this is a post hastily done, before my boss steps in after his hours-long meeting :X

the long weekend made me extremely nua and reluctant to come back to work. especially since fri afternoon I was on MC for my persistent runny nose. I decided that since it did not worsen or improve (its getting on my nerves, sneezing every morning) I shall get it cured b4 it becomes a big flu.

nothing much this week, except for a possible marina barrage pinic. and i think we have a gathering this friday, but haven heard any confirmation yet?

in any case... I've finally baked to my heart's content, and found the right bananas, right tweaks and everything that makes my muffins yummy. yay! I am running low on muffin cups and I need a proper mixing bowl. I've been using this big ceramic bowl which is damn heavy and not big enuff when I double my ingredients for a bigger batch.

oh, another random note before I go... so happy all my CSIs and crime dramas are back for season premiere this week! and I heard Heroes 4 is back too. yay hay!

jer's best fren is back in sg for some sort of a surprise visit to us. cos he forgotten to mention to jer he'll be back in town for his brother's wedding. so all of a sudden jer got a call from him to say he's back. lol.

we had the famous black pepper crabs at Eng Seng Coffeeshop tt's at the junction of Still Road and Joo Chiat Place. its crazy how the people flock there for the crabs. I think its quite good. but I'm more a fan of chilli crabs than black pepper. the crabs are damn fresh but I think black pepper overpowers the freshness of the crab you know? still, its yummy!

if you've noticed there's not much food pics, or any pics lately. cos my bro gone to taipei for a trip with his army frens. he called us to say he's extending his trip yesterday. so he's coming back two days later on tues, instead of sun. according to him, I would shop till i drop. which i have no doubts too.

jer's fren & gf will be staying for slightly over a week. sorta clicked with the gf the last time... but we didn't get to know each other better cos there wasn't enuff time. but she's a real sweet gal, like typical korean ladies - demure & charming. and I realised many koreans been popping up around me lately. ha!

we're planning stuff to do tog since they're in town. like a pinic at marina barrage! think they have tennis in mind but I can only watch, and maybe wait for dinner at ikea :P so, its gonna be a fun & busy week!

p.s: I look forward to jer graduating and we go visit them in brisbane... it'll be so cool!

heard & seen so much stuff from clients that I feel I am learning sth invaluable, besides the knowledge abt franchises... but also learning about life.

how not to neglect little details about your loved ones, that could save their lives. how to trust the spouse who is outstationed and have faith in your relationship/marriage. how to take things in your stride and not bother yourself with little details so you are a happier person without fussing over unimportant details...

so many things learnt and heard. would love to share... but I guess hearing it from the people themselves and from a third party makes a difference. hope you guys are enjoying life as much as I do.

learning, growing, loving.

been to Ion for about 4-5 times, and I still haven't cover anything above the ground! mainly dwelling around the basement areas cos the food hall is full of yummy treats. I think most of the shops within our budget are in the basement floors too. its also cos everytime I'm there I only can stay a short while, couple hrs at most.

after our yoga class we went back to Ion to shop, main thing was going to Uniqlo cos we both heard so much about it. the clothes were not bad... I think jeans are pretty decent there. And if you like quality basic tees like crew neck, v-neck, tank top, spag tops etc... you can get 'em there. And guys have some very nice polo tees and business shirts there at what I think are reasonable prices. 30 for a polo tee (:

my bro's flying off to Taipei with his army friends in a couple of hrs, a personal trip. I was so tempted to blurt my Vietnam trip out last week when they were all talking abt travelling & stuff. But I decided that just in case I give my mum more reason to nag... shut my mouth for the time being :X

somehow or rather, communication's been especially bad between us ever since I went to work. I mean, not that its been gd all the while... we're those traditional families that children & parents somehow got this barrier between them, not to mention our age gap. i guess maybe cos I'm home for lesser hrs, I expected quality communication. but whenever we do get to talk, alot of times she either

a) reminds me of the minute, irritating details like housework first thing when I reach home from work or wake up in the morning & is going to work (come on la, its like the last thing we wanna hear right? and what can I do when I have 1/2 hr to prepare for work?!)
b) watches how I spend like an eagle; if I buy some stuff she deems too expensive she'll nag. but sometimes when I told her sth is nice I tried somewhere then she'll say 'then why you nv buy back for us to try?'

