Hong Kong

Yay! I'm in Hong Kong with Zd now. Came to visit his sister and his new niece who's 1 mth old. Had been busy for the past few weeks with the wedding prep. Glad that most of the impt stuff have been settled.

Juz had dim sum for brunch juz now. Super shiok! But think I have to make sure that I don't eat too much later during dinner. Have to watch my diet.

Looking forward to buying some skincare stuff in Sasa and relaxing. The weather is super good. Very cooling.. I like! =P

Ok, gotta go now. Would update again later!

I'm Engaged!

Yeah, it has been a long time since i last updated.

Here are the more significant events that took place recently:

1. 23 Sep 2009 - I got engaged! My funny boy proposed opp Sydney Opera House and completely surprised me. haha.. I was totally giddy with happiness then and kept staring at my bling bling.

2. 22 Oct 2009 - my last day with Deutsche Bank. Ironically, I worked till 730pm on my last day when others usually make their rounds frm 4pm onwards.

3. 24 Oct 2009 - I did my first 10km run - Nike Human Race. Although I only ran 30% (which is my personal best) and jogged and mostly walked the rest of the way, timing was better what I had expected - approx. 1h 30+min. Darling was very sweet and jogged with me all the way although I wanted to bean him at the last 750m when he danced a jingle in front of me as I panted my way thru.

Sweetest thing he said that day: "I already ran 9.75km with you. What's 250m more?" when I bade him to run on ahead of me during the last 250m.

4. 24 Oct 2009 - Dear and I booked a photoshoot package frm Romantic Life (a Taiwan bridal co) so we would be flying to Taiwan next yr to take photos! I'm so excited!! The photos we have seen so far are good but I think I'm more excited abt the food. haha.. oops, Zd would shake his head if he sees this. =P

5. 26 Oct 2009 - My first day in RBS. So dreadful, no break in between and I so hoped for one. Oh well.. luckily I had gone a trip to Australia in Sep before this. My new colleagues are really nice and wonderful. Very helpful too. And my big boss Chris is very amiable and nice. Feel so happy and fortunate that I followed His will and made the move. haha..

6. I found khakis to accompany me on my ballet classes! Poor Andreana was not able to join cos she was down with fever and sore throat. Poor thing and she was so looking forward to it. But it's ok, think she'd be back in gd health to join us next Tue. And I think she'd be v excited to know that the ballet teacher is planning on bringing the ballet class to a local production of Swan Lake. I'm pretty excited too. Hope that the tix would be affordable.

All in all, the past 2 months have been very good for me and I feel very blessed. It's late, going to slp now. Good nite~

Happy Birthday~

Celebrated my 25th birthday on Monday 17 Aug.

Before that, had a pseudo one (according to ZD). He brought me to Pulau Ubin. haha.. It was my first trip there and I was super excited.

We met at Changi Village for nasi lemak in the morning, when it started raining. -_-" Almost cancelled the trip, but as the rain wasn't very heavy, we decided to wait it out.

So we went to Pulau Ubin on a dingy boat which cost $2.50 per pax per ride, but I loved it! haha..

At Pulau Ubin, we rented a bike for $8 for the whole day though we only cycled for abt 2h+, but I figured that's still cheaper than renting a bike at East Coast park.

I hate going upslope - cos I have to dismount and push the bike up most of the time. Bah. But the sweaty feeling was shiok. Of course, I made a miscalculation and wore shorts. I was thinking of the heat, and tot that if I kept moving, I wouldn't get bitten by mosquitoes. Obviously, I was wrong - as I have 7 mosquito bites to prove it. Bleahz.

But neway, we cycled to Chek Jawa and we got lucky. Was there when the tide was ebbing and got to see some barnacles, and hermit crabs. Watched a male hermit crab trying to push a female crab into mating with a kind of horrified fascination. I sincerely hoped that the female wouldn't get raped as the male seemed very tenacious and kept following and pushing her around for abt 10mins. Luckily for her, he gave up in the end.

We moved on and took lots of pictures. haha.. Loved immersing in nature. The greenery is so calming. But I think the company also counts alot. Zd was so unbelievably romantic - pointing out all the rubbish and algae in the mangroves to me. I was so overcome by the moment. haha..

After that, think my darling boy tricked me into going to his house for dinner, cos he had planned a surprise birthday celebration for me with his family. I was super touched, cos I had joined in their birthday celebrations for one another - including his nieces', but this was the first time that they celebrated mine for me. His dad bought a very nice green tea cake from 919 Trading. Think it was quite good - very soft and spongy. =)

On the actual birthday, I received lotsa smses. Was very touched when Zd's frens also messaged me cos I didn't really expect that from them. haha.. yeah, so I was really happy. And the Mafia (or wat remained of us) bought a Bengawan Solo thousand layer cake for me! Ha.. this comes with a little story.

