I went home yesterday to find the living room carpet missing.

His parents have given up and we currently have no carpets/mats in the house.

Genie has improved though! IF she's in the kitchen, she knows exactly where to poopoo. But her brain hasn't connected the fact that if she's in the dining room, she has to RUN to the kitchen to poo. As a result, she's stuck in the kitchen for most. We changed her pooing place from the bathroom to kitchen because the bathroom is always wet.. and we don't want her fur soaking up all the water when she rolls around..

Genie still needs to learn to aim though. There have been a few times where she ALMOST made it. Most of her was ON the pee/poo tray, but her ass stuck out, so whatever she released landed on the floor beside the tray.

We brought Genie for her last Vacc + microchip over the weekend. She yelped for the vaccination, that wasn't too bad. A single yelp. But the vet was quick, so that minimised the pain. Then came the microchip. Bloody thick needle as they need to insert something the size of a rice grain into the back of her neck. She made SO MUCH NOISE for that one. yelp/whine/cry.. it was over in less than 3 seconds but the poor girl hollered her lungs out. She was so weak she couldn't stand properly after that - probably shock from the pain.

She then spent the next 2 days being groggy and refusing to eat. Genie's all better now though. Back to her playful self.

We're bringing Genie to meet Lana this weekend. I wonder how that will turn out.

New pictures of Genie - She's actually awake. I had to set Melvin's camera to the 'speedman' function in order to take non-blurred pictures of her. I'm quite satisfied with the results. Naturally, I took these pictures, because Melvin couldn't get a single nice one of her. *sticks tongue out at Melvin*

Dog Troubles

Genie decided, 2 days ago, that she didn't like her dog food anymore. She's only been eating small portions of her meal, maybe 1/4 of it. Then she threw up last night.

She seems fine today though, so the throwing up isn't a big issue. Melvin and I will be keeping an eye on her today/tomorrow to make sure she doesn't throw up again.

I hope she doesn't turn out to be a picky eater. I keep telling Melvin that if she doesn't want to eat, we'll just let her starve until the next meal. But Noooo, he's handfeeding her two hours after her meal time. He's going to end up spoiling the lil one.

I have been considering adding abi of variety to Genie's meals though. Not for taste, more for nutrition.

There have been recommendations to add fish, or liver to dry dog food. But the thought of having to COOK for the dog just puts me off. I mean, hell, I don't even cook for myself. But then again, it's just light steaming. No salt, nothing, just steam as is. Can't be THAT hard.

But aiyah - still troublesome.

We'll see how it goes for the next few days.

Other than Genie being the most troublesome 3.5kg thing on earth, she's been absolutely adorable, always giving me a warm welcome when I get home.. It's like she's been looking forward to seeing you the whole day.. she clings to you, and her tail wags so hard it looks like it'll fly right off.

She'll then get so sleepy after play time, that you can just cradle her to sleep. Of course, she's like super 'nua' by then as well, and nice to hold.

If you're wondering if Genie is all I can talk about lately, the answer is yes >.>

Trust me. There's nothing else I can talk about, cos nothing else HAS been happening.

Wake up, feed genie, dress for work, say byebye to Genie, leave home.
Get off work, rush home, feed Genie, play/shower/brush her teeth/comb her fur/scold her for pooing on the floor/clean whatever part of the house she's messed up, SLEEP.

Looking at my schedule, you realise Melvin and I hardly have time for each other. And he's been complaining.

We'll need to readjust our schedules.

Snuck pictures of Genie while she was sleeping. She's looking abit fuzzy.. we'll bring her for grooming soon.

Genie's Housebreaking Journal - Day 4

Genie's a damn intelligent dog, or fussy, depending on how you look at it.

We let her walk around the staircase landing last night hoping she'll poo/pee there. 2 nights ago, she poo-ed there after we walked her for 15mins, so we figure we may as well stick to it. She can't go downstairs because she's not fully vaccinated just yet, so the stairwell is the best we can manage.

We waited for over an hour.

Then I told Melvin that it's possible she needs us to put newspaper on her assigned poo spot. So we gave that a try. She walked there and pee-ed in less than 30seconds.

Little bitch. God knows how long she's been holding it in, waiting for newspapers to be placed on the floor for her.

We took that to be a good sign~ that she should be able to recognise assigned pee/poo spots in the house.

We let her in, and she ran to the mat outside the kitchen, and pee-ed on it.

*cries*

That was yesterday.

I came back early from work today, so I let her out of the bathroom after noting she pee-ed on the pee tray we put there. I was sooo happy.

Then she went to poo on the living room carpet just before lunch.

She has something for carpets, I swear. Or maybe she can't tell the difference between carpets and newspapers.

I had to clean up after her at least 4 times today (and the day hasn't ended *cry*)

I lost my patience after she pee-ed on the living room carpet about half an hr ago. And i YELLED at her. I know I shouldn't have, but god, after cleaning the carpet for the 3rd time today...

she ran for it. I ran after to spank her.

then I locked her in the bathroom where we put her pee tray (with her toys, of course).

I checked on her 10mins later...opening the door just a peek and sitting down so she can't run out.

She was resting near the door.

She saw me, got up, walked to the other end of the bathroom, and sat back down.

Ungrateful lil bitch.

We welcomed a new member to the family yesterday afternoon.

The said member cowered in the back seat of the car, looking all miserable, until I lifted her up so that she could look out the window at cars passing by. She promptly forgot that she was supposed to be frightened and made me carry her for the entire ride home.

The first thing she did when we put her on the floor, was to pee.

*cough*

Not a great start.

That kinda set the tone for the entire day. Our baby westie, now known as Genie, pee-ed more than 5 times in different rooms in the next 6 hours.

We then introduced Genie to Melvin's parents. His mom, who was most vocal in objecting the idea of having a dog, looked on in amusement as we ran around cleaning after Genie and trying to prevent her from getting into all sorts of trouble. For most, Genie was happy following his mom around as she did housework. She wanted to look at EVERYTHING his mom was doing. When his mom turned the washing machine on, Genie stood beside her, wanting to be carried so that she can take a look inside. His mom, of course, obliged and carried Genie to let her take a look.

Genie's such an inquisitive lil thing.

I just wish she didnt piddle all over the place. The floor's never been cleaner.. I had to mop up after every accident.

Housebreaking is going to be tough.

On the bright side, after 15minutes of bribing, she's learnt how to sit :P

Her third Vaccination will be given to her on end of Oct. After which, we'll be introducing her to other relatives. I hope she'll be housebroken by then =/


p/s: Will load picture except she's running around so much, everything comes out blurred.

Hmm.

Melvin and I are really looking forward to bringing puppy home. There's just one itty bitty glitch. His parents are objecting, rather violently, to the purchase of puppy. Ok fine, not so itty bitty..

How did we get into this mess? We thought we'll be able to convince his parents of letting us have a puppy. It's our money after all (mine, really - Melvin hasn't paid a cent so far) and we're perfectly capable of taking care of a dog. Ok... SOMEWHAT capable... *pause*

I can see people raising eyebrows here.

Fiiinnneee. We'll LEARN and maybe the dog won't die in our hands. there. happy?

We had two weeks to 'suggest' we want a dog, without telling them we've already bought it *cringe*

Melvin's idea *points*

It hasn't been working so well. And now, we have a week left.

Of course, one option is to collect the puppy and leave it at Glenn's place. But Lana is overexcitable, and placing an overexcitable golden retriever weighing 25kg with my rather small westie puppy in the same room doesn't bode well for the puppy's health.

*sigh*

On another note, I'd wanted to post some pictures of our trip to Melb/Syd, but the pictures are in the desktop at home. And whenever I get home, it's like "Warhammer!" and I forget all about the pictures.

Warhammer isn't a fantastic game though. The controls aren't as polished as WoW, and while PvP is fun for now, I can foresee that we'll all get bored with it in a few months.

And would you believe we haven't had sex since we started on Warhammer? We play until we're all sleepy and collapse in bed.

Hmm. Probably too much info there - but I needed to complain.

I'm meeting a few colleagues for dinner tomorrow and I really hope that doesn't turn out TOO awkward. I tend to end up blending in with the wall/tablecloth/chair/whatever inanimate object at such social gatherings.

Cath's EQ = 0.

Well, that was a lovely trip to Australia.

I just got back from 2 weeks of shivering in Sydney and Melbourne. Was fantastic.
Spent over a thousand bucks. I feel poor now.

My thoughts are also quite.. fragmented at the moment, as you can tell.
ok.. *takes a deep breath*

Holiday Recap

Sydney -

Spent most of the time catching up with Andy/Delia/Preetam. Donated some money to the casino. Attended Melvin's graduation (like, finally).

Melbourne -

Stayed at a backpacker's (Cooee at the St Kilda. Lovely place!), but paid premium price for a twin, private ensuite room.

Donated MORE money to the casino.

Rented a car and Melvin drove us to Ballarat, an old town which flourished during the gold rush, and we spent a very very lovely day at Souvereign Hill pretending we were back in the 1800s.

