what should I say, this week should get a 4 out of 5 rating? Becos boss is not in, and all the GMs are out of town for meeting. Plus our grandfather is on leave! (in my company they call the boss of ur direct supervisor - 'grandfather'. and usually they like to come by for surprise visit in my dept when our boss not in town)

Plus, I think I shld make a special mention that to date: I've had 4 free breakfasts in my 2nd-3rd week cos there's FOUR employees who struck 4D/Toto. Which brings it to a total of 5 in my 3 weeks, I've got a feeling it'll keep on going. Its either the fengshui in the company or that they bet heavily in 4D. Tell me why they keep winning?!

Here's my entire department (: very nice colleagues whom I got along quite well with. Wanna guess whose the boss?

Charlene & Wylin, the two colleagues whom I'm closer with, cos of our age ba! (: I'll miss Charlene when she's gone de. Contract finished this week. Which explains our dept lunch...

**************************************

I'm quite surprised at my 'efficiency' this week. By this afternoon, I had already met Eugene twice and Minshan for dinner on Fri. Hahaha. I had a long chat with Minshan at Ya Kun after dinner. Alot alot of topics. Thks gal, I enjoyed catching up with you! And pls dont forget our pet phrase for the next few weeks: "Bangkok also have!"

And now.. pictures from my new phone! haha, its not exactly new but ya, for me yes. I love the camera! <3

while waiting for the daily 'opening' (my colleague to open up the dept :P )

Yacht Club dinner, had Chicken Cordon Bleu, the same dish I had in France. But of cos, this doesn't taste as good. The chicken is a bit too tough to cut & chew. I think I'll give it another chance since its a new menu.

playing with the window in e car, haha.. too cold. This was what we always do as kids whenever we walk past windows right? Just that now, the msg has changed. HAHA!

and... the dessert of the day! Japanese ice cream at MOF in Lot 1! I gotta agree with Sharon (from her blog entry abt Lot 1) that its becoming a more happening place! And wad's more there will be more shops coming... Looking fwd to it!

*cross fingers* give me luck for tml's 4D, I wanna rub off some of my colleagues' good luck in 4D!

what with the pre-GSS sales, and now the GSS sales, I'm trying to up my willpower not to participate in the shopping like the whole island is doing now. Cos I want to defer my expenses to the BKK trip! I'm only keeping it to buying stuff like toiletries.. Mask, facial foam, shower gel, etc. I must be determined!

Tml, I'm going down to Westmall to get myself a new phone & do a recontract with Singtel. Whoppee..

Been trying to add some pictures but blogger just can't seem to upload them. Anyways, here's wad I manage to upload. Still have some pictures out there with Joyce & colleagues that I want to upload, so I guess for now there wont be much pictures except these.

we were told we look like 'couples' in this shot, lol.

we entertained ourselves with alot of phototaking, and guess what: we found this perfect spot that seem to make the photos look so pretty. quote from eric: looks like a condo ad!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Tuesday, me and Eugene rushed back home after work to have dinner and meet to watch 'Made of Honour'. Haha, just what I need! A light & funny movie.. Well, the morale of the story is: treasure the people around you, do not wait till you're losing them then do you realise their importance! Well, to know if Patrick Dempsey manage to steal back the bride, catch the movie then!

I'm so gladddd that tml is Friday. It means another week down, 6 more weeks to go!

finally we passed the one week mark in our PA, our first milestone! haha.

eh, quite unbearable if you tell me, but I can't deny time is passing fast. I do hope it continues this way so our 8 weeks will be up pretty soon. My boss, who is also my supervisor, has a rather busy schedule. Of the 5 working days last week, I only saw her for 2 days. And most of the time she was busying meeting other managers who had to consult or meet her for certain matters. Or she was busy replying and following up on emails at her desktop. Hai. And in a week's time, she'll fly to Vietnam with my other colleague for an entire week. Great. So how is she gonna rate my performance properly if she's like not here for most of the time.

Anyway, while trying to find my way through competency mapping, I also looked out for chances for myself to learn other things. Even if its like asking them to show me how to scan the documents. Haha. And of cos other admin/HR stuff which they have to handle on a daily basis. Like I did some translation for a Chinese worker who has been affected by the Chinese tragedy in Si Chuan. His 2 other friends had alrdy went back on Friday, cos this one just came back from Middle East after an on-board assignment. You can see the worry and anxiety in his eyes. Sense the agony he is going through. Cos he couldn't reach his family on phone, and he called a friend who lived nearby his hse (and by this we mean a few miles) said his house had collapsed.