I dunno why must she make things difficult for us. When we suggest going out they'll say don't go too far la... travel

ya, she's been so sensitive abt $$$ matters that I dunno what to do abt it sometimes. so. this explains my short fuse nowadays when I'm at home... oh well. hope I can kp a chk on my temper. ENDURE even when she is at her most unreasonable.

damn!

Mika's much bigger than she was in this photo now. and sometimes I can't help but wonder if I did wrong by giving her to jer's family. I know how much they like a kitten... but I didn't expect their mum to be so scared of it. she really screams sometimes when Mika suddenly jumps or comes near her. I didn't know she'll get so paranoid!

Jer also said Mika can be quite aggressive sometimes. I like to think that its cos she is still a baby, and she still doesn't know what can be done/not done, what are the limits to playing (no scratching or biting of hands, legs etc).

I hope its just that she needs training...

went to some shophouse on Niven St and imagine my surprise when I came to the door, there was a sign that read 'closed' and the decor and the guy walking over to the door was covered in tattooes.

LOL.

dont worry, my boss was behind me and it turned out the namecard designer coy was renting the unit ABOVE the tattoo parlour. cool huh?

they even asked if we gt a scare. haha.

Hot Yoga tml with Jer! :D Hope it'll be alot fun without much of the sales pitch talk, woots~

weekend passed by in a whiz, again! JB trip was so-so. I guess I had too much expectations for it? more people other than Jer's family this time. and his family's car happen to break down so we had to ride in his uncle's car, and his sisters & mum in another. hmm. a bit of time wasted in the day cos the first shopping center wasn't as gd to shop as expected. Moved on to Jusco at bukit Indah... alot of shops, which didn't really have time to explore... didn't get shoes like I want. but got a few tops for work. nevertheless, it was fun gg back to shop in JB and exploring new grounds (:

recently, a friend's been msging abt his gf. how he finally got the girl, after convincing her that he really is serious abt her and their r/s. maybe... he wasn't serious abt the relationships b4... or like he said, he just seem to have 'short attention span' - when he sees another nice girl his affections for the gf will 动摇.

but this time... I could see that he was. serious. and this gal was the one who, on the 2nd day told him she wasn't v sure she could accept his past. and she was feeling insecure. and now they're over.

hai. just feel sad for my friend that when he wants to commit, the gal doesn't trust and love him enuff to give him the chance. her insecurities are not unfounded but still... I think since she had initially committed she should have at least stuck by her decision and gave everyone a chance? hope it will turn out well for them... maybe give each other more time to prove my friend is sincere.

on a lighter note... enjoyed a nice japanese dinner with Jer's family... Unagi don, some sort. haha. jap rice and grilled unagi with omelette. gonna try hot yoga with Jer at a free trial in True Spa on Tues. Looking forward to it. Cos I wanna do sth to make me feel less fat... and less guilty? :P

week started hectic, with a series of unfortunate events...

monday - full day meeting at client's

tuesday - and guess wad, it rained cats & dogs when I had to leave for a meeting and a stupid bus happily splashed like a few litres of rain water onto me. morning of prepartion then meeting all the way till dinner time (in case you're wondering, same client :S) and he treated us to nice 'zhi car'!

the lucky thing? I was wearing skirt... if not my whole pant legs would be drenched like dunno wad. god!

wednesday - my phone conked out on me, warranty over and I walked over to Singtel right opposite the Samsung Service Center to buy a replacement straight. can't do without a phone cos I have no spare ones! NUS networking event... met ex-colleagues for dinner with boss. there were certain times my boss and I felt left out cos the two gals kept talking abt their own stuff. Didn't really include us... so... hmm.

today... finally got jer to try the ramen I was raving about. I tried it in the Big Splash outlet... but there's a nearer one in Holland V. Its called Yoshimaru Ramen Bar. Do try it guys... besides the Marutama @ The Central (which I was alw recommending to others too :P), this is the next best and reasonably priced. no pictures though... just trust our recommendation! *winks

This Saturday is a long-awaited JB trip! hopping to get more food for Mika and maybe some accessories like a what-do-you-call-it to carry her around if we need to bring her out? and I hope... clothes n shoes for me pls?