Saw PENGUINS! loads and loads of them scurrying across the beach at night. I love how the penguins gather at the edge of the water, then run as a group for their lives across the beach, into the grass. The slower ones tend to speed up after they realise they've been left behind (wait for meee!! Wait for meeee!! *zips forward*) Some fall asleep while walking back to their burrows :P absolutely adorable. One group got harrassed by seagulls and retreated quickly back into the ocean. haha.

Back in SG -

Paid $500 deposit for a westie. I feel poor now. Will have to pay another $800 when I pick her up in 2 weeks. Melvin wants to call her Misty. My vote is on Genie. What say you?

We bought Warhammer Online today. It's been patching for 4 hours now. And still at 83% *growl* I'm going to go for the Archmage, while Melvin's going for Shadow.. something. shadowdancer? and Jeremy's going for some tank class (he hasn't decided)

Jen/Kf: if you read this, come join us on Warhammer Online!

*sniffles* I'm on MC today (again)

We went to Raffles Hotel for high tea yesterday. Jeremy, Melvin and I. It's something we've been planning to do for a few weeks now, but never got around to it. Melvin's mom had a $50 voucher for Raffles and it expires on 21 Sept. So ya, we went.

The food was pretty average. I don't know.. nothing like.. spectacular to justify the cost, ya know? Sure the service was good. great, even. Very polite staff who went out of the way to help..

The single thing that impressed me was that my pot of tea came with a tiny unopened jar of honey. I snuck the bottle into my bag :P

We planned to head to Paradiz to play games after high tea, but Melvin and I got into a fight while walking to the car, so that kinda spoilt everything. in the end, we dropped jeremy home and went home. Melvin also spent the next few hours apologizing.

Forgiven, dearest, but not forgotten.

Ah. Finally settled on a new look for the blog.

I may remove the chatbox at the side though, since I don't get much traffic here anyway.

I did the annual cleaning of my room last weekend, and with Melvin's help, we managed to clean bits that had accumulated four years worth of dust as well.

I found alot of old letters, cards and even scribbled notes from old friends. Jen and I apparently passed each other loads of notes in JC/Uni. And Irene too. There were 2 bags of those stuff =/
There were also scribbled notes between Eugene and I (Ahhh JC days..) and don't be shocked - Scribbled notes from secondary school friends like Karen. I apparently spent more time passing notes back and forth than paying attn to class :p

It pained me, but those bags of memories had to go. Precious precious things I clung onto.. to help me remember my friends, my life. Down the bin.

Not that I had much of a choice - there simply isn't space for boxes of cards, old letters and such. I kept a few though. Gave myself that much.

I also found my old diary (had to wrest it from Melvin before he read the contents).

Lianne, Jen and Rene - my bestest girl friends. ever.

I'm sorry we had to drift.. such is life. Different experiences.. different lives. But those girls will be my best girl friends forever, despite 2 of them being 'crazy'. I say 2, because One out of the three, is actually NORMAL.

Eh? I'm rambling. Forgive me. I tend to do that.. esp when I'm lost in the past, reading my old diary, and sighing at all the angst and drama, chuckling at weird/funny incidents.

Like the time at Cineleisure's lift lobby.. Irene was about to press the button for the lift when the button lit up. She frowned and went "eh? Heat sensor?" and waved her hand in front of the button a few times.
Jen was like "what are u doing?"
Irene "Heat sensor!"
Jen "Duh. I pressed the up button at the other side.."

Or at least, it was something like that. I only remember us laughing so hard at that bimbotic moment.

I wonder if they remember.

Wow. It seems like I've neglected my blog to the point whereby it's essentially dead.

I wonder if people even read this anymore.

I'm going to attempt to revive this damn thing simply because I've been emailing Lianne and Jenny the past couple of days and they tried to get me to start a livejournal account.

I tried, I did. Just all my regular usernames are taken and I'm too lazy to try and think up a new one which I'm likely to forget after awhile.

For those who have been keeping in touch with me, you'll know by now that Melvin's back in SG for good. In the past 2 mths, we've fallen into a pretty boring and routine cycle so nothing much to talk about there. But yes, I'm glad he's back. I'm happy to have someone to go home to and I love having him here to keep me warm on cold nights.

I wonder if I've ranted about me being stuck in SG while my friends are happy overseas. Irene is pretty much settled in a small town near Cairns doing her dentistry. Jen's happily married and is well settled in.. Perth (?). Lianne's still gallivanting around, having fun in places like the Amazon. Speaking of which, I need to update the links on my blog too. They've all changed blog addresses. And I need to remove those old pictures. I'm not exactly.. young anymore.

And I probably need to redo my site. YES! I'll redo the entire site!

And while I'm at it, I'll... I'll clean my room, pack my stuff and.. repaint the flat!

hm.

Sounds a lil tiring.

I'll prob just update the links and worry about the rest whenever.

Listening to: Let Go - Frou Frou (Thanks to one of my colleagues, Adrian)

Have I mentioned about Glenn's new baby golden retriever?

She's called Lana


And I love her.

Have I mentioned that she is possibly the cutest 5 mth old I know? She's also the biggest 5 mth old I know. When she's on her hind legs, pouncing on me, her paws are on my chest and she can reach my neck with her tongue (DOG DROOOOLLLLL)

I took a video of her chewing on the new bright orange chew toy I bought for her - and I watch it everyday.

It was SO difficult to get her to sit still.. you should have seen my uncle trying to her attention from behind the camera. This is the result.








I want a Lana of my own.

Listening to: Nothing




And so, I'm taking time off from office hours to post again...



Jen and I went to catch "Stardust" yesterday at Greatworld City (Free tickets! Courtesy of TVMobile - Thanks Fiona!). It was quite a good show! I must admit that I went into the cinema with low expectations as I heard from some guys that the show sucked. Far from the rumors of it being a lousy show, I was pleasantly surprised by the funny bits of the show. There are ghosts of murdered princes in the storyline and they "retain" their image of death.. so.. the poor chap who died by having his throat cut while naked in a bathtub spent quite abit of time looking pathetic - as a naked ghost.


Jen and I also drooled at the lead actor...


Well, I thought he was really dorky at the beginning and at some point was thinking to myself, "Why on earth did they pick this guy as the lead?"

Then somewhere along the lines, he became this:

Then it became a drool fest. Chest hair on a guy is sexy. (OK, pretend I didn't say that)

Anyway, sudden cute lead actor aside, the show had its light-hearted moments, "OMG is he going to get there in time?!!" moments, and the "awwww" moments.

I don't want to go into details because it would just spoil the show. Go catch it if you can. It's a good show.

Listening to: The Prayer - Josh Groban & Charlotte Church

I realise it's been a long while since I last updated this page. Naturally, a number of things have happened since then..

I think.. when a person's gone..

*sigh*

Nvm.

Listening to: Nothing - pretending to pay attention at a meeting


Last weekend has to be one of the most emotionally draining weekend of the year.

It started with Irene calling me early on Friday morning to let me know that her mom just passed away. I called Tim, Jen, CK and Eugene to arrange to attend the funeral on Friday night. It was a shock seeing my emotionally strong friend trying to hold back her tears and grief as she sat at the table with us. That I had to deal with for most of Friday night and Saturday. I talked to Melvin on Saturday that it was like... her grief was sucking me in. I kept thinking about seeing her pale face on Friday.

The group of us then made arrangements to visit Irene on Sunday afternoon... just to keep her company.

I was about to leave the house when I got a call from my cousin, Glenn.

"Jie... my mom just passed away"

My first response was "You're kidding. Look I'll go for dinner later, I get your point"

"No, Jie. Not kidding. The casket's at Uncle Sam's place..."

I don't quite remember what happened next, but vaguely recall holding onto Mel's mom for support for the next few minutes.

I packed my bags, and took at cab to Uncle Sam's...

My Ama took one look at me, and starting wailing in grief. It was quite bad. Once she started crying, my uncle sam started, affected Aunt Helen's Husband (Uncle Teng)... in turn Glenn took one pain-filled look at me before coming over to lean on me.

Soon after, Uncle Teng had to go downstairs because the funeral services was here to set up the tents..

Ama and Uncle Sam went to bed, while Glenn and I sank into the sofa to talk.

Aunt Helen had liver cancer. And she didn't want anyone to know. So much so that even Glenn didn't know.

All this time.. I thought she was only taking a long time to recover from the Op to remove the tumor in her colon.. so I didnt really think about it. I tried calling her last week.. my uncle teng said she was sleeping.. I didnt think much of it either.

My only complaint is that.... why didn't she say so earlier........

The talking to Glenn helped alot. I think it was good therapy for us. As a result, we held out alot better than Ama and my uncles. We talked about what she would have done if she was given more time. She retired 2 months ago. or was it last month..

I think it's unfair that she was unable to enjoy her retirement.

Her organs had started to fail and she was getting really bad water retention. They have been trying to convince her to head to the doctors for days, but even Glenn got scolded for trying to advise her. By the time she relented, it was too late. Fluid retention had hit her lungs and she couldnt breathe.

Glenn and I agreed that if she had more time, the first thing she would do, would be volunteer work. She's that sort of person. She likes doing volunteer work.

We also agreed that this unexpected turn of events has turned Ama's world upside down. For one, Aunt Helen would come back everyday for lunch. It seems that all her spare time is spent with Ama. During lunch break from work... for dinner after work... Sunday Mahjong games...