I bought 6 slices of thousand layer cake from the confectionary after more than 2 weeks of deliberation. Brought it to the office and put it in the fridge thinking to eat it during tea break. Imagine my initial shock which gave in swiftly to anger when I couldn't find my cake in the fridge. Someone took my WHOLE box of thousand layer cake from the fridge. That thief! The Mafians were with me then. Luckily I didn't make the offer to invite them to share with me. I had a sense of deja vu - it was the same situation back in Seattle when I bought a chocolate fudge cake and found an empty box in the fridge. So somehow, thye found my anger pretty amusing then, and thus, thought of buying me a whole slab of Bengawan Solo thousand layer cake to make up for it. They are soooo sweet. =)

After that, I went out for dinner with ZD at Imperial Treasures. We even went for a 10min massage-on-the-go at Kenko which was a fiasco, in our opinions. We juz walked around, but again, the company was good, and I had a wonderful time. hehe..

Went home and my sister bought a 1kg mango cake from Prima Deli. *shakes head* She went crazy cos it was on discount. Nonetheless, I went back home to more cake.

And guess wat, I'd be having more cake this Sat when Zd's frens celebrate my bday for me. I think I've had enough cake to last me for the rest of the yr. *grimace*

Haha, but all in all, I had a wonderful time. Happy Birthday to me!~

Ballet

Ha.. I just went for my first ballet class, and even bought my first pair of ballet shoes! I was pretty excited, but we did only easy stretching which I guess was kinda expected, seeing that we r all beginners. But at the end of it, I felt pretty tired. My arm muscles are a bit achy from lifting them continuously. Haha.. But I love it!

This is how I'm going to slowly realise my dreams one by one, starting with the small ones. =)

Outing with Yujia and Eli

So happy! Yujia's back from Canada for 2 short weeks.

This is wat we have done so far:
1. Met up at Bedok on Thurs (16 Apr) for BBQ stingray and a stayover at my place (only YJ).
I was quite worried when she said that she usually slps at 3-4am as I have to work the following day. o_0 But luckily we managed to tire her out. haha.. And she slept at 12+am (like me). Though she said that I talked in my slp. Crap, I muz have been too stressed from work.

2. Took leave yest (24 Apr) and went swimming with Yujia at Sg Swimming Club. Someone couldn't get up and was late. Sigh, and to think that I only slept 4+h and reached Tampines 40mins before the designated 8.30am. It was quite a lovely swim, with the exception of a few bee frights. And Yujia taught me how the frogstyle should be done properly, though I still couldn't tread water. She was very amused when I attempted to tread water, cos she said I'd look very panicked when I started to sink. haha..
We also went to the jacuzzi at the club. So cool.. it's the first time I've been to a warm jacuzzi. The 2 jacuzzi I had been to had cold water. It was pretty hot at first (37 degrees celsius) but we adjusted. So 爽.

We went to a Teochew restaurant with Yujia and her mum. Sigh, think I should try to control myself whenever I have Teochew porridge with side dishes. I think I like eating plain congee too much that I'd give in and keep eating. Argh... I overate yest. And to cap it off, after we went to meet Eli for KTV at Katong, I had Katong laksa, Thai coconut and shared a rojak with the gals. Approx. 2h later (by then, I was feeling very bloated), we went to Ichiban Sushi, where I had planned to eat only chawanmushi.
Noticed that the keyword is "planned". I ended up ordering a set with Chawanmushi, salmon sashimi and grilled saba with teriyaki sauce. Well, it looked ok, cos they didn't look alot, until I started eating the grilled saba with teriyaki sauce. It was too sweet! So I had it with rice. And before I know it, I had finished most of the rice as well too. =(

So on Sat morning, I'm feeling extremely sorry for myself for overeating. Esp when I shouldn't overeat, else I'd have indigestion and acid reflux again. Sigh.. So I'm now paying penace by not eating breakfast this morn. Let the body burn off more fats.

Ah.. but it has been a wonderful time spending time with Eli and Yujia. Suddenly realised that yest might be the last time that I'd meet up with Yujia before she flies back to Canada this Thurs. Was suddenly quite sad. Then she said that I can still meet up with her for one last time if I go swimming with her this Mon. Prob is the Sg Swimming Club is at Tanjong Rhu. Not very sure how to go back home frm there. And I still need to study. sigh..

Will see my studying progress these days. Though I'd really love to go. Ok, I better go mug now then.

Retrenchment Day

I was working on sth this morn when a colleague suddenly walked over to me and said that she came over to chat becos we haven't had much chance to chat. I was like, "Huh? How come she is suddenly so friendly?" Her next sentence was, "A and B had left, so in case I'm the next to leave, I'd like to say goodbye to you first."

!!??

I was stunned and echoed, "Leave? Leave where?"

That's when I knew that the retrenchment exercise in finance had commenced.

When I confirmed with my colleague, she queried where I had been hiding for the past hr. Had to suppress a brief surge of ire before I replied that I was obviously working hard at my desk and oblivious to what had happened. Bit my tongue on the "unlike you" which would have been too catty and well.. not very nice.

