled a bowl of curry all over the kitchen floor. Everything was just a horrible mess.
Despite all these, we managed to set up a wonderful feast on the dining table. I've never had so much children in the house before, so much laughing and eating.. All my loved ones in my home.. My girls had plenty of fun playing "pretend" with my Hundred Acre Woods collection. The adults played mahjong whilst I made Taiwanese rose tea for them. Mom won over 10 bucks from 20-30 cents mahjong games. I played with my very intelligent baby niece ALOT. My sis brought my baby niece into my bedroom and let her roll on my bed. That's supposed to make me pregnant easily, according to old wives' tales. = ) In the midst of all the mess in the kitchen, my sis saw my tat and asked me about it.. she said the design was really nice.. heehee..

Despite how the day's events went, it ended well, with me an extremely happy host. I am so grateful for the help the 2 maids provided. They washed the dishes, cleaned up the living room, mopped the floor, and even helped me to wash my toilet! Now it's super clean. = )

Here are some pictures of my 2 nieces with their new found friends in Eunos:






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