And Ama just lost all of that overnight.

Glenn was saying he used to ask his mom's opinion about clothes, education, BGR and other issues. These things he doesnt talk to his dad about..

The situation at Uncle Sam's place was just too depressing. Glenn and I escaped downstairs to where my Aunt's coffin was. It's very pretty by the way.. the set up. There were light blue and translucent white curtains.. lots of white, palepink and a touch of red roses. It looked more like a wedding than a funeral. The flowers weren't in wreaths, but several nice floral arrangements placed near the coffin. Glenn and I both agreed. Aunt Helen would have loved this. The smell of fresh roses... the soothing colors.. sure alot better than those chingching chinese funerals.

She would have loved it.

I couldn't wake up this morning in time for work cos Glenn and I stayed up till wee hours in the morning at the tent set-up. Then I woke up at about 10am to the sound of Ama's cries of grief.

I chose the easy way out then. I got dressed - and came to the office to look for something to do.

I'm going to miss calling her and talking to her during lunch. I'm going to miss lunch on Sundays. Most of all, I'm going to miss my favourite, most doting Aunt Helen.


She died on 9 Sept 07 (I'm sure she would have prefered 9 Sept 09.. nice number!).

This was taken 2 months ago. She was 59.

Listening to: Nothing

Batam was fantastic. Well.. the resort we stayed in was fantastic, at least. We didnt venture out of the resort.. the staff were really friendly and often went out of their way to assist us and answered many silly questions with regards to transport to town, bills, nearby entertainment etc.

We arrived at Batam early in the morning (think 9am) and checked in early. I was glad they didnt make us wait until 12pm for check in.

Anyway, we got the honeymoon suite. The room had a very Jap feel to it. Low tables, low bed, straw carpeting.. fresh flowers on the bed.. the sitting room was very jappy as well. What got me jumping up and down in excitement was the japanese-styled stone tub (big enough for 3) on the balcony... I'll provide pictures when I get home.. we spent alot of time in the tub.

I tried a hand at archery. Arrows didn't even REACH the target. They would travel like half the distance to the target then fall pathetically to the floor. Mel's however... flew PAST the target and hit the walls behind =/

The candlelight dinner was fantastic! We had a special table right by the pool and a waiter assigned to us. The food was lovely too. There was a salad, some seafood or lobster-y soup, main course was Tuna (very nicely done) and dessert was cut fruits in a hollowed our pineapple, topped up with ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate *yum* and we had wine, of course.

We went for the spa the next day....

the spa.. oh the spa.. fantastic.

Will include pictures when possible.

see ya.

Listening to: A group of teenagers having a discussion

I feel like I'm eavesdropping. A group of us are watching a live feed of a focus group discussion that's going on next door. Teenagers say the weirdest things..

On another note, the past 2 weeks or so have been absolutely dreamy. Melvin's been taking care of me.. (dear.. thirsty *he gets a drink for me* dear.. so hot.. *he turns on the aircon*.. dear.. I'm tired from work.. *he picks me up from work*). Then again, he's driven me up the wall several times as well. I don't remember how many times we've yelled at each other these 2 weeks..

But overall - yes, warm, fuzzy and absolutely disgustingly sweet.

<3

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We'll be headed to Batam for a spa weekend *bounce* After constant nagging, threats, tantrums and much frustration, he's gone and book a spa weekend for the two of us :)




:( I want to leave with him..

Listening to: The trainer drone on about ISO14001

Well, I'm in a training class for QEHS (quality, environment, health and safety) and am bored outta my mind. When the lady started talking about "you need to document all your SOPs.. etc. etc... according to clause 4.1... " I switched off.

And God it's cold in here. The air-con is blasting at me. My fingers are frozen and my neck hurts.

OH yes. my neck.

I woke up this morning and realized that my arm was under the pillow (which was under my head). That was at 5am. I tried to move my arm and was rewarded with a sharp pain on the left side of my neck.

Since 5am, i have not been able to tilt my head left, or forward, or backward. I can look to my right though. I can't move my shoulder either. If I sit still, I can feel a slight ache on the left side of my neck. If I move my head/shoulder or raise my left arm too high, I whimper in pain.


It's going to be a long day.

Listening to: Nothing (unless you count Erushi's loud typing in the background)

Just a quick one before I leave the office.

I was considerably active over the weekend.

Erushi and I headed to the gym with Hui Hsien and Shu Juan on Friday evening, followed by a swim.. and then a movie (Oceans 13). It's now Monday and my tummy still aches from the damn ab-crunching-machine-thing. Everytime I cough, I whine about pain.

Then on Sunday afternoon, a bunch of us went to East Coast Park to blade/cycle. Erushi was blading for the first time and she spent 1/10th of the time on the floor. You should have heard our screams when I tried to use her as a physical brake. I mean.. I can MOVE abit on rollerblades... but uneven ground and braking havent been mastered............. but hey. I fell only once.
She paid back by elbowing my nose *owww* by accident. or at least... I think it was by accident.
She fell and was trying to get up... I was behind her and I couldnt brake... so wham! elbow in nose. I was tearing, but damn it was funny.

I pity Hui Hsien >< She was our "tutor" for the afternoon. Erushi and I were going down a path, rapidly losing control... I was veering to the right, screaming.. while Erushi was veering to the left, also screaming. Hui Hsien had to try and grab for the both of us before we went into the mud... not easy *laugh*

AND HH had to pull us over the humps... one by one..


Plus Erushi and I were going at different speeds so HH had to run back and forth....
not easy considering Erushi fell everytime HH looked away *snicker*

Darren, Kenneth and Shu Juan cycled.. so we didnt see much of them.

We had dinner at Changi Village after that. Darren promised us sights of transexuals - which didnt happen. Didn't see any. Pooey.

Was like 10.30pm by the time I got home. Thank goodness Darren gave a lift.

OK - i'm going to leave the office now. Catch you later.

Listening to: Some French Radio Station

Erushi brought surprise breakfast today *glee* So nice of her to make sandwiches for both of us. I have to remember to bring breakfast for her tomorrow now. Hm. Can't be a surprise though, cos I'd have to tell her in case both of us bring food.

Been swimming every other day. Nothing intense though. Half an hour in the pool, every other day. I don't feel any fitter, I haven't lost any weight (oh maybe like 0.4 kg - insignificant), but it's a damn lot better than heading straight home after work to sit, once again, at the computer.
As a result, I haven't been playing as much. I reach home at about 9.30pm - 10pm and there's nothing much I can do in an hour before bed anyway.

Speaking of swimming, one guy who was attending some lifesaving class suddenly waved to me as i was walking towards the pool, and said "New Town, right?"

I was, "Err yeaaa" (do i know you?)

He said "Prefect right?"

I blinked "Err yeaaa" (did the school put up my picture or something? Eww don't tell me he saw my yearbook pictures.)

At that point I muttered something about "God, the past has come back to haunt it"

It was only after the swim, after I had some time to gather my wits, that I spoke to him again.

Me: "You were from New Town?"
Guy:"Yea, you were with Xinyi and Tim's group"
Me:"Ahh. They were my seniors..."
Guy:"YEA! You always book me! Never give chance when I come to school late"
Me:"oh."



(Is that why he remembers me -.-)


On another note, Melvin's prolly in the exam hall right now, having his first exam paper. Goodluck dear.

Listening to: On Bended Knee - Boyz II Men

And so.. I'm at work. Supposedly.

There's so much to do, but I don't feel like doing it so I'm wasting time watching youtube videos. It occured to me a few minutes ago that I've neglected my blog a wee bit, so here I am.

Melvin (yes, him again) will be coming back for the hols end of June. And since I'm listening to sappy songs, you're gonna have to tolerate an emo post. *sigh* It's about time he came back. Sometimes I wonder how I manage to survive without him here beside me. Most of the time, I'm too busy to pine for him. and I'm mighty sure I'll regret saying things like how much I need him here etc. so I won't go into that.

I wonder how Lianne's doing in Yellowstone. Last I heard was that the weather's really erractic and it was sunny one day and snowing the next.

Ah, did I mention? There's a new girl in the department. She's this really tiny girl called Elaine and she's super nice.

For some reason, Lisa doesnt really talk to me anymore. I'm not sure what I did wrong but she's been quite erm..
cold.

Erushi's ok with me. We go swimming together, we shop. We talk abit and she tolerates my whining. We get annoyed with each other once in awhile but that's only normal. She's leaving the job end july, which sucks.

I want out of the damn country for a year or so. That's the only thing that's keeping me going at the moment. Pay off the loan, get my visa, leave. I hope to pay off the uni loan before the end of the year, but at the moment.... I really can't tell.

*sighs*


*dies in some quiet corner*

Listening to: Some song I can't recognize from Power98 FM

It's PMS day. 'nuff said. I've been sneezing, I think i have a fever, my bones ache, I hate my boss (that's a daily affliction, I swear), and I DON'T FEEL LIKE WORKING.

*whine* can I resign yeeeeeett?

*sigh*

Anyway, guess what?

I went for a dip in the pool with Erushi yesterday. Came out with my arms aching. I was feeling fitter all morning. Then PMS hit - and I ate erm.. 2 swiss rolls, one packet of chocolate filled puffy things (apparently 30g of fat. there were 4 servings which I finished in 15 minutes) and a number of chocolate wafers (come on, who keeps count).

