Happy Holidays, Merry X'mas!

Merry Christmas!
May all be filled with joy & laughters in this special season!

心情

雨 过 天 晴
心 情 本 是 轻 松 自 在
下 班 时 刻
心 情 必 是 开 心 无 比

很 可 惜，今 天 我 找 不 到 那 种 心 情。。。

一 向 独 来 独 往 的 我，不 是 没 有 朋 友，而 是 找 不 到 一 个 可 以 倾 诉 的 对 象。也 或 许 是 我 属 于 听 者，不 会 随 意 把 心 事 告 诉 朋 友。

工 作 忙 碌 的 时 候，喜 欢 一 个 人 静 静 地 做，不 愿 同 事 干 扰 或 再 加 工 作 给 我，有 时 真 受 不 了，只 能 强 颜 欢 笑。。。

周 末 时，希 望 有 他 陪，但 总 是 需 要 工 作，好 无 奈。。。
生 活 好 像 越 来 越 烦 闷，本 以 为 上 课 后 会 好 转，但 还 是 原 地 踏 步。

好 想 找 回 以 前 的 我，真 实 的 笑 容，无 忧 无 虑 的 生 活。。。

Grumble again~

Just getting sick of the job here: bits and pieces, paper work, no system, too extra work system, everyone clears leave end of year = find no one for advise = anything wrong, you are responsible. Actually one of the prof really enlightens me while we are in a meeting few weeks ago, he has mentioned something like we spend alot of time and effort for the programme, but never get to see any return or benefit/incentives to our ownself, that is something not right. I think i get what he means. It just doesn't pay to be good, no one seems to appreciate our work. Why do we still strive so hard? Perhaps this is why many of us wanted to start our own business. You really reap what you sow.

I have updated my resume weeks ago and started to send out through online agencies, ought to look through Classified. Hope to get a job that can make me commit. My current working desk are filled with papers, no personal belongings here, simply a 3cm by 3cm colour printed photo of hubby and myself, and my drinking cup at one corner - 'cos i know i will not stay for long. I will give myself another 3 months, just 3 months...hopefully....

Bored~

Oh, realised i haven't been blogging for awhile. Was kind of bored at work today, therefore went through all my previous posts, and began to realise that most of my posts are filled with grumbiness. Well, that is my motive of writing a blog, an online diary. But doesn't seems very right at times, do human beings have a better brain to remember unhappiness as compared to the happy moments they once had? This question just came across my mind, maybe someone out there can clear my doubt.

*Prof came to discuss something on a seminar event, i have lost the feeling to continue. Hmmpf...shall continue when i got back the feeling..

A very short vacation

4D, anyone?

Condolences

Looks like i often have the mood to blog only during the late days of the week. Yes, it's another friday here. Gets so tired on this friday, somehow. Hubby's aunt passed away on Wednesday midnight. Attended her funeral at havelock road last night. We have visited her in hospital days before as she had a swollen and painful hand which we thought it was only an old ailment for the aged. She was still able to talk, joke and move about in her bed. Never did we know that she was warded to ICU just days after we visited her. Everything was so sudden. She was not her usual self anymore, tubes and needles, supporting system were all over her. Her eyes were closed, breathing was difficult, body were not moving, only seems to be nodding her head when we greeted her. 2 days after ICU, we were informed that she cannot pull through anymore. The tubes will be removed, supporting system will be switched off. Their families may have their last words to her. She can only hear but not able to response. We were told that tears flow from Aunt's eyes. She had moved to another paradise.

Life is so fragile, once you lost it, its lost forever. I truly believe do or say what you want to your loved ones. You may hear the last words to you on your death bed, but you are not able to give them your last words before you go. Cherish your every second. Life is precious.

I wish Aunt rest in peace, may she be happy in her world of paradise.

