CroXxy

My HP ringtone. I really like this song..

2008-01-15T11:41:00.000+08:00

MICHAEL BUBLE LYRICS
"Save The Last Dance For Me"

You can dance-every dance with the guy
Who gives you the eye,let him hold you tight
You can smile-every smile for the man
Who held your hand neath the pale moon light
But don't forget who's takin' you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darlin' save the last dance for me

Oh I know that the music's fine
Like sparklin' wine,go and have your fun
Laugh and sing,but while we're apart
Don't give your heart to anyone
But don't forget who's takin' you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darlin' save the last dance for me

Baby don't you know I love you so
Can't you feel it when we touch
I will never never let you go
I love you oh so much
You can dance,go and carry on
Till the night is gone
And it's time to go

If he asks if you're all alone
Can he walk you home,you must tell him no'
Cause don't forget who's taking you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
Save the last dance for me'
Cause don't forget who's taking you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darling,save the last dance for me
Save the last dance for me
Save the last dance for me.

Struck a chord...

2008-01-15T11:35:00.000+08:00

MICHAEL BUBLE LYRICS
"Home"

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me'
Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

2007-10-15T22:37:00.000+08:00

keke Piggy has a bigger head!

Sprawled in blessed sleep

Where's Mama?

Mauritius

2007-09-26T23:16:00.001+08:00

Our room - so pretty!

4 poster bed! My dream bed with light flowy curtains

Rows of identical resorts - looks like malaysia style hor

Beach in front of our room

Exotic plants never seen b4

All beach resorts have this!

The pool that we've never dipped in

Serene..right in the middle of the resort

Hunky Dory!

Merlin salad..very yummy, the start of our fish trail

Seafood pizza, first time I've ever seen so much fish on a pizza!

Nite view

Quietly..

2007-09-26T22:48:00.000+08:00

View of the resort, from the sailboat

The Sail!

Landscape...lots of mountains

the endless waters

Waterfall

Amazing, how the speedboat manoeuvre round the rocks

Bikini babe!

Dinner..Fishes Fishes Fishes

Brrr... 5am Mauritian Time

Last day... just before we surrender the keys. Boo hoo

Right outside the resort, roads just sprang up round the waters

Brrr...Super duper cold

Waterfront Town

I stumbled on a site my ger cousin visited

2007-09-23T13:14:00.000+08:00

i decided to create my own name.

Gosh.. I feel like a 13 year old! *grin*

Nephew Niklass and Niece Hazel

2007-09-19T22:44:00.000+08:00

1 week old baby Hazel and 3 months old baby Niklass!

Baby Niklass around 2 months old

Aunty Corrine carrying baby Hazel for the first time!

Newly ushered to the Tan Family

Proud Aunty of TWO!

My personality Type

2007-08-26T22:42:00.001+08:00

Revelation today

2007-02-28T22:37:00.000+08:00

You know your workplace is a nice environment when your bosses walk to your tiny little desk to ask you a question instead of calling you on the phone to get ur butt to their office.

Picnic at Botanics Nov 06

2007-02-27T03:52:00.000+08:00

Cute Vday Dessert

2007-02-27T03:46:00.000+08:00

Can't sleep

2007-02-27T03:30:00.000+08:00

It's 330am.. been tossing ard in bed since 12. Decided to get up and do something instead..
ironically, was surfing ard for ways to sleep better just now..tot it's tips to keep in mind when insomnia strikes. Note the usefulness tho...since i'm typing tis post at tis time.

Used to sleep like a piggy..falling aslp immediately and refusing to budge in the morning. It's the aging process... heard older people do not need as much slp. hah! or maybe it's that black coffee at 3pm just now.. i'm so gonna need a continuous string of black coffees tml to keep me going!

Supposed to be off for a morning swim b4 work and lunch time blood donation. Dun think my blood pressure will take well to a slp deprived nite. Sorry.. one less blood bag tml.

These days aren't too happy I supposed. Feeling stressed in many ways.. There's the mumsy, the feeling lousy and inadequate at work and the trying hard to balance socially..

When I was in school, I thought exam stress was the worst kind of stress. I often thought... when I grow up, and when there are no more exams, life will be at peace.

...

2007-01-03T23:56:00.000+08:00

a long long long while

2006-11-19T21:42:00.000+08:00

that i have not wrote...

been very busy..swamped with work, work, work and others. In the midst of doing a presentation due tml. am so bored though that I cannot bring myself to start on it. Already 935pm. approximately 3 more hours to work, watch tv, pack my bag, iron the week's clothes etc. how much can i do??

i shall aim to start work by 10pm!

Am gg Taiwan on 26th Nov. AM SO EXCITED! going with MA for 9 days. It's gg to be a eat-see-shop-trip ard Taipei, Hualien and Taichung. cannot wait.

Popped over to Genting/ColmarTropicale over last weekend. Genting was pretty much a nightmare. too crowded and too many rude people. highlight of the trip was watching a movie on OSIM iMedic. Movie was sucky but we had fun trying out all the available massages on the chair. Colmar was nice. Though totally man made with a french theme, the fake castles and a single street of restaurants was pretty quaint and peaceful. There is absolutely nothing to do there so prepare your own entertainment!

Also completed the great eastern 10km run. Managed to cut off 10 min from my timing last yr..wat a painful run! wun be able to make it for the stanchart tho since wun be back from tw yet.

Finished the entire Princess Hours vcds too! hmm..what else? cant think and it's 10pm.

Off to work! shall be back..

my Computer spoilt!

2006-09-15T13:44:00.000+08:00

Have not wrote for a long time..for a variety of reasons:
1. Rushing presentation after presentation after presentation
2. Went off to Malacca for a team building trip
3. Back in office and working on presentation
4. Computer spoilt for a couple of days
5. Brot laptop home and still working on presentation
6. Back in office and working on presentation

At last count, i still have 6 presentations to go.. and just added one more this morning.

sigh...

i'm brain blocked now!

Some photos from Malacca:

The group of us gals!

Colourfully decorated trishaw which rang with OLD oldies songs, that my colleagues could hum to.. !

Famosa Chicken Balls... a must try in Malacca. Very yummy!! the chicken and char siew is salivatingly gd!

Another Must-Try! Chendol.. I'm no fan of it but had 3 different varieties in these 2 days... well.. I will stick to burbur char char

back from hiatus, next round of rest..