So much for feeling fitter.

I think I have a fever.

*evil grin* Then I'll take MC tomorrow, and leave my colleagues to handle the 1000+++ people we're expecting for tomorrow's event.

Considering I did all the logistics, they'll prolly hate me for leaving them in the lurch.

Heh.

Listening to: Nothing

I wonder if anyone remembers I had a post about my asst director giving me another publication to do when she knows I CANNOT do publications? Well.............. the damn thing is still not done. It was due last month too. or 2 months ago. or something like that.

In case anyone is wondering why the hell I'm awake at 4 in the morning, one word - COFFEE. Melvin and I decided we wanted to stay up late and play. Well, I had half a cup at nine-ish. He fell asleep 2 hours ago.. *smacks melvin*

I'm BOoooooooooooooored.

Met up with Li briefly today to return her the games.. well have a good trip Li.. I'll see you when I see you.

Erm.

dangit. i'm bored.

*laugh*

Melvin just reminded me of a very embarrassing thing that happened last month. I was sitting in a meeting for my asst director who didnt turn up for one reason or another and was doing a presentation to the other directors. I'd set my msn to "appear offline" because I didnt want people msging me in the middle of the presentation.. A "Hi dear" from Melvin flashing on the projector screen would just like cause me to die of embarrassment in front of the directors. So unprofessional.

*cough* I was unable to escape "fate" though. At the very minute I was pointing out something on the bottom right hand corner, Melvin signed on. Our big fat picture popped up with the words "Melvin has signed in" - covering the EXACT spot I was pointing at. Thank god Melvin didnt use any embarrassing pictures (like kissy ones or anything like that)

So much for an impressive presentation. I'm sure I left an impression..

One plus point - tomorrow another poor sod gets to sit in for my asst director.

Listening to: Nothing

Happy New Year everyone! To those to took the trouble to forward SMS greetings, well, thanks - couldn't read any of them chinese words, but thanks :)

Many thanks esp to Lianne who lent me her "Pharoah + Cleopatra" game. Been a lovely CNY weekend revisiting that old game. She won't be seeing those discs for awhile (i'm only on the 8th city out of like.. 40?)

Melvin and I are considering going back to WoW - will let you guys know so we can play on the same servers if we do return. No bloody mmo's to play lately.

Mush alert - if you're allergic to mushy things (and break out in shivers in the presence of large amts of mush, like me) - stop reading now.

Ok yea - so I blew my top this morning and said all sorts of unpleasant things... caused an emotional rollercoaster etc. But at the end of it all, I still feel a slight twinge in my chest whenever you call just before I knock off work to say "Come home soon, ok?"

I think half of everyone I know would have heard my whinging by now.

It's 12am - i JUST got home from work.. about 20-25mins ago.


I worked an extra 6 hours today.......
Does that mean I can call in sick tomorrow?

Listening to:

Drats.

*sigh* I HAD something to post about - but in the seconds between logging in and coming to this page to type, I forgot what it was I wanted to tell you guys about.

I blame it on Melvin's dad. He distracted me with his singing.

OH yea. His dad - Now i remember.

His dad bought an OTO? Osim? Trimax. I spent 30 minutes sitting in front of the TV with this vibrating belt wrapped around my tummy this morning. WIll let you guys know if it works. His mom keeps saying I should do my thighs - and bum. I really... dont.. know.. if.. i.. should.. feel... insulted...

Anyway - i'll sit in front of the TV abit more later - thighs and ass firming. I want to bring it into my room actually, so I can sit in front of the comp and.. yea. BUT his dad DID just buy it.. and it's kinda rude for me to hog it..

They suggested I have a go at it.. because.. *cough* I couldnt squeeze into the denim tube dress I bought last year.

*dies*

i wonder why my boss hasn't learnt her lesson. The last time she tried to make me do a publication, i screwed it up. NOW she gives me the GRADUATION yearbook to do? and I have one month to do it?

Crazy woman.
I must obviously teach her another lesson.....

Death would be a release - I think.

I'm in one of those "life is such a chore" mood. What a great way to start off 2007. I can tell it's going to be a great year ahead, with me working day after day with no end goal and with the boyfriend still overseas studying and with me coming back to my room, day after day, to face the computer because I have no one else to face.

Yay.

back in Singapore. Just hit Changi Airsport 2 hours ago.

Blerdy hot weather.

Have I ever mentioned - 2 guys, a girl and ONE bathroom = chaos in the morning?

Anyhow. we went to the Manly Quarantine Station Ghost Tour last Thursday. Turns out only 3 of us signed up for it that day (Normal grp size about 20ish). Rather creepy. hee! We got to start early though and had the opportunity to get a view of the place before it got dark. We stopped abit to head to the loo (Andy was saying he'd rather go BEFORE it gets dark). The toilets itself were cute - Old fashioned flushing system and all. We spent much of daylight in the not-creepy-at-all first class section of the station.

Things only started to get a lil creepy at the working class section. (Oh and the hospital - THAT was creepy). We were each given a kerosene lantern to light the way, of course. I made the 2 guys carry theirs, and left mine behind - I mean, i need my hands to cling onto someone/anyone when I get scared. in the end, we walked in such a way that I was in the middle (because it was COLD and windy I needed the winds to be blocked).

We looked at the decontamination room, the showers.. very windy night, doors banging and all to enhance the atmosphere.
The showers were creepy because she (the guide) was telling us about the time someone saw something and that something walked right into that someone. or something like that. And she was like "yea., you can explore that corner if you like" It was right down the very long, dark corridor, past like all the shower cubicles and I had to pull Melvin back cos he was heading there (WTF for? It's creepy)

We then headed to the hospital, which was partially under renovation. We entered one of the wards and as i walked past one of the beds, there was this smell of mint. I was like "eh, is andy having sweets? So I ignored it, and listened to the guide tell more stories (It was only at the end of the tour that i found out some other people have noticed a minty smell at that spot, but not everyone like smells it.) so yay. that could possibly be, the only "paranormal" experience for the night.

Next stop was the morgue.. nothing special really.
Supper up next, before we headed home.


Friday.. we went to Starcity on Friday. I even have a membership card. lol. Between Melvin and I, we lost 30 bucks at the Roulette table. Andy won about 50 at blackjack though.

Andy flew back to Hong Kong on Saturday. I'm going to miss his company and his road map reading abilities. Melvin doesn't know the roads very well and I can't read maps so Andy played a v important role in our outings..

Melvin and I each bought a Nintendo DS lite on Saturday and spent the rest of the day playing with our new puppies (www.nintendogs.com). My Shih Tzu is called Pebble.. and pfft. he called his german shepard Lucky =/ no originality at all I tell you.

Sunday was spent at Chinatown, the rocks and a brief brief walk to the Opera House. We were quarreling by then because both our feet ached and it was cold.

We're staying in today because our legs still ache and because I'm all sniffy - may be due to walking in the bloody 16 degree weather yesterday.
It's 19 degrees today.

It's SUMMER YOU SAY? Could have fooled me.

Hm. My 3rd day in Sydney.

I arrived here like close to 7am Sydney Time and didn't get any sleep on the plane. Spent the night watching movies and cartoons because it was too cramped and bright to get any sleep (and i hate those eye covers)

Anyhow, came back to mel's place and the both of us collapsed in bed, sleeping till 1ish pm. Apparently, he stayed up to 4am trying to clean his place up so it wouldnt look too much of a mess when I arrive..

Ever been licked to death by a dog? I got my left arm (just abt the entire arm. I was so tired i just sat there and let him lick all he wanted), all toes and fingers licked by the overenthusiastic dog called wowo, who also seems to like to jump on the sofa and sit on people.

ok. er. back to the point.

Went to Eastwood for dim sum and a walk around.. came back.. slept somemore..
and dinner.. hm. come to think of it.. what DID we have for dinner? OH right, we went to this bistro place nearby called the ranch. Great roast of the day for 7 bucks and a lovely lovely hoegaarden to accompany. Andy won 40 bucks from the jackpot room that night..

Yesterday.. well, Bondi Beach. damn windy. damn COLD wind.
Oportos was ok. the place was apparently famous for this chilli burger but I didn't much of it.

Mel's car broke down at Bondi =/ and yesterday, being a sunday, we couldnt find any mechanics and leave the car there. The journey back home using the public transport was.. mm.. interesting. the train system was different from Singapore's MRT system, for one. The seats were actually comfy, for second. and there were (lo and behold!) empty seats!

Pizza and Bacardi breeze for dinner last night while we (mel, andy, preetam and I) played Munchkin. Fantastic. Haven't had such fun in AGES.
Mel dragged his comforter onto the floor (we were all sprawled out on the floor to play) and got so comfy he was falling asleep midgame. I whined - and Andy got me his spare comforter and we shared while playing :)

and i'm in trouble at work. over the open house. checked my work email just now. I'm in a WHOLE lotta shite. Something about my inbility to handle my designers was mentioned by my boss in the email.

Oh I can't be arsed. Screw work.