Moody Friday

What a moody friday. I thought i am suppose to be happy receiving the weekend, but no, i can't find that feeling right now, why uh? I guess perhaps it's due to work again. Have 1 or 2 seminars to settle, 1 programme to arrange. Doesn't seems alot but after all the events, i would need to clear the shits. It can be interesting working on events but there are too many adhoc things to consider. Getting course outline from lecturers, applying subsidy from company, sending out flyers, receiving applications, getting notes from lecturers, printing of notes for participants, booking of venue, catering, informing students on change of venue, compiling attendance list, receive payment, reimburse subsidy, printing of certificates, send for signatory and finally send out to participants. phew..interesting job but this is not the only jobscope, have to work concurrently with other task given. Sigh...

I woke up at 5.30am today, all mind thinking about the work i need to do today while lying on the bed. GoSh, Grandpa Zhou doesn't allow me to play chess with him until my alarm sounds. Luckily i slept at 11pm day before, else i would be in my dreamland while blogging here, hehe...

Hmm..i miss my primary and secondary school days. No $ worries, no family worries, no work worries, everything went just so smoothly during the school days. No wonder our parents always tell us that school life is always the best, we should be happy and glad that we are still studying. You will only come to understand them when you are a working adult. Yes, i love my family.

Bus....

Compared to people going to town area, i may be lucky enough that i am working near my home. Just take a 15mins bus ride and i can reach my workplace. Dislike working in town area 'cos you will have to squeeze and endure the pushing from other commuters during peak hours. Not to mention about lunch hours in town area, you can hardly find a seat to satisfy your hunger. Those are the reasons why i prefer working at tuas or unpopular job locations like tuas or somewhere seems "remote" for others.

As mentioned above, i just need to take a bus to reach workplace. All the while, i took a 15mins walk to interchange to catch bus 179. For those who took buses from interchange near the bus 179 stand, you would know that the queue is never-ending. Fyi, bus 179 stand is at the very end of boon lay interchange, the queue stretches all the way to mrt station! I can't see where it ends, as i have already given up looking for my queue halfway through.

Ok fine, i'm glad hubby notice another stop near our home that i can board, bus 199 (ok, this bus in interchange too, but i always thought it takes longer hour to reach). Took 10mins walk to this bus stop, and was happy there were always seats for me. Happily tried for few days and am glad that hubby discover this stop, hehe..But my nightmare comes soon after! The bus becomes crowded whenever i board at the same timing or even earlier. Urghh..You can witness 2-3 buses passby in front of you due to the crowds in the bus. Testing my patience! Sigh..I don't mind standing in the crowd 'cos it took only 10-15mins to reach workplace but it doesnt feel comfortable especially when i have my AF or feeling weak!! Sobz.. Can we have more buses to cater for the crowds please...sobz..or rather having free shuttle buses for employee to reach their workplace, hehe..('cos my prev company cater free bus for us to pioneer sector even though the public bus stops directly outside the company only leh, hehehe..)

Well, enough of my lamenting, just wishing for an impossible here, haa..get back to work, tommorrow's friday! Jiayou !!!

I love this!

Sea Land Air

With the pairs of Land Sea Air side by side, ain't they cute? hehe..These pairs have been with us for as long as 7 years! The first pair - Koala is the first gift i bought for my hubby-then-boyfriend 7 years ago. The centre one i called it Sotong, is bought by hubby before we dated, and the last pair - Owl we bought it together to make it a complete set of Sea Land Air. These pairs have been shifted from one car to another since hubby bought his first car. From Singapore Nissan, to France Peugeot, Honda, Nissan again and lastly back to Singapore Hyundai. They followed every car we changed and own, haha..However, the 3 pairs are currently residing in our home 'cos we've sold away our car 1-2 weeks ago. They are like pairs of guardian angels witnessing our relationship and ensuring us a safe journey throughout. We will definitely display them on the dashboard again if we have the chance. Cheers! v(^_^

Duhh...

After all the hassle of going for the PO after the ITQ, getting the correct account for the overseas advertising and CCO approval, NOW school wants to cancel the advertisement due to poor response in earlier intake. Duhz..See, what is the exact procedure? If you are not advertising the advertisement, you should not have approve the ITQ earlier, that saves all the trouble for me going to different department personally for the signatory due to the urgency of the ad. Given up...if not for my character, i would have blow my top.

But i am actually happier that there won't be anymore overseas advertisement. That means i don't have to process the next step and repeat the procedures. Thank God! I should go home and pray to my God...