2006-09-03T23:35:00.000+08:00

I stopped clubbing already, since March 06! so outta the blue, felt like gg, jioed a bunch of people and went over to DBL O. MS changed and am so quiet. only crowd's at dbl 0. my..so crowded. Din drink alot..left at 2pm.. but quite happy for the retro treat! another round of 6 months rest to go!

ppl.. March 2007 meet 10pm outside dbl o hor!

My little Cousin and Me

2006-09-01T00:57:00.000+08:00

Di di came over for the night with his mama! Had fun playing with him for quite awhile.. He grow up already.. Amy tot he's a different cousin. He's 6! think must have been a year since he visited amy's hse with me. So cute, right? big-eyed and real cheeky smile!

2006-08-27T23:39:00.000+08:00

yay! someone motivate me to run pls!

2006-08-24T22:29:00.000+08:00

hiak hiak hiak....Me new pair of Asics. Yippee!!! but my running buddy down with bad knees.. Anyone else wanna run, pls raise ur hands!

2006-08-22T00:49:00.000+08:00

I went to the kitchen to get a cup of water when I heard the door to my parents' room open. My mum came out and I could see that she was upset. She had a bad dream. and was crying a little.

My heart really ached to see my mum so sad. She has not been well lately. Not able to sleep well too.. she's a little depressed at times. For the first 24 yrs of my life, I have only seen my mum cried once. Lately, its been happening a lot. I wish I can take away her suffering. I dunno how..

We bring her to the doctors, I try to stay home more. I go to the temple to pray for her well-being. But i'm still so inadequate. I dunno how to console her when she is sad. I try to always change the topic so that she wld not dwell on her sadness. I pour her a cup of warm water to get her to calm down. I fetch her medicine and I ask her to lie down to rest. but I dunno what to do and how to make her happy.

We are not an affectionate family.. Sometimes I know I should just try to give her a hug and maybe she will feel more consoled. But i dunno how to. I feel so useless.. Teach me. What can I do?

Why can we readily hug our frens but yet find it so difficult to approach our parents. In this fast moving society, who can slow down and give me a hug at times too?

Very sad.

Mocha I-dunno-what already..

2006-08-19T03:12:00.000+08:00

some long spelling for the name, which I cannot pronounce and thus, cannot remember. Made of Almond nuts, hazel nuts, espresso and lotsa cream and chocolate, its siiiinful! But it's a pretty different concoction and quite nice. Some of colleagues said this is the best bake so far. haha I followed very precise instructions in the bakebook from the hall ppl.

I baked another one, in preparation for ah Ma's birthday dinner with the hall ppl but was cancelled last min. Lucky we are still meeting tml. Happy Birthday MA! hee

my latest 2 pairs of shoes

2006-08-07T22:50:00.000+08:00

hiakhiak I've lost count already.. promised Ma that I wun buy any more shoes for the next 2 months..please remind me!

the past few days

2006-08-06T01:33:00.000+08:00

My memory is getting worse and worse. I dunno why! But i am just SO absentminded and forgetful. Did quite alot of things over the last few days..guess I should record them now before I forget!

Wednesday:
Went to a launch party at Zouk. I have not club in the last few months already! and am quite proud of myself really. Dun really intend to start again though some frens have been suggesting a visit. Anyway, zouk is pretty much of the past, where hall days start at 8pm and ends at 3am. Nothing much at the launch. totally blocked though i like the emcee. Hossan L. hiakhiak. we left right away at 930pm.

Guess what.. I had a totally weird dream that night. Was just recounting to ah di and he told me I should blog my over-imaginative subconsience. hmm maybe its compensating for my lack of imagination in my awake self! anyway here goes a superbly detailed report, result of Ah Di telling me he was the hall initiation and the recent Lake house movie.

In my dream, me and 4 other colleagues became uni cum hall frens and we were chatting in one guy's room. So! We were all drenched as we were part of the initiation program for hall camp that night. We decided to change and C says that she din bring extra clothes. I offered to get her a set and ran to my room, which I share with S. On the way there, I bumped into T, an ex-flame (in the dream). He's now a poor student struggling to make ends meet and is suffering in hunger. I quickly brot him to my room and told him to feel himself whatever he fancy while I fetch the clothes to C.

While I was away, T decided to leave a note for me and left. S just so happened to go back to the room at this point and SAW the letter! She decided to reply. So all this time while I was away, they exchanged a flow of letters (I dunno how) and they fell deeply in love.. Aaah. so lake hse! Problem then arises. T thought S is Me (CT) and decided to confess his love. We thus got together but T loves S and S loves T but T thought S is CT and CT thought T loves her. Poor S doenst know a thing. hahah super complicated! anyway I woke up.

Thursday:
After work, met Mag and Qi to go Otari for dinner. Japanese food. Quite nice. YC joined us tho sick and had to miss out on all the yummy stuff, keeping to his green mee and fried vegetables! poor boy. A fun evening out. Though I was the little butt of their jokes, testing me with super cheem chinese idioms that I have never heard b4! But it was good. Love ya gerS!

Weirdly, I had another vivid dream but it was just of a quick moment. I was running a marathan and of all people, I bumped into my JC classmate, Teck Heng with his then-gerfren. They were pushing 2 prams and guess what when I look down??! I saw 2 little Teck Hengs, with his exact face and small baby bodies! It's hilarious, exactly like how it is in the movies!

Friday:
No mood to work..Looked fwd to end of day. Initally the boring me had no plans but decided to ask my frens out to catch a movie or something. Went shopping with colleague for a short while then supposed to meet my frens at the bishan park cafe at 1030. hah! got to the start of the park then erm..realised I am actually not as brave as I thought I could be! Too blardi dark to walk through all the trees! called ah di but he never picked up so had to call JW. So embarassing! Anyway, on the way to the park thus, we stopped and I made JW sing 3 songs! Heard he's very good at singing and I had to literally forced him into it. Wow, his Ge Sheng title is not a bluff! very nice and sweet, a very clear voice. I'm no critic but he's gd! reminds me so much of junqiang, my beloved fyp mate who once sang me to sleep. hehe

Anyway, the park cafe looks so nice but know what? It was CLOSED! aye... so while waiting for ah di, we explored the half finished spa next to the cafe. JW was the brave one who led the way through the darken glass doors. We attempted to write some "we were here" on the tiles in the garden but the stones din work and we had no pens. aye!