Mel's making sushi for dinner tonight. Now if only i can wake him up to start on it. He conked off immediately after we came back from Bondi this afternoon (Spent the entire morning there because of the broken down car.. cab ride from home to bondi = 60 bucks. EXPENSIVE) So yes - we got the car back and he's been sleeping since.

Screw work. i'm trying not to think abt it.
Ciao.

1) I'm the proud owner of a new diamond ring.
2) it's just 0.24carat
3) My grandma bought it for me
4) Melvin's gonna have to beat that if he ever wants us to get married

Veronica has handed in her resignation. *sigh* Oh well. I'll miss her. Esp our IM chats, where she'll shock me by saying the most scandalous things. I've gotten used to our mode of communication over the months and it's going to get lonely without someone to entertain me during office hours.

I mean, she sits opposite me. We're divided by a panel.. So to avoid having to shout over the panel, we kinda just head on the office IM to chat. Once in awhile though, one of us will just make a random remark out loud (and the rest of the department will be like "where did that come from?")
It's like out of nowhere, either one of us will go "what? you're kidding!" then a snicker will be heard from over the panel.

Oh well - goodluck for her new job.. (which i heard is 10 mins from her house.. and possibly 20 mins from mine - DAMNIT) I told her if her dept is still hiring and she's still alive after 3 mths there, i want in.

I would just like to announce - I dropped my phone today.

Listening to: 4 seasons of loneliness

I guess I learnt a valuable lesson today. A few, actually.
1) Be careful of what you say in the office
2) Be careful of who you say it to
3) Never hire incompetent temps
4) A seemingly innocent brainless twit can be a scheming little insect

The villain of today's story is a little bitch called Rebekah. She's young, "innocent", annoying in her little ways, slow in her work (but thorough), and vapid.

Now. she's the brainless and slow kind of girl who would take 20 minutes to retrieve a camera for you.
"rebekah I need the camera now. Forgot to bring it with me! Can you help me take it from Lisa's table?"
She goes off, comes back 20 mins later empty handed to say "I can't find it on Lisa's table". Lisa, overhearing this, calls Veronica, who tells us that the camera is with her.

Now, Veronica's desk is next to Lisa's. WHY didn't she just ask Ron when she can't find the camera? I mean, ok, maybe she didn't think about asking ron cos ron can be quite scary and unapproachable when annoyed. BUT.. why didn't she CALL me to ASK when she has my HANDPHONE number.. instead of wasting so much time and having to walk back to the office to get the cam (she took another 20 mins to do that btw) I mean comeon, does she like, move like a snail? i said it was URGENT. you don't freaking take 20 mins to walk 2 blocks..

And have I mentioned she's freaking stubborn? Ron and I needed her to pack 100 goodie bags in 2 days. She was doing some translation that wasn't very urgent. On the 2nd morning, I reminded her to pack the bags cos she didnt pack a single one. By afternoon, she was STILL doing the translation.

"Rebekah can you stop the translation and pack the bags, those are more urgent"
"Yea I'll pack it later"
"No.. rebekah, we really need this - they're coming to pick the bags up in 3 hours~!"
"Yea i'll do it after the translation"

I mean, HULLO WOMAN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ENGLISH? WE NEED 100 BAGS in 3 HOURS?!

In the end, Ron and I had to help her pack while she sat next to her laptop with earphones plugged in.

Complaining to our manager is no use because our manager LOVES her. Says she's thorough, she's fantastic and the best temp we ever had. Yeah - best temp. Then how come none of us like her v much? We don't even lunch with her in case we get too annoyed and throw our food at her.

and TODAY, we all find out why the manager loves her so much.

Apparently, that little bitch has been relaying gossip to the boss. Whatever we say behind her (the boss') back, our complaints, our fustrations at work etc. SHE told my manager EVERYTHING. I mean, we're all normal people - when work piles, we complain, we gripe, we bitch.

but OH that little bitch! she's a FUCKING temp! how could she try and fuck everyone's worklife up like that?

Pray I don't see her on MSN people - she's going to get a hella swipe from me if I see her.

Listening to: If you're gone - Matchbox 20

I bought a new phone today so I'm feeling very poor. And considering this purchase came soon after the $1200 ticket to sydney (which I purchased barely a week or 2 ago).. well, let's just say I doubt I'd have much to spend in Sydney (if any)

It was a toss up between the motorala v3x (for $298) and the samsung SGH-X820 (for $198). I went for the latter because it was cheaper and MUCH slicker. Screw the 3G. I don't really need 3G functions.. chances are I'd play with the video calls etc for 2 weeks or so before it gets tossed in my bag and i'd just call/sms with it.

I haven't had the opportunity to test the functionality of the phone because i'm charging the batteries in this nifty lil batt charger than comes along with it - but a brief glance tells this much: It's FLAT (hell it's thinner than my bra strap), it looks quite fragile, and it's prolly lighter than the user guide that came with it. I mean, it IS only 6.9mm thick and even the charger looks like a small namecard holder..

I think I need thinner bra straps.
Ok. That was a random thought..

My aunt bets I'll drop/damage/multilate/destroy/squash/crack etc it in less than 1 month. The phone, I mean.

That aside, I think I will stay home and let my bank account recuperate for the next few months.

It's been quite awhile since I posted something here. So much so that friends who used to read my blog have stopped doing so :p Nothing new here, after all.

Hell, my boyfriend doesn't read my blog. He can't be arsed, I think. Then again, he can't be arsed about many things. The only good thing that comes out of this is that I can post anything about him and chances are he wouldn't know *snicker*

It's not that i don't WANT to blog. There simply isn't anything to talk about. I mean, after awhile.. it's just going to be about work, about my colleagues, about my boss.

Nothing significant happens in my life.

ok yes. /whine /emo /wrists - that sorta thing.

Until now, I still can't decide whether I like my work place or not. I mean.. pros and cons I guess. The people there ain't bad, there's 24 hour wireless internet, MSN msger all day, work itself isn't TOO shitty, benefits.. ok I guess - there's a pool table, Karoke Lounge, Massage chairs, gym etc for staff use.

The trick is finding time to use them.

THEN there is the 21 days of leave. I heard some people get 14 *cringe* I mean, comeon, i get 14 days of MC in addition to that.

the unfortunate thing is - they underpay and overwork you.

Ron and I were just talking about resigning today. I don't know. For most part, I complain and say I want to quit. But honestly.. the benefits aint TOO shabby. IF you can find time to enjoy them.

just like IF i didnt need to pay that pile of bills, I'd just work part-time.

Life. what a miserable existance.

Listening to: Nothing

Tired.

Listening to: The Way - Clay Aiken

I felt the knife slide in.

Mel and I were somewhere.. on holiday, I think. I was walking with him out of the hotel room when alarms were sounded. We hurried out of the building and I lost Mel. Then I saw this guy.. walking into this alley. Out of curiousity, I trailed him. He saw me as he opened a door and motioned for me to follow - so I did.

We were in some aircraft hanger. He pointed to a copter and told me to get on. which I did. But when he climbed in from the pilot side of the copter, he changed. Physically, I could see the change. But I knew it was the same person I had followed into the building. Alarm bells sounded in my head and fear flooded my system. I turned and ran. Tried to, at least. He caught up and flung himself at me.

We fell to the floor and he landed on top of me. I felt his teeth graze my neck and heard him growl. He got up, yanking me along. He was trying to tell me something as he dragged me into a plane of sorts.. but nothing registered. He pulled me into this cabin and said something to me. I had something he wanted.. he wanted me to do something for him.. I didn't know what. My response was to kick him and attempt to run again.

I saw the knife. I saw him holding it.. I felt the knife slide into my stomach. My vision flared, but I felt no pain. I felt my legs giving way, I saw myself collapsing onto the floor. I saw him walk away as I reached out for him.

Then I woke up wondering if I was dead...
*shudder*

Listening to: 1985 - Bowling for Soup

It's time for my monthly blog post O.o

I know I really should try and blog more. It is, after all, kinda like a diary.. but I've been so busy! I get home later.. and later. Got home barely 5 minutes ago..

My aunt bugged/begged/cajoled me to tutor her youngest son for he's having problems with English. So yes, me - doing this for free. Every Thursday.. after work. The deal? I get a free ride home for 1.5 hours of reading time with the kid. It's just occured to me that this is getting really taxing on my uncle. They DO kinda live like.. Choa Chu Kang area.. so it's like CCK to my place in the east. But I guess it beats the alternative of paying for my cab ride home.. or hiring a proper tuition teacher.

Work is getting more unbearable each day. Irony is: I just recieved my confirmation. I don't even know if I can last the year, as planned.

Someone.. take me away. Away from what? I do not know. from this meaningless existence, I should think. I'm not really working towards anything. I live day by day. work day after day.. for what? just to get enough to pay my bills. My conclusion: Meaning of life = working to pay bills.

Then again.. like Li once said.. I'm seldom happy. Mostly coz I dont know what I want. I'm not.. content. There has to be something more but I'm too lazy to search for it.

I can just hear my boss saying "Your writing is horrible! There is no style. What is the point you are trying to bring across? You must take note of your sentence structure! This paragraph.. how does it link to the previous one?"

Just my luck. My boss is an ex-GP tutor.. and I've recently been tasked with, of all things, publications. so yay me. I'm part of an editorial team that i want nothing to do with.
My only question remains.. "Why me?"