Finally it's Thursday, i'm going back home now. Only weekends makes my day, haahaa..

It's only Monday~

Gosh, feeling so sleepy at work now, especially when i just had my lunch! The sleeping bugs have been following me from my bedroom to my office, unshakeable. Urghh..still have few more hours to knockoff.

It has been a busy period for the past few weeks, and now finally i got to lag abit, letting the sleeping bugs crawl back onto me again. My mind is unable to get off from my work even it's after office hours, and that is the first time i experienced that, it's never been a good feeling. I have learn to be more conscientious in my work, prioritise it and solve the problem calmly. You may hit nails but there is nothing that cannot be solve as long as you are willing to face it, bear with it, ask it and solve it. It is better than just worrying, lamenting and doing nothing. Action still speaks louder than words. We may be doing a favour for others, in exchange, we do learn something out of it. In fact, that reckons me to understand the true meaning of sunshine after the rain.

I am still learning... old people tend to talk alot about life, experiences and big reasonings. Pardon me.

Procedures, procedures& procedures...

Getting so pissed off with one of my jobscope! And it is always this that makes me feel like quitting, silly right? I like money but i don't like to be involve in a job handling $$, please count me out.

Below tells the procedures of a jobscope:
To advertise an advertisement overseas

*removed after reading from http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/Features/Story/A1Story20080527-67224.html

I wonder why is there such many procedures. This will most likely delay the whole process. And interval, there are people involve going on leave, leaving the company, taken over by new staff. Who to ask? It's only my first year here and i can see 3-4 changes coming up. Change for the better? I doubt so. Perhaps i am the quiet and kiasi type who do not dare to voice out. Come, let people just come bully me and i shall share my woes to the whole world. I think i need a change, to learn to make own decision.

*removed after reading from http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/Features/Story/A1Story20080527-67224.html

Find me a better job.

Happy National Day!

I know i am not going to go online tomorrow, so wishing Singapore a Happy 42nd Birthday!!

------------------------------------------------------------
We Are Singapore

There was a time when people said
That Singapore won't make it, but we did
There was a time when troubles seemed too much
For us to take, but we did
We built a nation, strong and free, reaching out together
For peace and harmony

Chorus 1:
This is my country, this is my flag
This is my future, this is my life
This is my family, these are my friends
We are Singapore, Singaporeans

Singapore our homeland, it's here that we belong
All of us united, one people marching on
We've come so far together, our common destiny
Singapore forever, a nation strong and free

We the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of race, language or religion
To build a democratic society
Based on justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness
Prosperity and progress for our nation

Chorus 2:
We are Singapore, we are Singapore
We will stand together, hear the lion roar
We are Singapore, we are Singapore
We're a nation strong and free forevermore

We are Singapore, Singaporeans

------------------------------------------------------------

One of my favourite national day song. Usually i'm someone who only listen to the beautiful music but not on the lyrics, until one day my brother tells me how meaningful this song is. From the once poor, undevelop and uneducated Sigapore to a rich, developed nation. The song itself tells the whole story from Temasek times to Singapore times, how she become a strong and free nation that others no longer see it as a little red dot, but a shining prosperous country.

Visit http://www.singsingapore.org.sg/ for our national songs.

TGIF!

Yes, it's friday! Somehow when i woke up in the morning, i just feel great and happy. It must be because today's friday and tommorrow i can have my beauty sleep! In additional, friday knocking off at 5.15pm!!! =D Hope there is no hiccups to spoil my high spirits today.

Oh yes, update on my beloved Canon Ixus 430. Brought it to Canon for servicing, and now it came back alive! They have changed the circuit card of the camera, obviously to make it working, and it's FOC! The cause is most likely to be the electronic device that has it's expiry date that we consumers do not know. Whatever it is, i'm so delighted to see it coming back in good condition with no other charges. Their services are good as well - customer-oriented, friendly and approachable staffs with swift response. This will actually convince us to buy their products again in future.

Coming to think of it, we are now holding to 2 digital cameras, should we auction one of them out?