Went to Spam near ah di's place.. hehe we play metal slug, my fav game in uni time... 20cents per game, where to find!?! now...I miss Golden Axe. anyone remember that?!?!

Saturday:
So sleepy..I din want to wake up.. Went for the bowling event by the co for the morning. have not bowled in a long while.. but 3 games are more than enough for the aching hands. Called ah di to meet for bak ku teh lunch. quite yummy, the balestier outlet.

we proceed to yiyi's cafe where we painted the entrance yellow and drank another cup of her delicious flavored coffee. Tdy, I had hazelnut latte!! Wanted to play mj at night but mummy tan was not well so abandoned the plans. Hardworking ah di helped me vacuum the hse floor while I mopped so was faster. Dinner at Mac, joined by Ma, Pa, Jem, JW and fren later. hahaha was convinced to go KTV with them. Anyway it was part of the condition set by JW when he sang the previous night. So.. IT WAS QUITE FUN la! hahaha I cant sing..so I select the songs! hiakhiak I mastered the remote quite fast. They all can sing so well. and Ah di and Ma' antics just tickled us so! heheh Thank you all for singing for me to listen!

one whole day of activities.. so tired.. yawn. must wake up tml morn for a birthday lunch. time for bed... night my frens!

A good Saturday Spent

2006-07-30T03:38:00.000+08:00

I woke up this morning, staring into the face of ah boy, my little 6 yr old cousin with his blue lips stained by his colourful lollipop. He wanted to play computer games, I wanted to sleep somemore. It was only 930am. So I told him "Later, k?". He obediently went back to his cartoons in the living room. Ah boy comes over almost every Sat morning. He is so cute. Auntie killer! Everyone other female that I have introduced him to, give him chocolates or candies. He's getting too used to the attention that he gets everywhere. Need to take him down a peg each time. I always refuse him sweets.

Anyway, after cleaning, mopping, washing and other what-nots, I travelled to Suntec Starbucks. Got a cosy sofa by the window and spent a nice lazy afternoon, reading, sipping my Java chips frappa and chatting a little with Mag, di and JW. hiakhiak. that AhDi, one who always laugh so loud, crack lame but sometimes clever jokes and forever babe-watching, just went quiet, shy and blushy today. Oh well.. but at then end of the day, we are 4 happy frens. We played carrom, baked 2 cakes (Ah di and Mag stirred the mixture together! awww..) and MJ until just now. Nice.

Last night, I had another weird dream. I dreamt that I was cleaning a fren's hse with another fren when both of us got stabbed. We were left with a phone with which to call for help. I called someone. That someone turned out to be Bozo.. hahaha.. Bozo came along, looking fierce and quite different. He's a triad leader (in my dreams) and set out to solve our problems. I woke up tho..can't remember the rest. such a funny dream.

Am gg to bed.. helping yiyi clean her cafe tml! Yippee! so happy that her dream's coming true. Everyone, visit Beanstalk Cafe at Circular road, next to 7-11 for your dosage of coffee, warmth and fun k! Yay!!

Last night, I had a dream

2006-07-29T01:48:00.000+08:00

I dreamt of you and your mum. Weird huh..guess it's been awhile since I last saw Auntie Koh. It was so real. In it, you and your frens were invited to a party thrown by my close fren. But, I was not invited. So I went to your house to wait for you where Auntie showed me in. I waited a long while. You did not turn up.

I missed you in the dream. Today, many thoughts crossed my mind. You crossed my mind.

on 3 different days..

2006-07-26T20:37:00.000+08:00

My kind of breakfast.. Subway Western Egg with Boncafe Black Coffee Roast. Especially yummy after a 5km run with the girls!

These ain't courses over different meals but a perfect 4-in-1 Japanese lunch, with pork steak, wasabit spaghetti, potato salad, fried rice, pickles and miso soup all in one sitting. Hotel Royale, my kind of lunch.

Huge hairy crab in the background. Dinner served in a boat, literally. Hotpot seafood dinner at Paradiz, fresh, hot and extremely fulfilling!

recent 2 attempts

2006-07-24T21:22:00.000+08:00

Baked them for a fren's birthday. Tot the cranberry hearts look pretty cute. but turned out was way too crumbly for the postman. Taste quite nice too, if I may say so myself.

Bought a new cube of butter, loads of chocolate and set out to make the yummy looking snowball cookies, both recipes courtesy of http://www.thebakerwhocooks.blogspot.com/ hmm..something went wrong somewhere, i dunno where either. Dough was too watery and I could not form the balls.. Splat them into little green cups instead and tada! a mutent form appeared. Still quite yummy too.

Sent them off to the postman. Still turned up topsy turvy at the destination but well. guess at least they did not turn into teeny crumble bits. =)

see what I found!

2006-07-24T20:40:00.000+08:00

It's called "Hoi Tong" Pressed Powder Pink. Instructions on the box say "Traditional Compact Powder developed from ancient chinese formulation,that enabled your skin to look lighter and by adding boiled water this can be used as facial mask"

Mummy saw this and told me Grandma used to use this. Can be used as rouge, compact or powder to do face threading. I remember the SBC show last time "Wu Jiao Ji", one of my childhood favorites where ah mahs in hong tou jins and clogs will grit their teeth and fingers around 2 ends of a white string, pulling invisible hairs from other women's faces.

So retro. I love it! haha Saw this at a smkt in tekka. Couldn't resist buying it to keep. Mummy smiled and asked me when am I ever going to grow up. I dun wan to! *grin*

anyone knows Japanese??

2006-07-24T20:29:00.000+08:00

bday pressie from the once-upon-a-time rent-a-slot comic-strip artist. very cute and i love that little towel with pink flying hearts. Apart from the bear and towel, the rest looks suspiciously like candy yet seem to bear some semblance to shower stuff.. Anyone help help?? I wanna smell like a sweet, not soak in candy!

Thanks YC! eh..ur birthday now. what do ya wan?

Today's bake - Apple Torte

2006-07-24T00:47:00.000+08:00

I'm eating chocolates at 1046pm

2006-07-20T22:50:00.000+08:00

cos I'm bored and I'm not very happy. Maybe chocolate will cheer me up. Bluff. Chocolates make me feel guilty, plus having them at 1046 when u plan to sleep at 11 ain't gd for the waistline. So I stopped at.. hmm. like, the 20th piece! OMG. lucky it's little blackforest balls and not huge round rochers. oh well. still. tml, can I wake up at 7am to go run? Will try though unlikely. hah!