But I would say he was very lucky, to be on a team with very compassionate people. They all rushed work so that they can complete their assignment ahead of time, just so for their colleague to be able to go back home and settle his matters.

As time trickles by, precious rescue hours are lost. And by now, any survivors pulled out of the debris would be a great great miracle. When is all this going to end...

Movies like Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow etc always left me filled with many conflicting emotions. On one hand I was struck by how great the forces of nature were, and yet I was always humbled to see the scale of destruction it could make. Humbled in the sense that it made me feel small. That really, Mother Nature is not to be underestimated.

And within 2 weeks, we saw what Mother Nature could really to us. It makes me wonder again, if is this how Mother Nature is reacting to how Man have treated her. It only takes one cyclone, one earthquake to remind us of what nature can do. And the thousands of lives and countless property etc destroyed will only serve as an even more painful reminder to many.

But while all these traumatizing pictures and news may bombard us, we also see the other side of humans - humanity. How the different nations selflessly reacted by offering different kinds of aid, despite the controversial issue of Tibet standing in between them and China.

*sighs* no more disaster please. Enough lives have been taken.

after seeing some blog entries and my own personal experience, I hereby make my conclusion:

people experiencing high levels of stress/fatigue have a high tendency of doing some unexpected things (like suddenly finding yourself on the floor or in your brother's empty bed) in their slp.

Ytd, eugene said he called me at 1230pm and I picked up the phone. I talked in some giberrish b4 i hung up. Sth like "mmm, mmm.." Like I'm acknowledging sth even when he haven't really said anything. And I hung up!

I totally refused to believe it, cos I woke up at 1257pm, I still rem! But Eugene very confidently asked me to go chk my call log. And there was really a call received on 12.33pm. shucks.

When did I pick the call up?!?!

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

on a side note, 1st day at work was pretty ok. Its good that I most likely won't be doing the admin work, cos I'm embarking on a project myself. Which spells some trouble. Cos my colleagues wont really be able to help me if I wanna ask them sth, unless its regarding company backgrd or job information.

And I predict OT. OT. OT...

I shall not trouble you all with the 'technical' details of my project, but let's just say. I'm expected to create something out of nothing. on my own.

and so, I shall dedicate this post to all those people who made my bday even more meaningful and special.

To the nanhua gang (which includes you of cos, thongler): well, the pics and my prev post said it all. Thks for the cake and the presents. Let's meet up some other time again. the break's long!

To my GSS friends, esp Vincent & Solomon: I know you all wont see this, but was truly touched when you guys rem and wished me a timely happy bday. Haha, of cos i don mind whether its timely or not, but well, they rem!

To the rest of the lovely peeps, who msged/left wallposts.. etc Thks for remembering.

I had a great 21st, thks to you guys... <3

had a bang-start to my weekends last night thks to you guys *smiles*

still had quite a few laughs while looking thru the photos and remembering all the silly stuff during KBox time. haha.. and the restaurant. I think hungry people are strange people, all the funny poses come out. Here's the evidence:

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics from you guys! esp the ones we took outside the restaurant. You know what, believe it or not, ytd all 8 of us did a very incredible thing. We came in pairs of the same coloured tops, without any coordination. Pairs of black, white, GREEN & brown. Tell me how is that possible, lol. you can even get pair of GREEN!

Thks to you guys, I had a great time last nite. Haha, great food and great company! Oh ya, kor... I really like the card, haha.. I know guys choosing presents for gals' 21st not easy. Thks!!

Ok, now i have to go back to reality.. Internship starts tml. 8 weeks of learning. or dreading?

I havent iron my clothes, shucks.

P.S: I slept till 1pm, my bro didn't know i reached home at 4+. The first thing he said when I woke up was:

I thought you died.

=_=

the burden is finally lifted off me. PA is finally settled thks to Jenny from CAO. And I think blessing in disguise too. Cos honestly, I got a relatively high pay compared to my peers. But, the agony of waiting, waiting and worrying abt your PA, pls spare me that. no more.

so, past few days had been spent, trying to level up for Bridge in viwawa (which i did :D ), shopping for office wear (which burnt huge holes in my pocket) and just slacking. yays. it feels great to be able to enjoy my hols totally for now. And to be able to spend more time with Eugene. The ah beng stuff is really tickling me. haha.. he now officially has an ah beng's NTU map.

and I failed to settle my internship again. hai.