Another happy thing to share. Hubby cooked for me again! Not to brag or boast about my hubby, it is just something that deserves a pat on the shoulder. Everyone needs encouragement, to give them confidence, to show they are needed and appreciated. Try it and you will see many things that someone can do to surprise you.

Going to get back to work, Happy Weekend!!! v(^.^

My Dinner!

After a whole day at work yesterday, i opened the house door and hear the sizzling sound coming from the kitchen. Hubby was pan-frying the stingray!! wOw that was such a surprise for me to see him preparing dinner out of a sudden. Must be because i was grumbling the day before that he was home whole day sitting in front of his PC and i would still need to prepare and cook dinner after work. With such a rare gesture, i must surely blog something about it! haha.. but picture tells a thousand words, see below:

Little accomplishment

Have been wanting to get a sewing machine for myself after hand sewn hubby's ranking to his uniform twice. It's not easy to poke the small needle right through the ranking piece as it was way too thick for me to sew. Coincidencely in a casual chat with SIL, she has one machine left untouched in her cupboard for years and decided to give it to me. Great, the machine came at the right time! =D

Cleaned the machine and explored on the functions after SIL taught me the basic to place the thread and the bobbin case section. The last time i used a sewing machine was like during secondary school in our home economics class, and i graded fairly for the project. I can still remember doing the magnetic gingerbread man, the apron and the vest. That was tough and almost everything was thrown back to the teacher upon graduated from the subject, haha..

I tried to recall what i have learnt in school.
1. Fold and iron the rank piece to keep the fold in place.
2. Do tacking onto the uniform before sewing.
These initial stage are important as to make sure that the piece does not moves out of the line undesirably while sewing. Managed to complete the sewing after some trying. Though it does not look perfect, i promise to try my best on another piece of uniform once hubby bought another set of rank piece back.

This is not enough, after a few days later, i decided to get some on hands again. This time i used one of the unused shopping bag, cut and open up to its full length/size and re-design it again. I wanted to make a pouch. Successfully spun the colour thread to the bobbin after reading from the manual. Started working on it and managed to complete with the mini pouch below!! It may sound easy and not as good as ones sold outside, its still a little accomplishment i've gain for myself.
If time allows and self motivation persists, i will try on zippers and buttons as well. v(^.^


*Photos taken using Sony Cybershot w80. Resolution not too good as i have adjusted the image size and stretched it while exploring

(Having to explore Photoshop and merged the photos into a file does gives me the little accomplishment too! ^.^ )

Moral of the story

Here is a little story...that teaches a lot:

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after
another, but none of them could figure how to fix the engine.
Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was
young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he
immediately went to work.
He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would
know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag
and pulled out a small hammer.
He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life.
He carefully put his hammer away.

The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old
man for ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"
So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT WAS THE BREAK DOWN?

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer. ............ . . $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap......... . $ 9, 998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes
all the difference.

- With courtesy from Linda for the story. Thanks for sharing!

Cleanliness

What is cleanliness?
noun
1. the habit of keeping free of superficial imperfections
2. diligence in keeping clean

Yes, i like neat, tidy and clean homes but not to the extent of being a perfectionist in cleanliness. The home have to be clean for hygience, for comfort and for relaxation without having worries like "oops,my feet are dirty again!", "why have my white clothings turned brown?!", "why do i feel irritated and itchy all over my body?", "hey, don't put the food there, it's dirty!". One side uncleaned can caused the whole house to be as dirty. Say the bathroom, if your feet is soiled, and you stepped out from the wet floor area, you wiped your feet with the floor mat and goes off, the dirts will be left on the floor mat. This accumulates and eventually caused the whole house to be full with your wonderful footprints...Think.

Cleanliness is very important for everyone. The first thing people can judge you is from your nest. A good, well maintained home is much more welcoming than an untidy, dirty home. 5 Senses: Hear, Smell, See, Feel and Taste. Hear the atmosphere, smell the freshness, see the environment, feel the touch and have a taste of what a clean house is like (you can taste for the dust if you like! haa...) This depicts a person's rate of hygience, self discipline and responsiblilty. Rating from 1-5, i belong to rate 4. Do your part in keeping the house clean. It ain't easy to juggle between family and work. No wonder it is called Mother Nature, mothers make environment soothing, naturally and comfortable for their children.