It was so scary. Just a phone call and they are all gone. Just pack up and go. They don't even need to log out of their PCs. I think I was in shock for abt 3h and quacking in fear - worrying abt what I'm going to do to support the family and pay off all those loans and bills if I were to lose my job. Despite the assurance from my boss that the retrenchment exercise is over for the day, I was still reeling from the shock and couldn't really focus on my work.

There's this grad who is on her last rotation. We were supposed to swap portfolios but she has yet to show me her work processes. Now I have to take over her work (which supposedly has many issues) in addition to what I am already doing. Best part is, my boss told me that tmr we r going to hold a meeting to discuss several outstanding audit points from her portfolio that have to be closed out by the end of this month. Faint. And I still have some new product testing files from my own portfolio that I have to set up within these 2 weeks. Looks like OT is inevitable but I get abit stressed thinking abt how I'm going to plunge in and waddle thru the new portfolio while juggling my own.

Oh well.. it's still relatively better to have work to do than none. Month end is coming in 2 weeks time. Guess I'd juz take a deep breathe and try to muddle thru. Jia you!

Vietnam Trip 15 - 21 Feb 2009 (Day 1)

Told myself that I'd blog abt the trip soon, but was kept occupied after I came back. Finally decided to set aside 20mins to load the pictures and blog abt my Vietnam trip before I forget the details of the trip. But cos it's too long, so I'd break it down in parts. hehe..

So we must start with the night before the trip. My darling bf forgot where he kept his passport and we were still searching for his passport at 2am. His room looked as though a tornado had passed thru it. Think we had sorta resigned to not going alr by then, though I still packed his clothes into his backpack (just in case). Just when we had really given up hope, he suddenly found his passport in his jacket. And suddenly, we are still going to Vietnam afterall! =)

I was quite worried abt this trip actually, cos we planned to go to Ho Chi Minh - Nha Trang - Da Lat - Ho Chi Minh, but we had only booked a budget hotel room for our first night there. And everything else (accomodation for the rest of the trip and day tours) were not booked. And given the control freak in me, it took tremendous control to not keep hounding Zd over the bookings. I hate doing things during the last min. But we thought that it would be cheaper to book things there and it gives us more flexibility to later plan out how we want to travel.

So we arrived in Ho Chi Ming on 15 Feb 2009 8.15am (Vietnam time). We tried to take a bus to the backpackers' area in District 1, but couldn't find it. In the end, we took a cab for which I was actually secretly relieved. And that relief became more profound when I saw the traffic and pollution as I peered out the cab window.

The most common mode of transport there is the motorbike and it takes a certain amt of courage and faith to cross Vietnam roads. Nobody minds the zebra crossing like Singapore. The vehicles are a law unto themselves. You just have to cross lane by lane and trust the motorcyclists to avoid you. So there's a lot of constant honking as pple warn one another of their presence and Zd commented that they really check their blind spots. To which I quipped, they need to do that for their own safety, given the traffic rules (or lack of) they have.

After resting at Kim's Hotel for a while, we set off to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral of HCM, then the Old Post Office. Kinda regretted walking. It was soooo long. Luckily I brought a pair of sport shoes for walking long distances. I think we have walked for at least 1.5km under the blistering sun before we finally sought shelter in a shopping centre called the Diamond Plaza.

Ravenous after walking for so long, we had our first meal in Vietnam in Diamond Plaza's food court. I had Vietnamese rice rolls with grilled pork, but was still hungry after eating 5 of those and ordered another set of Vietnamese traditional wrapped rolls - vegetables, vermicilli, prawns wrapped in rice paper. Initially I thought that they were quite refreshing with the mint leaves wrapped tgt with the rolls. But after my 6th or 7th roll, I've decided that I'm not going to eat another roll for the rest of the trip. I was just too sick of the minty flavor.

After satisfying our stomachs, we set off to our second destination - the War Remnants Museum. The museum was super damn hot and suffocating. We were sweating like pigs while inside the museum. They seriously ought to consider installing air conditioners in the museum. The fans did not help much by blowing hot air around. I felt like passing out and dehydrated after leaving the museum.



After that, we went to Pho 2000 to try the very popular Pho Bo. The heat waves sent us seeking refuge in Cafe Terrace after we had the Pho Bo. Prior to the trip, I heard ravings on Vietnam's famous drip coffee and ordered one at the cafe while Zd ordered a strawberry milkshake. I had no idea how to drink the coffee while it was dripping and it was dripping at a very slow rate. By the time it had finished dripping from the filter, the coffee was cold. Damn disappointing..


After that, we started to walk back to the hotel. Went into art reproduction shops to help our frens browse for some art pieces. It felt very touristy. haha.. After going back to the hotel to rest and shower, we took a cab to the Windows Cafe (also another much raved cafe). Alas, we didn't venture into the cafe. According to my sister's bf, they have lotsa diff rooms with diff themes and DJ in the cafe. The food was quite disappointing, not that fantastic. There were a lot of lights though. I thought that the ambience was not too bad due to the lighting but Zd found it so-so only.

Ordered latte. 2 coffees in a day. My stomach was quite jumpy after that. Caffeine overload. But I still slept like a babe after we got back to the hotel. Hehe..