Hmm... why unhappy? Am not sure also. Maybe cos lately, I dun feel the zest for life. No aim no directions, not doing anything constructive. time to do something.

Salsa - Qi, wan?

Yoga & Pilates - Wait for Cali to start

Rockclimbing - okie, I will go for it in Aug!

hmm what else? sleep.

too tired.

Photos of our time in Batam!

2006-07-19T00:36:00.000+08:00

On the way there... Ferry ride was so turbulent, we only could smile in the first 5 min...

At the poool..Cant show too many pics of the scantily clad ladies!
There are animals, organic plants greenhouse, man walking goats and turkeys waddling around
Yummy Dinner, was so so so stuffed and yet could eat supper 4 hours later...
Look at how huge the coconut is and the scrabble game we played!

Cant get to sleep

2006-07-16T01:55:00.000+08:00

I don't know why too. I switched off the lights at 130am. Knowing that I have to wake up at 630am for the 5km run didnt help i guess. It's not really pre-run jitters. Guess it's more the stress of knowing I have to slp. Sure that quite a few people experience such happenings too. But I have a problem. When this happens, I really tend to get very tensed. I cannot just toss n turn in bed. I will feel super frustrated and worse, sometimes even going into slight panic attacks. I hate that feeling. So I crawled out of bed at 150am.

I got reminded of the time I took the Service Marketing paper in uni3. My first paper in the last round of exams. Also can't sleep. Had to have jia accompany me through the night. Tough for her. but such a nice fren!

Anyway, I went online and chatted with 2 frens. Now..finally abit more tired. Shall attempt again..

Gdnite.

the 7 of us, at Batam!

2006-07-13T23:54:00.000+08:00

In the latest 1 year plus, we have been managing outings with all 7 of us present. Yeah! This time, we outdid ourselves. After alot of hard work by Yiyi and Beeks, we made it to Batam on a weekend getaway! Tho Jen have to leave us halfway but still, See, all here, in the photo.

It was a gd wkend. Tho we started off with a terrible seasick-inducing rollercoaster boat ride, waiters who do not understand us and rude neighbours who slammed at our door and subsequently called front office to complain about our noise level. Yet, the big rooms, our cheerful spirits, the nice kelong seafood and waiters and even the soft rain pitterpattering the day after, made the entire weekend relaxing and cosy.

Massage was almost full house, 4 of us did foot reflexology. It was only my 2nd time at it. Me n WL waited in trepidation..scared of the pain awaiting us! In kindred spirits, we laughed through the pain and little screams. Was squirmy but the companionship of the gers made the whole hour memorable!

We played scrabble too. long time since everyone played. Was surprisingly fun! I was half dazed and groggy after dinner but game was interestingly engaging. haha Perhaps cos of novelty after the long hiatus.

Attempted to watch world cup match.. as usual, piggy me fell right aslp and my feeble attempts at glazing blankly at the tv between winks did not register much. While me n beeks were snoozing away, the other gers finished the wine and the match.

Food was good, weather was fine, companionship was great, perfect nuah weekend.

Ah Di..

2006-07-12T22:59:00.000+08:00

seems like nowadays Ah di is my constant companion.. owing to a few factors. That he is so free, that he is teaching in my alma mater so we have constant topics, that i'm always home, that he always needs me to be Vpost, that he attempts to cheer me up, that I always go Toa Payoh for one errand or another..and many others.

anyway, these past few weeks is a dark period so must also thank di for his er..what ah? well..whatever la. His jokes, his help and all those travelling to my hse. oh and erh. for the constant aeroplanes I fly him! hiak!

well..haha and the little pressies I get as my sideline in vposting for him. Tho they are usually..similar or EXACTLY the same as those meant for the actual target. Di believes in bulk buying.

hmm Di, i actually wanna write alot more accolades but *scratch head* cant tink of anymore! oh well.. just Thank You. Don't cry, my shoulders ain't for u.

2006-07-08T01:23:00.000+08:00

Just back from TTSH.. *tired*

mum's not well again and granddad's warded for observation also. Dad under extreme stress.. Kept worrying about mummy and shuttling everywhere to bring mummy to doctors and ah gong to hospital. He's coughing too. and when mummy throws tantrums, dad's always there to calm her down and fetch her everything. He makes sure she eats her morning medicine, drinks her nighttime tonic, replenish her prescription, ensures dinner and even cleans the house.

I told him to leave the cleaning to me. but he just silently go about doing everything, before we come home. he's a superdad.

on a side note.. I need to brush up on hokkien. Cld only throw out some "Jiak?" "Koon.." and "Ho bo?" which I wanted to mean as Ah gong, have u eaten, want to sleep and are u okie. Think the other uncles in the ward were all silently laughing at me.

Blow Wind Blow

2006-07-03T23:20:00.000+08:00

Post the picture first.. too tired to type..shall do it tml. BTW, that's alvin n jeffrey above. Me? probably stayed in the water longer than on the board...

the day Ms Ho and Me...

2006-07-03T23:02:00.000+08:00

were twinny sisters! Check out the blouse, from IS. One in white and one in green..
and now, for the back! Hmm.. never knew my back look like that! so ugly.

Anyway.. realised that I have been posting mostly pictures.. Ntg much to write.. no inspiration. Hmm do have stuff to blog about, like the Camp for the AWWA, the windsurfing course and subsequent tries, the near job-change, what else? Haven been doing much lately.. pretty much staying home. hmm. but super lazy. I wan a voice-automated typist!

Am going batam this weekend with the RCY gers. Yipee! Nuah time!

Love this!

2006-06-23T00:51:00.000+08:00

Hey Bryan,

Thanks alot for this picture. I am totally impressed and do like it very much. I wanna say a big THANK YOU. It's one of the best gifts I have ever received.

croxxy

I'm bored..

2006-06-14T19:44:00.000+08:00

so I decided to take pictures of some of my favourite shoes.. My Fav brand: Adidas! Boots for softball..my very favorite. Working shoes... hmm my favorite is the pair of black boots.

...

2006-06-11T20:57:00.000+08:00

Jia, remember the time we and hwikiat went to Boon Lay shopping center and we played tikam?

I made di buy one more when we pass by 7-11 last week.