Sleepy Monday~

Monday..i have no mood to work..feel so sleepy..having a headache now..that always strikes me whenever i have no enough sleep. Slept at 12+ last night again. Had dinner and mahjong session with in-laws. Yesterday's a tired day for me again. Did household chores and whip up some dishes for dinner for the family-in-laws. My first time cooking for them, and i am glad the dishes are edible, except for the chicken thats not cooked enough, oOps. Cooked a few times of the chicken, but always turned out to be a little bit of uncook near the joints, i guess i have to simmer it so much longer next time.

Finally attended 3 weddings in the past few weeks. In a weeks time, it will be my good friend's wedding. It has been a 6-7years long run for the both of them, and i am happy that they are finally settling down and experiencing the next stage of life together. Toast to you, su!

Just bought a new camera, Sony Cybershot w80. The functions are rather similar to my Canon Ixus 430, except that they comes with a steadyshot and 8 faces detection, but that cost us $500 with the extended warranty of 2 more years. The package also comes with a free mini tripod stand, 2 GB memory, LCD protector and a Sony casing. Like others, we are "forced" to buy it before the GST implemention on 1st July (2% extra means alot to us too!). I will explore more on the new camera and load some pictures up when i am free.

*I still miss my Canon, will bring it to the customer service next month.

Ah, not so much mood to continue...so sleepy..Zzz
Stay tune for the next entries. -.-

Blogging in Office

I'm blogging in the office! I hope the boss or any other senior colleagues won't be able to see my blog, otherwise i won't be able to get my PB! haha..actually today is Friday, everyone seems to be chatting away, mingling and walking around trying to let time pass. I guess that's because of the weekend mood, and that was why i am here blogging too.

"Hi colleagues, if you happen to see me blogging at this hour, i'm just trying to get myself into the office atmosphere now, hehe.."

Before writing the blog, i actually went to see my photos that were uploaded into yahoo for the past years. Gosh, yahoo albums seems to be closing in this september, we need to sign up for another photo webby and they will migrate the photos into the new webby for us, if not, all your photos will be deleted! wOw i have so many memorable photos inside with my enthusiatic description at that point of loading, of course i have no choice but to sign up to Photobucket. Logged into Photobucket just now after registered an account, some of them are being migrated, but seems that it only left with my photo heading without the short description!!! sobz..my description...it won't be the same again if i were to add in now....sobsob...

One more sad thing, our 3 years old Canon Ixus 430, one which had followed us everywhere around Europe, helping to capture beautiful peoples and sceneries is going to walk off on us! Seems that we are still able to upload and play the images, but it can no longer help us to do shooting. The LCD screen is blur, shots taken are unclear and blurry that you cannot even depict what you have taken. What's happening?! We need to bring it to see its healer..please be strong Canon..we need you...

Okay, lets rewind back to my past few days.

Vesak Day: One of the holidays i have been looking forward to after days of towing myself to work. However on this day, i have to wake up early at around 8.30am (yeah not very early, but i always slept til 11+ on my non-working days). Wash up, wash up, pack up, pack up..let's go! Going to sentosa, meeting in-laws at the Tanjong beach. wOw the weather was so hot even in the morning, this makes me appreciate france's summer days..just cannot forget the good old times there even though its been almost a year. You know, the summer weather in france is hot, but once you hide under a shade, it's amazingly cooling! Okay, back to singapore, otherwise i'll never stop. In-laws are already there under the shade and SIL is already in the water with Snoopy. Joined them at the beach and Snoopy was already panting away. He was funny, swam a short distance to SIL, and U-turned back when he realised its too far, haha..



MIL brought some bread and 3-in-1 hot drinks for all of us. That was what a mother will do for her children, and i can feel their concern although it is just a small gesture. I also came to realise that family ties are very important to each and everyone of us. No matter what you do, how you argue, quarrel or disagree, they will still smile at you at the end of the day. This is why we can never repay the kindness our parents gives.