Listening to: Nothing

I'm sitting in the dark, typing on Mel's laptop while he's dead asleep, curled up in bed. It's been a busy/tiring/fun week since he's back. We drove.. ok technically, HE drove.. anyway, we went round satisfying his cravings for local food - including porridge at Tiong Bahru and minced meat noodles somewhere in Bedok. We went to Parklane to play games.. Jeremy came along as well. Speaking of which.. i have noticed that he spends more time with Jeremy than he does with me. But then again, it can't be helped coz I've work and all.. so it's 6 hours in the day with Jeremy.. and prolly about 4 hours with me (if i'm lucky) before he gets all tired (after the entire day out with Jeremy) and collapses in bed.

Work's been such a drag. I haven't been doing anything much at work.. no motivation. Just don't feel like doing anything. Instead I spend the days playing hearts and various other weird games like insaniqarium. There IS work to do... my "follow-up" folder is getting bigger and bigger. Apparently I have about 84 things to follow up.. and my hours in the office are spent ignoring the folder's existence. I'm gonna get fired sooner or later.. why bother. I mean, i'm just hanging around until i get my mid year bonus (which is pro-rated -.-)

Mel's parents just came from China.. his mom bought all sorts of nice things for me.. which I cant wear coz *ahem* of all the weight I've put on. pity pity. she's so nice. Mel, of course, takes every opportunity to tell/remind me that she treats me like her own daughter. like DUH i can see that? i'm not blind, ya know. or heartless.

One of my colleagues moved into this house and met the landlady from hell. She didnt stay for more than 5 days there and decided to move out. Let me tell you what a bitch this landlady was.

1) She promised use of the aircon and a tv in the room. at least she did when my colleague went to see the room. After she moved in, she realized the tv was NOT in the room and the aircon remote is "missing"

2) Landlady requests that C (for colleague) should not open the window, for unknown reason.

My question is.. how can anyone BREATHE with the windows closed and no air con..

3) Bathroom has no DOOR. Single cubicle with SHOWER CURTAIN. Like most HDB flats, the bathroom is located in the kitchen. There is a door leading to the kitchen.. but the lock on it is "spoilt". i.e when you shower... anyone can fling open the shower curtains.

4) Bed. The mattress provided isnt the normal kind of spring mattress. Think really THIN mattress. When you sit on it, you can feel the board underneath

5) Landlady has clothes and other belongings in the cupboard in C's room.

6) Landlady refuses to give C a bedroom key

7) Landlady locks the sliding doors to the living room, giving C no access to the living room at all

8) Landlady does not allow visitors. male/female.


all this for 300 a month?

By the way, the landlady refused to give C her 2 mth deposit back too.. and the agency that helped them in the transaction, didn't bother helping C either. They totally sided the Landlady from hell.

After fighting for days, C is finally getting a portion of her money back. sigh. better than nothing. But still.. beware of these agencies.. they're just out to earn your money and don't bother for your welfare etc at all.

Listening to: Beep - Pussycat Dolls

A feeling of unease has been fluttering in the hollow of my stomach since my uncle's call 2 nights ago. He had rang from Penang to inform me that my aunt was going to be flown back to Singapore for an urgent operation.

I was asleep when he called, hence groggy when I answered.. so I kinda went "okay.." and promptly fell asleep once more. I woke up half an hour later only to go "wait a minute.." and hurriedly called my uncle to ask for details.

Apparently, my aunt felt unwell halfway during the trip and went to the hospital for some checkup. They discovered a growth in her colon that was blocking the flow of food and recommended an immediate operation. My family decided to come back to Singapore for the operation.. (normally, I'd have some smart-ass remark to make on that, but not today.. not today)

My uncle (Uncle Sam) then said Uncle Teng was coming back to Singapore the next day and that I should contact him for details and find time to visit my aunt. I said okay.. and hung up. 2 minutes later.. "crap. which aunt was he talking abt.." and gave him another call...

It sounds pretty bad, though Uncle Sam was telling me not to panic..

I mean.. it's big enough to block off the colon.. I dont know about you (if you were in my shoes).. but hell, I've been terribly worried.. Esp when she's one of my favourite aunts..

Ironic thing is..she's the most health conscious one in the family.. vitamins.. anti-oxidants.. drinks lotsa water.. swims/jogs every week..

I don't see my lazier aunts getting anything like that.. I mean, not that I want my other aunts to get a tumour.. but she seems like the least likely candidate, ya know?

*agitated hop* She flew back to Singapore yesterday.. and she's in surgery right now.. argh. And I can't do anything..

Uncle Teng told me not to visit today.. said tomorrow would be better.. oh well, if he says so.. I would much rather be there when she wakes up, ya know. Uncle Sam keeps telling me not to panic... it's getting rather funny. He just called to ask if I was going to visit Aunt Helen.. I said no.. he was like "it's not that bad.. dont panic.." I dont know whether he was telling me not to panic or whether he was trying to convince himself.. actually he didnt say panic.. but something like that. i dont recall the exact words he used.

Oh well.. back to work..


Melvin - looking forward to your return.

Listening to: Nothing - at the office

So yes, I'm supposed to be working but I'm blogging. Sue me.

Was talking to Li just now (YES, on msn while working! get off my back already..)

Snippet of our conversation (hope you don't mind Li)

~Catherine~ says: i dont have bad attitude
~Catherine~ says: i have no attitude.
~Catherine~ says: period.
~Catherine~ says: bleh.

lianne [i turn to look, and burn my eyes.] says: bleh indeed!
lianne [i turn to look, and burn my eyes.] says: you're never happy though, you notice?
lianne [i turn to look, and burn my eyes.] says: like there's nothing that seems to make you feel happy
lianne [i turn to look, and burn my eyes.] says: perhaps you should start looking for something like that
lianne [i turn to look, and burn my eyes.] says: so you at least have 1 thing
lianne [i turn to look, and burn my eyes.] says: or way of escaping

~Catherine~ says: would it be really bad if i told you - I dont know what will make me happy.
~Catherine~ says: I love you tons. you know me so well.


The conversation's been on my mind since.. somehow. Been feeling.. a lil relieved that someone seemed to understand. A lil vague.. a lil like "where have you been all these years".. and a lil like "what have I lost. who am i.." kinda weird feeling.

sigh.

Listening to: Nothing

I was looking through a friend's holiday photos and feeling reaaaallly envious :p So much so that I was commenting to Melvin "I wanna goooo.. dear see, they look so happy.. and he piggyback her in the picture"

In a heartbeat he replied "ok lah, I piggyback you to take picture. Then after that we can take more pictures in the hospital and look happy"

Puts things into perspective, he does.

Listening to: Ni Ai Wo Hai Shi Ta - David Tao

*looks at "listening to"* Yep. Chinese Song :p

There has to be more to life than moaning and griping about work.. yet, somehow, work IS my life now. Other than work and wow.. I dont seem to have anything to talk about! My conversation currency is like.. devalued. Think Banana Notes..

Ok. I'm on the topic of conversation currency coz my colleagues and I were talking about a particular presentation we attended last Saturday. Art/Music appreciation was one of the "currencies" mentioned. And I'm not talking about Missy Elliot. So I basically sat there like an idiot while they prattered on.. and zoned out.

And Melvin just sent me a sucks-ass messenger. It's some beta live windows messenger. i TOLD him it was windows messenger and he INSISTED it was MSN. and guess what. I'm right. And we all know how windows msger just ABSOLUTELY sucks. The interface is icky, blocky, flat and it's not compatible with my MSN plus. So now i have to re-download msn msger. and I think i've lost ALL my emoticons. I'm not a happy person.
I dont know why.. so many times he's tried to intro things to me.. yet for most, i just get annoyed that he did it in the first place cos i'd be trying to change things back to the way they were coz the things he sends me just sucks.
Remember ya'll, the new beta windows msger live SUCKS.

Sending my thanks and gratitude to Jenny for accompanying me for a late night in the office *hugs*

I think I would have like freaked out in that creepy place alone.

the Romantic Test finished!

you chose BY - your Enneagram type is FOUR. "I am unique" Romantics have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive. How to Get Along with Me Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me. Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself. Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision. Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little. Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting! What I Like About Being a Four my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level my ability to establish warm connections with people admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor being unique and being seen as unique by others having aesthetic sensibilities being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me What's Hard About Being a Four experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved feeling guilty when I disappoint people feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me expecting too much from myself and life fearing being abandoned obsessing over resentments longing for what I don't have Fours as Children Often have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original game s are very sensitive feel that they don't fit in believe they are missing something that other people have attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc. become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce) Fours as Parents help their children become who they really are support their children's creativity and originality are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings are sometimes overly critical or overly protective are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele The Enneagram Made Easy Discover the 9 Types of People HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages You liked the test? so please RATE it... but remember! it had only two questions!!! ;-) You are not completely happy with the result?! You chose BY Would you rather have chosen: AY (EIGHT) CY (SIX) BX (NINE) BZ (FIVE)

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 25% on ABC You scored higher than 57% on XYZ

Link: The Quick and Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

02-oct 2002

jenny asked me a really weird question the other day... we were having lunch, and all of a sudden, she asked me," why do your shoes look the same?.. the both of them?.." i kinda looked at her for a mo' and carefully answered," well.. they ARE a pair.."
and i was thinking like," what the hell is she talking abt?.,. of course they look the same.. two shoes= 1 pair what.."
then she laughed and gave me this exasperated look and said, " i meant your two pairs of shoes.." *mutter* how would i know.. she wasn't talking abt my other pair of shoes before she asked that question.. we laughed abt that one for like the next 15mins..