I dun really like Magarita though..Where's my Martini?

2006-06-07T14:34:00.000+08:00

You Are a Strawberry Margarita

You're so sweet it's a little overwhelming, and people are a little afraid of corrupting you...

It's a little difficult to imagine you with a margarita. And you're truly a different person after you've kicked back a couple!

What Flavor Margarita Are You?

hah! I think it's right spot on

2006-06-07T14:25:00.000+08:00

Your Heart Is Pink

In relationships, you like to play innocent - even though you aren't.

Each time you fall in love, it's like falling for the first time.

Your flirting style: Coy

Your lucky first date: Picnic in the park

Your dream lover: Is both caring and dominant

What you bring to relationships: Romance

What Color Heart Do You Have?

Bursting!

2006-06-06T14:11:00.000+08:00

I was just sending an email to my fren and she asked me what I bought during GSS. I told her not alot but I bought alot before that. As I recounted to her, I tot. Siao Liao!! No More Shopping!!

My spoils/Spents in the last month:
1. Mphosis Black Top
2. Dorothy Perkin Pants
3. Ms. Selfridge Cropped Pants
4. 2 37 Degrees Top
5. Present for fren - bag from C&K
6. Present for fren - Perlini Bracelet
7. 2 Fashion Lab Tops
8. 1 Pair of Pazzion shoes
9. 1 Adidas shorts
10. Permed hair
11. Pesto Birkenstork
12. Balinese Massage at St. Greg Spa
13. At least 3 pairs of earrings from online purchase
14. Windsurfing course

And now... Di is tempting me with Adidas/Oakley shades! and I badly need to sign up for a facial package!

Now now.. Where is sugar daddy??

Desserts Galore

2006-06-06T00:46:00.000+08:00

Italin Gelato and Cheesecake at Riscotti at Circular Road. Jap soft ice cream with heavenly red bean at this Jap rest opp Top Shop in Marina Sq. Must Try.

A last hug for you, my fren

2006-06-02T17:14:00.000+08:00

"Dear Jane,

I remember, the times we spent at the Kembangan campsite. Though there were not alot, I remember much. I always love your cheerfulness and your dimpled deep-throated hearty laughter. The way you laugh, it's infectious.

You like to pluck rambutans. You told us that yellow rambutans can be eaten too. There was once we were sitting at the stone bench at the parade square. You went to pick some rambutans. Alot of them. They were scattered all over the ground and we ate some of them. I know I was amazed at your knowledge of plants. You know where to find chillies, you know to even cook them with our food.

I do not recall any instance when you were fierce. I do not recall any instance of you shouting at us mere cadets. You always treat us like equals. I remember your sensibility and your helpfulness.

I remembered being a fellow instructor. There were the campfires where you bbqed right along with us.

I last called you, 3 years ago. I asked you some questions about renting adventure campsites. You fed me with all information I needed and more. You were so enthusiastic and I was so grateful.

There are more memories and I wished there were more. We were not best friends, I cannot also say we were very close. But I respect you alot and I say, you are of the instructors I love best. Someday, we will meet again, in foreverland. *Hugs*"

Once more at Macritchie

2006-05-28T16:10:00.000+08:00

Last week Sat was spent at the tree top walk in MacRitchie. Saw some pretty interesting sights but found it extremely difficult as I was cradling my sick stomach after stupidly dosing up on cold guava juice and hot coffee together!

This week sat found me at the walk agn, with my colleagues. There were 30+ of us and we took the trail that brings us through the entire perimeter of the reserviour park. A little shorter than last week's route and more traily too. Was constantly impressed by the many joggers on the trail, esp as they were not jogging slowly but almost running thru. wow.

Quite nice and def easier with my healthy body this week. Am glad at the enthusiasm of my fellow walkers when some of them have not taken long walks in years. Trudging along, sipping our ribenas and fending off those food-lusty monkeys, we made it thru in 3 hours. yay! Tired but was pretty happy.

Went off for a burger lunch and the subsequent midaftn ice cream with super fragrant coffee kinda added back those calories lost in the morning. Patting my fat stomach.. it was very yummy! Riciotti at clarke quay. my first time there.. it's quaint and while bare of cosy furnishings and strappy exteriors, it was nontheless a peaceful and feel-good cafe. 4 stars!

Caught XMen 3 at night with qi n mag. not too bad. Short film with lotsa action. Was at The Cathay. Adidas mega store and Ben & Jerry's cafe are opened already!

Asked qi why she have not clubbed in awhile and she replied cos I never arrange. I'm reformed!! but am a feeling a little unreformish. hah. my frens, keep me rooted to my cause ya!

Am excitedly looking fwd to windsurfing next Sunday. yeah!

A trip out with Zijia

2006-05-25T00:28:00.000+08:00

hmm 3rd time I am buying/receiving this. Cute chocopops, with one boy and one ger. Seems like not too long ago when me and zijia got this for each other. Can't remember if I got it for her or she got it for me first. I do remember it was during our hall days and I kept the pink and blue sticks for so long..till I moved away.

Sweet memories.. Thanks ger!

The 3 hours walk

2006-05-22T23:27:00.000+08:00

The start of our 12 kilometres...

Lots of beautiful sights..

and curious eyes on us...

Finally, we reached the 250m Hanging Bridge!

aaah.. phew!

Random Pics - Of happy moments and friends

2006-05-18T22:33:00.000+08:00

ME!

Piggy backing Shiyun at Tioman

Our Friendship

Zijia's description of me..

Our exciting Jenga game in KL

Aeroplane game in Pengarang

A fren saying hi..

Ms Ho..ever so cheerful!

Comparing the different sizes of the grapes

Notice the little duck on Ms Birdie's tee?

My 2 beloved jcmates, unimates and met at work colleagues who gave me lotsa support!

2 sisters! where's mummy?

Had my first cup of English tea

Usual blur look

My most lovely birthday present

2006-05-14T22:48:00.000+08:00

I do not like pain.

Picnic at Botanics Gdn!

2006-05-07T01:44:00.000+08:00

Doesn't this look so so so yummy? It was a pretty hot afternoon! with lotsa babies and doggies running round the grass field. We had a real long picnic and sat in the sun from 2pm to 5pm.. Was very nice and cosy tho hot. Love this little chat n eat sessions. Late in the night..Let the pictures do the talking..

Me and Hazel cannot do without our coffees of the day.. tough fight btw the brands but I say Spinelli's win the day, for me!