Evening time, went bowling @Mt Faber Safra Club with hubby to test his bowling set before selling them to an auction bidder. This was the 2nd time for me, and 1st for hubby since we back from the detachment. Everything's good except that we went home with aching backs and painful legs. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that while waiting for an available lane, we went to the machine room to play jackpot, Lady's Luck not on our side, lost $35 from the 30mins wait. Duh, 20cts per game too costly! We decided to go Genting to try our luck someday, haha..

Friday: Meet my dear friend, Cindy for dinner at the Jap restaurant at Jurong West Swimming Complex (forgot the restaurant name). Ambience was good but food tasted normal. Had a really good chat and quality time spent with her. A good friend whom i have known since Primary 5, still as kind and helpful. Had went through different stages of life together and that will take years to pen all down. Went to visit Fiona, another close friend of mine and a mother of one. The last time we went to her place, her girl was still crawling on the floor, needing support when she sits and now she can conquer the whole house like her own territory! See how fast a child can grow. =D

Saturday/Sunday: Simple weekend. Hubby not working on Sat, so we went to get our groceries. This time we went to Prime Supermarket at Gek Poh Shopping Centre. It was only less than 15mins walk, almost the same as Pioneer Mall! Good, now we have one more choices other than Giant. Sunday is my chores day. Don't need to describe yeah? haha..

This marks the end of this entry, had a fruitful week spent and wish to remain this way ..... ^^

Il Divo

Ohh..just gotten another "red bomb" last friday! That makes a total of 4 dinners for us to attend in a month! Time to save up $$. If i am gonna meet my friends up, don't blame me for being stingy in any ways okay, i have my reasons, hahaha..

Well, well..i think i began to like this group of singer - Il Divo. I got to hear their song the first time few months ago, and then came across their songs again recently. They are actually made up of 4 male singers, from 4 different country - Spain, Switzerland, U.S.A and France. I do not exactly know who's who, but i kind of like their way of singing. No longer raps, hiphops or technos, they sang in an operatic style and the combination of their languages blended well into a great song. Although i do not understand their foreign languages, their way of singing definitely soothen my eardrums! And definitely not forgetting their image - Mature, sturdy, clean, neat and good-looking(at least much better than asians..haha..)
Foreigner's deep blue eyes are often the main weapon to captivate a woman's heart. Thumbs up for them!!
=D


Picture extracted from http://www.ildivo.com

Weekend

How fast, its coming to mid year soon. This coming June we are going to be real poor chaps and thifty. This is simply because we have received 3 red bombs; 1 hubby's colleague, friend and 1 is my cousin! Urghh..it is always good to remain single status when this thing comes. But well, to think of the positive side, at least we are not forgotten by others, haha..

Well, today is saturday, most of the people must be out enjoying themselves and finding activities. Sometimes i do feel myself "friendless", nothing else to do except to do the household chores alone at home. Gosh, i'm only in my mid 20s and im gona be like an old hag looking after the chores even in my weekends. Yeah, keep the laundry, dry out the laundry, fold and iron the clothes, prepare for the dinner, watch my tv show and there, time for bed! Sunday afternoon vacumn the house, mop the house, clean the toilets, cook dinner, watch tv, time for bed again..next day back to office! Urghh..do i want a life like this down the road? My heart says no, but my conscience says this is how a housewife should be. Confused.

Read an email, seems more than 80% true for me. I belong to Cypress Tree.
Accurate: Takes what life has to give, but doesn't necessarily like it. Strives to be contented. Wants love and affection. Hates loneliness. Faithful. Quick-tempered at times. Can be unruly and careless. Needs to be needed.
I think that would best describes me. Try it out and see if it is true for you. It may not be for some, but at least rather accurate for me.

Nice gathering

Had a wonderful dinner cum gathering with wonderful people. It has been almost a year since we have such a gathering. It's wonderfully great and i miss the friendship we've gained in france. Although we aren't bosom friends, everyone sings the same tunes, share their life experiences, the past and the present with the friendship so true.

We may not be able to catch up that often, but i hope this friendship will not be forgotten. cHeers!

First Entry!

Yes, it's my first entry. Friends have been blogging and suggesting me to write one since 2 years back. And voila! I started to write only now. Well, this blog has got to be active only when i have something to crap. Haa..

Look out for more updates!