Jen.. i miss us.

I just read my posts back in 2004.. somehow.. life seems better.. back then.
was i happier? I think so..


/cry

Listening to: Dirait-On - In Accord

Seems like I only have time to post once a week :p

I simply refuse to comment on the latest NYP "scandal".. it's no big deal. *rolls eyes* not like someone was filmed murdering someone else. Geez. Conservative prudes. every single one of them.

Hmm. what else does that leave me to blog about?

Oh yes. The lil Johari thing. I finally went to do one up. apparently.. 50% think i'm HELPFUL (where the fuck did that come from?) and another 50% think I'm SENTIMENTAL. -_-'
and someone even thought I was dignified. *sniffs* now where did THAT come from..
So for those whom I didnt get to tell on msn, here's where you go: http://kevan.org/johari?name=cath_ong

*ponders*

I asked Veronica (my colleague) if it was worth it. All the late nights up, the working over the weekend.. i mean.. most of the people I know.. stop work after 6pm. but we're kinda "on call" practically 24 hours. KL (the manager) has the tendency to call you on Saturdays.. *wrinkles nose* I don't know. My workload aint as heavy as veronica's.. yet. and I seriously think i'd be leaving if it ever got that bad.. not worth the pay.

I'm considering giving my mother a call. to tell her something very important.



















"Mom? I want that 2 thousand bucks in my OCBC bank account to pay off my uni loan."




Think she'll give it to me? NAAAHHH.

Listening to: Nothing

It's another one of those "I have nothing to blog about, but i'd blog anyway" things.

Valentine's has come and gone. I spent the morning in a meeting.. then proceeded to spend the afternoon transcribing a long and dreary talk. After which I went home.. dialed melvin on skype and proceeded to continue with my work, while he play WoW. or DOTA. So it was one of those "we're on the line but not talking" situations. Then out of the blue, he said "Happy Valentine's.."
and I said "oh. Happy Valentine's dear." and that was that. A 2 second dedication to the day we call Vday.

I guess after that 4th year Anniversary, the Vday isnt as important. After all.. now I got 2 words (happy Valentine's) as opposed to 3 (Happy Anniversary dear). Maybe NEXT year.. he'll stop at "happy" and I get to finish his sentence for him before he goes back to playing games.

Listening to: A dream is a wish your heart makes - Cinderella

Daily routine: 6.30am - wake up
8.30am - Work
6.30pm - get off work
8.00pm - Shower and Dinner
9.oopm - check Email and wonder why ppl dont ever rest. (more work)
10.30pm - Bed

I went to get my Singpass password done today. checked how much I owed CPF for the Uni loan.
Accrued Interest as of 30/01/06 (or was it 31/01/06?) = S$986

FUCKING hell. I dont even have enough cash to play off the fucking interest. i hate my parents. for those who have their studies conveniently SPONSORED.. you have no idea how fucking lucky you are. you have NO EXCUSE to screw up.. esp when your parents pay for your education.

Esp those who have parents who send them overseas to study.. you have NO IDEA what its like to have a 20k++ debt on ur ass the minute you graduate.
one thousand fucking bucks for INTEREST. and its gonna fucking GROW. and dont tell me "pay it off quick". Do you think money grows on TREES? I havent even received my FIRST paycheck from my FIRST perm job. I have RENT to pay. I have BILLS. "pay it off quick" you say. why dont YOU pay for me huh? fucking useless "advice"..

I'm gonna be in DEBT for the next 8-10 years of my life.

Dont fucking bother me.

Listening to: Nothing

I had this conversation with a colleague today after I was told to look into publicizing the RP's move to Woodlands to the students.

Me: you know, we could just do a poster stand and put postcards so ppl can take..

Vivienne: Nah.. this is a paperless campus. We should try avoiding using paper whenever possible. Even like invites are sent via email and stuff. it's all e-invites, e-cards..

Me: okay.. since KL (the manager) said that email doesnt work.. and nor do posters.. and since you're setting up a booth for registration.. how about we tie that in with e-coupons they can redeem for things on that day itself?

Vivienne: Nah.. I've sorted that out. We're giving out coupons to those who sign up early.


Sooo my question is: What happened to your "paperless" campus?
If you can have your coupons, I sure as hell can have my postcards.

Listening to: Never let go - Josh Groban

I'm blogging for the sake of having SOME kind of update..
So i'm just gonna post a few buncha pics up.. some from the office christmas lunch.. some from the lil "farewell" they did for me. They were really sweet actually. Gave me this hella big card.


Bunch of us at the Christmas office lunch thing.

Taking photos in the hosp is such a bore.. all we have is white walls..

Taddaaaa.. last pic is me, showing off my nice and big card :p though I dont know why Sandy was waving in the background when I was opening the card..

Listening to: Nothing

OOo look.. 4th year anniversary.

what did I get? 3 words. "Happy anniversary dear"

I see how much effort it took to SAY those 3 words dear.
Thank you SOooooo much for LOVELY and MEMORABLE anniversary.

Celebrate it? Naaah... not needed. Gift? Oh Nooo.. its WRONG to expect something, afterall I shouldnt take things for granted.

And for you to say "I've exhausted my patience".. well.. yes.. dear i'm SORRY I actually EXPECTED something for our FOURTH anniversary. SUCH Audacity on MY part.

Listening to: One Last Cry - Brian McKnight

Let's deal with things one at a time. It's going to be another one of those "from work life to love life to game life" posts.

First, work.

(at this moment, YZ is msging me so forgive me if I sound distracted.. or if this part of the post sounds a lil fragmented)

where was I?

Right.. work. I handed in my resignation for the position at NUH last Friday. Reasons for that decision range from the impossible workload to the shitty treatment temp staff get.. and the lousy slave-labour pay. I think I've mentioned once.. that my work comes in boxes. one box a day.. with the exception of mondays.. I get 3 boxes on mondays (coz the hospital operates on weekends, in case no one noticed). so make that... 7 boxes for a 5-day work week. I'm too slow, I think. Coz I only manage to clear about half a box a day.. and it's extremely stressful to know that it's the 27th and I'm only clearing stuff on the 12th.

It's not worth 6 bucks an hour.

And the treatment.. *sigh*
Case No. 1: This girl was suddenly asked to leave. She received a call from the recruit agency telling her not to bother turning up for work the next day. No explainations, no warning. I went to ask around and finally got the reply that she was on her handphone too much, smsing and stuff.
The thing that didnt sit well with me was the "NO WARNING". I mean, if you find she's on the phone too much.. TELL her. So that she can cut down or something. or ASK her why she's on so much. For all you know, she was going thru a family crisis or something. But Noooo.. no such thing.

Case No. 2: This is even more ridiculous. One of the girls fell sick (she was the one replacing said girl in Case 1) and took 3 days of MC. Really really bad flu, I could hear on the phone. By the 3rd day, they sacked her, telling her they couldnt afford to wait for her to get well. I mean, it's not like she didn't want to come. It's not her fault she fell sick.. and she's only been at work for a week too.

Why should I stay? Why should I stay in a company that "professes warmth and care" when they treat their staff so callously? In the 3 weeks that I've worked there, they've changed staff for that particular position like 3 times. And something tells me it's not the staff that's screwy here.

Notice the stint I had at KKH was much more enjoyable and pleasant compared to the stinking hellhole called NUH. Maybe coz the ppl are nicer and are ACTUALLY considerate *Gasp*
For this "temp to perm" position I've just resigned from, ADIOS! Damn Hypocrites.

Now, Love life.

After 4 years of dating the same guy (I dont know if he even remembers when our anniversary is).. well..

THings grow old, ya know. And I find that.. the romance and passion have long evaporated, replaced by the mundane everyday life. I find myself expecting more out of the entire relationship.. and more than half the time, he just can't keep up.
To put it bluntly, things have grown boring. tiresome. and the only "color" that we see is the red haze of anger when we fight. and oh, do we fight. every other night.
It's not to say we don't love each other. Just.. you lose touch, sometimes. you dont feel the yearning to be together. come to think of it, you don't really miss each other as much. the other person is just.. well.. on the other side of the telephone line. Even the "I love you"s seem to be said more out of habit than really expressing how you feel.

*shrug*

(at this pt, he's prolly say something like "you love the attn dont you" or "such a attn seeker" or "stop being so melodramatic") - see what i mean?

Ok. Game life. Warning: you prolly wont understand half the terms.