Not forgetting the other varieties of drinks brought for the occasion. We always seem to have wine.. This Brown brother white wine is pretty good! and sweet. I like..

The cheesecake I baked! Used the bulleye cheesecake recipe from http://www.thebakerwhocooks.blogspot.com/ Taste quite nice if I may praise myself tho urgh..not as pretty as it is supposed to be!

We also had yummy mashmellows with Nutella dip (tho no one ate it) and crackers to go with the chives and onion cheese spread! Totally sinful. Totally delicious!

Hiak Hiak The juicer that I had wanted for a long time but never got round to buying it. I just had a cup of fresh apple and orange juice.. *pat pat my fat stomach*

my first 2006 Bday pressie..thank you Bryan

2006-05-03T00:50:00.000+08:00

She
likes sunflowers by her bed every morning,
tho she wun mind the occasional sweetness of the roses red

She
enjoys baking cakes and cookies for frens n family,
the same way she indulges in durian and strawberry feasts

She
plays the Softball, does the Salsa, hits the Carrom
likewise for cycle, morning swims and blades,
exposes her childly active heart from within

She
however,glooms over boredom,behave aversely to the sight of lizards,
carries phobic tensions towards the deep blue sea...
the same blue sea she always loved

Forever as One, the song
reminds her of the memories she onced held dearly
capable of summoning her tears,
and throwing her into the severest depths of depression

Despite all, She
chose to stay happy
she lives to give joy and happiness to her frens and family
She lives for them and their well being
she is still she....
the girl who never changed

After all,
she is still the little girl who never wished to grow up

The Run

2006-04-28T00:17:00.000+08:00

Wheeee! We completed the run.. yay! Though its a short short run, it is a puffy huffy run! It's a very short distance, by marathon standards, not by mine tho..at 5.6km. Being sick a couple of times in the last 2 months, I haven been running as regularly as I like. Finally went on a last min dash with Di one week before the race and felt the lungs, legs and heart work so so hard just for 5km. So was a little afraid that I would be a lousy runner this time round.

But am very glad.. Thanks to Di for the constant encouragement and his advice, tho I did not seem to take it. hehe I completed the run in a time 5 min faster than what I have expected myself to do. Prob also cos we went early with our very serious captain and were Right at the Starting line, therefore the starting was extremely fast. You DO NOT jog slowly when there are nearly 10000 ppl behind you, pushing past and elbowing along the slippery ground. It was tough once I hit the 4km mark, nearly wanting to give up with every 100 steps. But told mysef to persever and pushed ahead. Am happy with myself, tho darn tired at the end.

Yay! It's friday tml.. (Photo courtesy of HappyTreeFren) Thanks ger!

I had a dream

2006-04-21T13:46:00.000+08:00

Today.. I woke up with a nice dreamy feeling. In the dream, I was staying at the same area with my frens.. I have a big room and there were 4 single beds, all pushed together to make a big big bed. And I wanted to change my bedsheets but I cant find such a big bedsheet. I found 4 small ones instead, one pink flowered, one plain beige, one light blue and I cant remember what is the other one. So, I asked my nice frens, one is shirley jie, to help me change, since there are 4 beds!

While they are sorting out the bedsheets, I told them I will buy drinks from the vending machine for them. So off I went. When I came back, Zijia opened the door.

lo and behold! Such a sight.. They redecorated my room! There is only one comfortable bed with lots of art pieces filling up one side of the room. The room was suffused in soft orangey lighting and there were my favourite kinda dried flowers in tall classy vases. Paintings drawn by Peggy, Decor by Zijia and Jasmine..long-missing Jasmine, handed a flower to me and said this is all for my. I was so touched... I woke up.. with a smile. (",)

Top 10 Reasons why you know That HR guy do not want you

2006-03-30T09:49:00.000+08:00

1. He tells you that the current position filled is a guy..

"well..not that a lady cannot do the job BUT..."

2. He says the job is filled with frustration and has no allowances of any kind..

"Sometimes, you will get VERY frustrated"

3. Finds your English too fluent and your dressing too well and said so in your face

4. Keep emphasising that you need to get your hands dirty but did not hear me out that in my previous job, I lay the tables and carry the cups too.

5. Tells you outright that your profile do not fit the position

6. Says that "your current job is not relevant to this position at all"

(when the first round intv-er says it does)

7. Thinks that my ideas of the job requirements are very lofty

(well maybe I misintepreted the first round intv-er then)

8. Okie..the interview did not last long enough for him to say more to fill up 8,9,10.

9. The whole process lasted less than 30 min

10. He asked me less than 10 relevant questions and spent the other time discouraging me from the job.

A sick ger is a blur ger

2006-03-12T00:59:00.000+08:00

I was a sick ger. No.. not the whips, candles and wax sick that Stupid Di always dream of, but the headache, sorethroat and tired sick.

I think the Sat night chiong, Sunday softball/blading, Mon's extreme cold training room with alot of hot milo did me in. Terrible headache that bothered me for days. Even my mum thought it weird.. She suspected some weird disease since she haven seen me writh in bed or lie listlessly in the living room for Years.

One day home on mc and while nursing my head, I went out to buy groceries, watched a vcd, read a book, nap an hour, baked a round of cookies and watched alot alot of Tv. So, we do spend an awfully big part of our lives at work huh. We could have done so many other things in the same amt of time spent in the office. but 1 day sounds fine, 5 days of that would drive me crazy. I have concluded that I am a restless soul, need to be doing something every minute of my life.

So well. the Sotong me, went out to buy conflakes for my cookies. I saw Kelloggs' Cornflakes and I also saw Kelloggs' Honey Corn cereal. Seems similar with the latter sounding more appetizing. But, I bought the former because they printed cookies recipes at the back. So..Off I went home to bake. Happily, I finished. Happily, I cleared the kitchen. Happily, I threw away the box. And I only remembered the next day, why I bought the box. Darn.