I was told to give 5 choices to the CAO. There's only 6 and 2 of them's in the east. Which means I have to choose 4 from west and the remaining in the east.

if I get the one in the east. then it really says sth.

I'm already dreading PA like hell. damn.

actually there's sth still weighing on my mind - my stupid internship. I went for the interview last week, they told me they'll make the decision within last week. And I supposed the sch would tell me this few days. I really wanna settle it asap. I bought my clothes ytd hoping that I'll be able to wear it to a bank, cos its more formal. If I were to be rejected, and go to some ulu industrial area instead, I'll be damn sad cos I'm going to be so overdressed.

Later I'll make a call to the office, see if they got news for me. sigh. wish me luck? *cross fingers*

Mission: To gather enough formal wear for upcoming internship

Location: JB

Date: 27th April 2008

Status: COMPLETED

Wahaha. These are some of my fave finds from my shopping in JB today. I am just one of the many doing 'sinful' things b4 exams officially finish. hehehe. There was a very nicely cut shirt in white which I would love to bring home, but there was no size for me. Nevertheless, I got 3 shirts, 1 skirt, 1 pair of shoes for casual and formal wear each.

okok, back to reality soon gal, paper on Fri, chiong!

this is a peek into what I'll be doing tml. Wanna guess anyone?

went for my haircut at Le Salon, needless to say, I totally enjoyed my experience there.

this was the look right after i reached home. I know I most probably wont be able to get this look back again, so I took a snap of it for remembrance. haha! anyway, I like my new hair, its a bob cut, but not as angled as it shld be. my hairdresser help me mod it a bit to suit my preference.

well, first time at a high-end salon, I was definitely very out of place. Cos the clients there are all tai-tais or OL. all loaded people. And even though I dressed up to go there, erm, I still feel odd! LOL. The salon is big and brightly lit with lots of full length mirrors. So you get to see everyone around you. and VICE VERSA. got a few looks from the apprentices (ya, got good-looking males!). Anyway, I like their service, and the people working together seemed quite closely-knit. Well, I think the next visit will be twilight yrs later. After I clear my study loan. after lasik.

went for a super late dinner at 10pm last nite, our usual friday nite out is cut short cos Eug gotta work (: but its ok, quality time spent tog! went for our fave hokkien mee at Food Republic, yummy yummy! always finish it no matter if I'm hungry or nt, cos its so tasty. And... someone else got new hair too.

ok, according to him, since he got golden highlights, drives a Lancer and listens to techno - he's an ah beng. So being his gf, I'm an ah lian. NOOOO!

I am still in shock, of how I just came across the most impossible coincidence in the world!

Just this afternoon I had an interview at a Dutch bank regarding my PA. (Well, my previous company backed out at the last minute!!!) While watching Ah Wang, I had a call from a foreign number, I couldn't really tell it is from, except I do know it is a European number, cos I recognise the first 2 digits representing the area code. Who can it be? Raphael was the only one I could think of, but why not the number I had stored in the phone???

You can tell how many questions I had swirling in my mind before the phone rang for a few rings and I finally picked it up. No, it was not Raphael. The man over the phone started saying he is calling from ...... and he is looking for a Mr. XXX. Honestly, since I was in the living room I couldn't hear him properly. so I said pardon, and he said he is calling from a Dutch company etc. The first thing that came to my mind was my interview this afternoon, though I know there's no way there'll call me over this, cos I'm just a HR intern. Not some bigshot dean-lister looking for a prestigious internship that will make someone call from the European headquarters.

Guess what??? This guy called my number to look for a man, and he really meant to call Singapore. Just that I think he was given the wrong no. He himself was quite surprised to know that I had an interview this afternoon at the Dutch bank, but no, he's looking for a certain mister. Haha... but he jokingly said that if I send my resume over maybe he can find me a job in Holland. *chuckles* he's so gentleman. Anyway, I told him to try another number after he double checked the no with me - he had a 9-digit mobile no, think the last digit wrong. And we wished each other good luck in finding what we want. Hahaha... tell me what kind of coincidence is this??? The timing is real good, lol. I shld save his number. And next time when I find Singapore dull and boring, I can get myself a job in Holland/Nederlands, hooray!