I've more or less given up on my priest. She's NEVER gonna get to 60 =/ I simply dont have time for 2 characters. I'm more interested in playing my mage than priest anyway. And I dont relish doing BRD a gazillion times trying to do Emp/jailbreak/Incendius. I've also abandoned my warrior at lvl.. 8 i think.
which reminds me.. have to save leather gear for my brother. I keep forgetting.. God knows how much leather gear I've DE-ed.
Aniko's disappeared on me =(
And my guild seems to be coming apart. Note: I've noticed a pattern here.. no matter which guild I join, they seem to come apart in less than 2 months. I've been through about 4 guilds now.. been there, done that.. dismantled a guild, i'm THAT good. that sorta thing. *sigh*
Another note: Try to sound like a guy on ventrilo :p Comments from fellow guildies about sexy voice and the proceeding requests for phone numbers upset the boyfriend.
Honestly dear.. they were only teasing.. no need to /glare the poor ppl..

Anyway.. it's getting late. Midnight now.. I should go to bed, except I'm not sleepy.
Many thanks to Eugene and Tim for the calls a few days back. I'm fine now.. not gonna die anytime soon. And thanks to Andrew (you can just call me ya know, instead of asking poor Eugene to call).

Shimin, lunch sometime hun?

Alrite. Gotta end the post now. WEekend's gonna be tediousome. Lunch with grandma on Sat, then some other obligation on Sunday. Lovely.

Listening to: Pachelbel - Canon in D Major

Merry Christmas Ya'll

Listening to: Nothing

Well, guess what.. i'm sick again. Had a fever yesterday.. a steady 38.5 deg celsius. And was aching ALL over.. So i pretty much slept the entire day away.

Got better this morning. 37.4 degrees.. so I thought "what the hell.. I'll just head to work" Was half convinced that the fever will clear by the evening.

Then something really extraordinary happened. I went to the loo to pee. Looked in the toilet bowl.. FUCK... it was BRIGHT red. Aaaand... i wasn't having my period. now where did all that blood come from?

plus.. my fever just went back up to 38.0.... Sooo.. I guess it's another trip to the doctor's.. and a whole lotta hospital tests coming my way..
I think its the fever.. but maaaan.. which fever causes you to pee blood..

/sigh expenses.. rising.. again..

Listening to: Somewhere out there - Linda Rostadt & James Ingram

You know you're getting old when you prefer class95 to Perfect10 =/


Just got home from a lil class outing with Irene, Tim, Shimin, HuiJing, Yuchen, Serene, CK, Eugene, Jenny and KF (well technically speaking Jenny isnt from my class.. but she spent so much time hanging out with 00S21 that.. well.. she's practically family, that sorta thing. And KF.. was erm.. just there coz Jen was.)

HuiJing and Serene were the only punctual ones I think. Tim did a lil detour on the cab to pick Shimin and I up.. so we reached there at about 6.15.. (we were supposed to meet at 6..) Aaaanyway.. by the time CK reached, it was like 7.. =/ now we know who to tell we're meeting at 5 when it's supposed to be 6.

Because of certain LATECOMERS... dinner started only at like.. 7.30? 8? The fish and chips we had were.. alrite, i guess. It wasn't fantastic or anything, but it was cheap. After which, we dropped by TimB's new err.. boardgame place. It was apparently the opening night of his joint, so we dropped by and stayed to play an hour or so. the gaming was free :p Rene and I felt bad, so we decided to order more food..

erm. for those who dont know.. TimB = Choir Senior from NJC. Tim.. is well.. good old Tim.

We dropped by eskibar but there weren't seats.. pity. So we ended up in "the rest room".. as opposed to the "bed room" and .. some other "room" which I can't remember. And apparently.. one of Jen's friends was managing those bars... so we chilled there for.. awhile, I guess. More talk and gossip.

I didnt leave the bar plastered/high. for a change :p

Once again, thanks to Tim for sending me home.. I remember he once told me I should learn not to take certain things for granted. I assume the "sending home" is one of those things :P

I spent the night wondering about those I used to call "my best guy friends"..
And.. I cant help but feel it's pretty one-sided. It's like.. Mmm.. take Eugene for example. He was like.. my best guy friend in JC. I told him.. just abt everything.. shared thoughts.. fears.. and various confusing things in the life of a 17 year old. Looking back.. I think he just listened for most and tried to say whatever comforting words he could think of. I realize I know very little of him.. and for that 2 years.. I did nothing but.. talk. He's never really shared things with me.. so.. yeah.. like I said.. pretty one-sided. He once said that was not the case. That guys simply didnt blabber abt "unimportant" things like girls =/ whatever.

Come to think of it.. I wonder who I'm really close to now. I dont confide in ppl like I used to, I think. I talk about.. things that happened the last outing.. or what I did on my trip.. a lil of my worries maybe. But.. there simply isn't ANYONE I share everything now with. I wonder if that's what happens as you grow up. There isn't a "somebody" I call and cry to.. there isn't a "somebody" I think of immediately to call/tell when I'm feeling down or pissed.. Feels a lil weird sometimes.

It's 1.30am and I'm still wide awake. Don't really feel like playing.. I wish I could just.. pick up the phone and call someone .. to talk. Someone who.. understands. Then again, it's just wishful thinking. Chances are I'm going to stay in bed with my eyes closed, and find some place to bury whatever unpleasant thoughts/feelings I'm having.

And before this degenerates into a "self pitying" post.. I'm gonna remind Shimin: my hair treatment... bring it next week pls :p I TOLD you I'll forget abt it and you'll carry it home =/
So yeah, next week.

Night guys.

Listening to: Unchanged Melody - Air Supply

Well. I started working last Friday (for those who were wondering where I've disappeared to). Of ALL things, as an accounts assistant in NUH. It took me 3 days to clear one day's worth of discrepancies. *sigh* look at it this way.. they have about 60 cashiers.. and I have to deal with the discrepencies of daily collected amounts for ALL of them.. and you have no idea what kind of weird mistakes they make.. and when even $0.01 diff is impt (else you can't CLEAR the stupid thing from your system).. well.. yeah. So the work's piling and I'm not happy.

On a happier note: RP's offered me a position as a general admin officer. a perm job.. not the lousy temp ones I've been taking. And the pay isn't too shabby. I was expecting 1.8k or something.. but heh. they were feeling generous, I guess. Yes, it's not a very exciting job. and yes, I'd be bored outta my skull. But if they're offering 2k for a general admin job.. why not? right?

The huge drawback? They're moving to bloody WOODLANDS come April =/

I figure I'll whine and complain when the time comes, in the meantime... 2k per month pay, here I come..

(which reminds me.. 2 weeks notice to NUH must be sent soon)

Alrite, end of general update.

I'm gonna.. erm.. read a book or something.

As Aniko would say, "You are such a dork" :p

Listening to: A little too late - Tonya Mitchell

Thou Shalt Not Gamble ... yeah right

It's been quite awhile since I last blogged. Mainly coz nothing's been happening. I wake up, I play games, I go back to bed.
The appearance of this post doesn't mean/signify any change in my routine. It's Tuesday night, the servers are down and I don't feel like playing any of the other games I have installed.

I went to Genting, again. Last week. Have I mentioned?
Grandma enjoyed herself I think. We camped out at the casino. Grandma won about.. RM$360 the first night. I lost 100.. so she gave me part of her winnings to play with. By the next afternoon, I had grandma hooked on this lil game called mini dice.. I subsequently won 300.. and grandma won another 200. really exhilarating to put 10 bucks down and win 100 :p I swear I wanted to stop after winning 300 bucks.. but grandma moved to the taisai table.. =( and I didnt wanna just STAND there to watch her play.. I lost that 300 by dinner time. bleh. grandma lost her winnings too..
I guzzled alot of Milo after that. it's like "damn.. lost 300.. must drink milo." if i could, i would have drunk 300 bucks worth of milo *sulk*

Don't look at me weird. Grandma drank lotsa free coffee herself. *snicker*

Did I mention she woke me up at 6am that last morning there? She wanted to squeeze in 3 hours of playing before we had to leave at 9.30am *groan* I groggily lost another 100 that morning.

Grandma's a bad influence, yes she is :p

Thou Shalt Not Gamble ... unless tempted to

Listening to: Endless love - Diana Ross and Lionel Richie

Not sure what I want to blog abt really.. I can't sleep. I can't lie in bed w/o feeling how empty the room is. I've called 3 ppl today. First Lianne, then Eugene, then Tim.. all in a desperate attempt to.. well, talk to someone, I guess. To stop myself.. from.. mm.. feeling the way I do.
It's better now, i think. I've stopped crying (for the night, i hope). My nose is still stuffed tho.

Yet, I can't sleep.

The night feels so empty.

Listening to: Fool again - Westlife

Sent mel off in the morning.. rotting in WoW coz andy's doing MC and I'm not geared up for it. Dont feel like doing instances even though i SHOULD.. else I'd never get my gear for MC.

*sigh*

The prof hasnt replied my email so I reckon I'm jobless again. long story. no i didnt get fired.. the contract ended and we were waiting for another grant so I could continue working there.. but there was some admin problem and *sigh* long story. Anyway I was supposed to wait for his mail/call. which was supposed to come last week.

Such an odd feeling, Melvin gone again. we had lotsa fun the past 2 weeks, i guess. the room feels strangely empty and i'm feeling.. strange. I feel the need to munch to feel better but I dont really feel like eating. I feel the need to head out and DO something instead of just sitting here.. but I dont really feel like leaving the chair, much less the room.

I'd get used to it. just takes a day or 2.