Tdy, my little cousin says she's bored. So...I suggested a whole series of whatnots. She finally decided she, too, wants to bake! So we picked a chocolate brownie recipe. Sounds simple. I just have to buy a chocolate bar. Simple too! off I went. Can't find any dark chocolate bar so..I bought Cocoa powder! Substitute and anyway I always use cocoa powder in the past. Recipe says to melt 113g butter and 113g chocolate tog. So we happily heaped 113g butter and 113g cocoa powder into the pan. Lo and behold, it DID NOT MELT. It clumped together!! Well, the ingenious me.. tried the microwave thaw, tried adding milk, tried the electric mixer. NO use! we bravely pressed ahead, following the steps closely. Off into the oven and it smelled pretty gd! haha heard of Starbucks' Ugly chocolate cake? Ours is the Tan Family's Ugly brownie. and it was superbly bitter! Now I know if i want to substitute, I should use only half the amount of cocoa powder. Darn again!

My headache's finally gone but I am slpy again. Yawn.

Recipes for Drinks!

2006-03-09T22:09:00.000+08:00

Orange, Carrot and Ginger Juice
1 Large Orange, 1 Small carrot and 2cm piece fresh ginger
Refrigerate before extracting the juice

Tropical Delight
1 small pineapple, 4 Med Apples, 2 Med Oranges
Serves 4

Mixed Berry Smoothie
250ml Frozen low fat strawberry yoghurt
11/3 cup frozen mixed berries
3 cups no-fat milk
Serves 4

Mango Frappe
2 Med Mangoes
3 Cups ice cubes
1 Tablespoon sugar
Halve the mangoes, peel, then discard the seeds. Blend mango flesh with ice cubes n sugar until think n smooth.
Stand for 5 min b4 serving. 3 cups

Iced Mocha
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder, 1 tablespoon boiling water, 2 tablespoon choco flavored topping, 11/2 cups cold milk, 4 scoops vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup whipped cream, 1 teaspoon drinking chocolate
Combine coffee n water in large jug, stir until dissolved
Stir in chocolate flavored topping n milk, pour into 2 glasses
Top with ice cream and sprinkle with drinking chocolate

Vanilla Cafe Latte
1/3 cup coarsely ground coffee beans
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all in med saucepan, stir over low heat until heated
Pour thru fine strainer and serve
2 cups

Spiced Chocolate Milk
30g dark eating chocolate
2 cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
Drizzle melted chocolate onto the insides of glass. Combine milk n cinnamon stick in med saucepan, stir over low heat until heated. Remove cinnamon stick. Serves 2

Home made Lemonade
4 Med Lemons
4 Cups sugar
2 cups water
5 litres mineral water
Remove rind from lemons, avoid white pith, reserve lemons. Combine rind, sugar, n water in large saucepan, stir over low heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, simmer without cover for 10 min until syrup is thickened. Cool
Squeeze juice from lemon to get 1 cup. Add Juice to syrup, strain into jug n keep refrigerated
Add 4 parts min water to one part lemonade

A tiring weekend

2006-03-05T19:06:00.000+08:00

Honey Orange Cake. Baked it for Jas and FunkyHair's birthday celebration at Ms. Clarity Cafe. A tad too sweet and since I don't like honey, I don't pretty much like the taste. haha Baked this cos Ms Szu cannot intake dairy stuff. Hmm.. Yiyi wants a lemon cake for her birthday on Thursday.. Anyone got any nice recipes?? Anyway, my 2nd time at the cafe but first time having dinner there. Pretty good, with simple main courses that came in fanciful designs. Make the food look all the better too! Their desserts look to-die-for! but with the cake and already ingested their dessert of the day, we have to forego.. Regret not buying back some valhora chocs!!

Played Mj with jackson, joe and jean. woo.. all the Js. Never knew jackson is so crappy! wahahah but we had fun the entire session.

Highlighted my hair on Saturday with FunkyHair. Initially wanted brown with blonde streaks, then decided on jet black with gold. Tho the black ain't ebony enuff and the streaks a little too messy, on the whole..not too bad. Had a good long chat with Ms. Funk also.. then met at night again for MY LAST CLUBBING TRIP! Why does nobody believe me when I want to reform, though?! humpf! Had lots of fun. I love retro. My colleagues were surprised at my aft-drinking behaviour. It's just extra loud talking and additional crappiness from me.. haha not the puke-into-the-drain or crash onto the floor type. We din drink alot.. just had fun dancing to the music.

Cld not sleep much last night though. The alcohol made my stomach feel weird..too many different types of drinks swirling ard. A morning of softball under the hot sun and blading in the afternoon coupled with cramps nearly killed me!

Am gg to make my hot milo now!!

my Johari Window

2006-03-02T00:32:00.000+08:00

Arena

(known to self and others)

accepting, cheerful, friendly, giving, independent, sentimental

Blind Spot

(known only to others)

brave, caring, clever, complex, dependable, energetic, extroverted, happy, helpful, kind, loving, modest, quiet, reflective, searching, sensible, spontaneous, trustworthy, warm

Façade

(known only to self)

Unknown

(known to nobody)

able, adaptable, bold, calm, confident, dignified, idealistic, ingenious, intelligent, introverted, knowledgeable, logical, mature, nervous, observant, organised, patient, powerful, proud, relaxed, religious, responsive, self-assertive, self-conscious, shy, silly, sympathetic, tense, wise, witty

Dominant Traits

60% of people agree that Corrinne Tan is friendly
60% of people think that Corrinne Tan is helpful

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (6%) adaptable (0%) bold (0%) brave (6%) calm (0%) caring (33%) cheerful (33%) clever (6%) complex (6%) confident (0%) dependable (20%) dignified (0%) energetic (6%) extroverted (26%) friendly (60%) giving (20%) happy (6%) helpful (60%) idealistic (0%) independent (20%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (0%) introverted (0%) kind (26%) knowledgeable (0%) logical (0%) loving (20%) mature (0%) modest (6%) nervous (0%) observant (0%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (6%) reflective (6%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (26%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (20%) sentimental (40%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (6%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (20%) warm (46%) wise (0%) witty (0%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 5.3.2006, using data from 15 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view Corrinne Tan's full data.

Getaway

2006-02-27T23:31:00.000+08:00

Had a great weekend at Harris in Batam. We reached there early in the morning, met with a slight drizzle.. nuahed ard then headed for lunch and a swim. Sun was so so so strong! We tanned and swam, slept, took alot of pictures, had our chips and coke and peeked at other ppl slathering tanning oil over each other.

Went for our much anticipated massage thereafter. Was not bad.. my frens love it. I found it a little painful though and the lack of clothing felt pretty uncomfortable. Had the lady stop the massage before it's all finished. Think I shall go for a non-oil massage next time! but heard it's bone-crunching and extreme in pain!