Well, time passes real quick. You know what? Its been a year for me and Eugene! *smiles*

Hee. Well, we sort of celebrated our anniversary with a dinner at Bosses last nite. Pretty late for a dinner cos I had to wait for him to knock off. We've been eyeing the steamboat there for some time, and so we tried it last nite. Well, its good that the waitress told us, that the things stated on the menu is actually for one person's share. You know what? One person's steamboat cost 36 bucks?! That's way too steep isn't it. Anyway, she says actually the things are enuff for two, just that things like the 'tau pok', fishball etc is one piece each. =_=

We went ahead, and ok la, although it was one piece each we both were still quite full. Cos there's la mian also. Had a gd time cooking and trying the food together! :D

Anyway dear, happy first (:

P.S: We should have taken a picture together last nite!

with dear Raphael at Meridien Hotel!

they tasted as good as they looked

Ok, I had sth in my mouth, hence the weird half-smile

Guess which hand is mine??


9 pieces of precious sashimi :P

One of the many neoprints...

Had a very special gathering today, met up with Raphael! Our teacher from UTT back in summer sch last yr. Its his yearly visit to Singapore before the exchange, so students can ask him or clarify things abt the impending trip. Just like last year, how he flew over, but we didn't go cos of sth.. I forgot.

anyway. I'm glad I sacrificed my day to meet up with him. I mean, we had a great time when we were over there in France, so we shld do the same and graciously bring him around. Well, we met him at his hotel lobby (but some of us were late, oops) and brought him to Pasta Waruku for lunch! It was at Cuppage.. and of cos, we didn't eat pasta. haha... we ordered sushi, sashimi (9 pieces to be exact) and shabu shabu!

Ok, the food was great, and the service too. They responded damn fast to the bell system! Maybe its cos they were just outside the door? We were so amazed. We pressed the bell and within 3 seconds the door to our room opened. SERIOUS! we even joked once when the waiter forgot to close the door that we shld just press and ask them to do it. hehe.. no we didn't.. that's so bad isn't it.

oh, after lunch, we went to the HK cafe at Cineleisure for some dessert. Believe us, we were all very full. But in order to be good hosts, we shldn't just abandon him after lunch ma. And guess what we did after dessert?

We took neoprints next door!!! Haha. So funny, the 3 guys were very reluctant to go into the machine. But we wanted him to try sth different. So yep, neoprints! I hope the pictures are big enuff to see. He's quite gd looking actually (: I like the deep-set eyes that Caucasians have!

Anyway, its funny that I only get to experience this when I'm back in singapore and not when I was in France. Raphael bade us goodbye in his hotel lobby after taking our last picture, and he did it the french way! "Only for gals" he says. haha, ok I dunno how to do it, he showed it to us. Just the touching of face to face. Right first then left ok? And he made this kissing sound while he did it. So guys, when u're in France or with French babes, this is wad you shld do!

how many times in your life, have you encountered hearsay and was drawn into believing or even 'contributing' sth to spice up that boring afternoon in the office or a dead-early morning lecture?

Been wanting to blog abt this for some time, but didn't had the time to sit down and blog properly. Or rather, I was distracted by other things whenever I am online. Recently I've been busy with preparing for exams (not exactly in the mugging mode yet, but making furious attempts to concentrate) and managed to squeeze in time for a 21st chalet. I was really glad I went, and had the opportunity to see for myself a great teacher among my friends. I haven't been taught by him previously but had heard abt him from MS. How he had selflessly answered her qns on Econs & most recently, offered his help to her cos he knows that she's pretty stressed up over her tight exam schedule.

This made me recall that not so long ago, I rem hearing pp saying things abt this teacher and that. You know, the usual things abt a tutors being oh-so-slack or driving you up to the wall with work. I rem hearing things abt him, but certainly not this side of him. And I'm so glad that.. I did not choose to believe those stories they passed ard. (Exactly what I honestly don't rem, but obviously I didn't hear this side of him frm them.)

And this is the first time I come to respect a teacher so much, without being taught by him (:

I (or should I say we?) just made the fatal mistake of letting the stress get the better of me.