Seafood dinner was not bad. Kinda like homestyle cooking, at a kelong, rocking lightly throughout the dinner, pretty authentic. We found time to go for a bowling game b4 heading back to the room to end our day. Watched "The day after Tomorrow".. The gers opened the red wine and I promptly fell aslp after the first sip. Terrible. hah!

Wanted to go for another round by the pool in the morning but the rain came down. We have a lazy breakfast and went back to the rooms where everyone feel aslp again! It's really eat and slp eat and slp. Back to Singapore...

It was a nice and cosy trip but too short. I want to go to a Beach Resort!! I want to lie on the sand and listen to the waves. I want to sip coffee by the beach and read till the sun set. I want to wine by the beach bar and gaze at the stars!

Oh.. Joseph Khoo deserves a Special Mention for bringg food to hungry Ms Tan at 1130pm last night. Thanks Joe!! Ever my dependable hallmate! (",)v

Sun, Swim, Sleep

2006-02-27T22:49:00.000+08:00

2006-02-24T23:53:00.000+08:00

DNA Grid

2006-02-24T23:49:00.000+08:00

My Personal Dna Report

Who wants to go Botanics Gdn?

2006-02-21T22:32:00.000+08:00

Came across this picture. Taken last year Christmas, pinic with Qi Yi Mag. Its such a bright green backgrd. So Cheerful. Look..such a happy smile. =)

I wanna go there agn. I wanna go walk among the flowers, picnic on the grass, sit and watch the dogs, catch flyaway frisbees, wait for the sun to set, for the night to fall and to wish upon a wishing star.

my new favorite pair of shoes

2006-02-20T22:32:00.000+08:00

my 28th pair

why is the world so grey?

2006-02-15T17:46:00.000+08:00

Not feeling too well today.. Not sick but cannot seem to find any energy to perk up. I slpt early last night.. 1130pm, all the way to 8am this morning. That was a good 8.5 hours. I should be a duracell bunny. Why?

Brot my swimming gear but not in the mood to swim. Dun wanna go home too.. I'm plugged in to my fav song now.. listening to it time and again. Maybe I should go shopping. Need to get huach*ng a birthday present. His Christmas pressie is still with me.. or maybe I shld go lib. qiqi says i'm bored..tt's why I'm down. hmm.. maybe. I just finished the book I was reading. Memoirs of a Geisha. Pretty good. Am gg to continue with Sophie's World. Heavy stuff.. not today perhaps.

I wanna run.. I wanna run forever..run all my thoughts away. but I'm lazy. hah!

My fav song:

I wish I could turn back time
I wish I'd never have to see that look in your eyes
You really broke this heart of mine
Now it's time to realise it's forever goodbye
So here I am
All alone
Don't understand where did we go wrong
I can't stop crying
Can't take the pain
Knowing you won't ever be back again

And it cuts like a knife
I'm going insane
Wishing you would show me love
Once again I'm losing my mind
But I have to carry on
We were meant to be together
Forever as one

So this is where the story ends
Gonna take some to dry the tears in my eyes
You told me we could still be friends
Now I know your promises were nothing but lies
So here I am
All alone
Don't understand where did we go wrong

I can't stop crying
Can't take the pain
Knowing you won't ever be back again

And it cuts like a knife
I'm going insane
Wishing you would show me love
Once again I'm losing my mind
But I have to carry on
We were ment to be together
Forever as one

Things that U do when ur frens laugh with U

2006-02-14T14:15:00.000+08:00

Me and Qiqi and Marvin, sitting at one table and taking boliao pictures. Ah bird and fren sitting at a table nearby. Laughing ourselves silly.. Totally enjoying the company. =)

2006-02-13T10:37:00.000+08:00

The world is not respectable;
It is mortal, tormented, confused, deluded forever;
But it is shot through
With Beauty, with love,
With glints of courage and laughter;
And in these, the spirit blooms timidly, and
Struggles to the light amid the thorns
- George Santayana -

CNY activities

2006-02-02T22:05:00.000+08:00

CNY Chu 3, Fren's son is so cute!

CNY Chu 1, the gambling begins...

Happy CNY!

2006-01-27T23:30:00.000+08:00

Yay.. the long hols are here again!

Tho as we grow older yr by yr, the excitement wanes more and more too. It used to be much look-fwd to, buying new clothes, new shoes and new bags. Nowadays, we look fwd to it more becos it's holidays and not due to the festival. We have a long break...work starting on Thurs..

Planning the few days ahead:
Sat night - either dbl o or Sentosa
Sun day - visiting Sun night - meeting the oac gers for wine
Mon day - visiting Mon night - KK' hse to bai nian
Tues day - Sh*li's hse to bai nian Tues night - C*lyn's hse to bian nian
Wed - REST!
Thurs night - gathering with the CAC ppl..
Fri night - gathering with the marketing ppl..
Sat - A*dy's hse to bian nian!

That's the week ahead. Still waiting for Ma to confirm when go her hse..

Yay!!

Cut my hair

2006-01-19T23:34:00.000+08:00

It's the new yr thing.. everyone is cutting hair. Ma got a haircut by a young ah beng who says she looks handsome.. 2 of my colleagues went to get haircuts too.. Me rushed to Bishan for a cut and decided on a treatment as well.

Kinda weird to have the hairstylist talking to me about my sis-in-law and an ex colleague.. world is small. Was explaining to him how I look like my sis-in-law more than my bro and he was telling me the condition of my ex colly's hair and how he is now growing it out to change his hairstyle.. I have not seen him in 6 months.

Hair looks good after blowdry and styling.. 30 min later, it went plak, flat against my head and ever so nerdy again. Darn..

Summerhouse

2006-01-17T11:24:00.000+08:00

Recently, I've read a book called SummerHouse. It is about these 3 women who met once when they were 19 yrs old and each was embarking on a new journey in their lives. 20 years later, on the same birthday date that all 3 shared, they arranged to meet one more time; Each of them has changed in drastic ways and disillusioned with life.

A choice was given for them to go back to any 3 weeks in their lives to re-live and decide if they want their current or their new lives then.

Each of them faced a difficult issue and whilst 2 of them chose their new, one stuck to the current. Through it, they learned that there are only so few opportunities to do what they want in the short lifespan. They learnt that you should pursue your choices, and not remain subservient to people's opinions and decisions.

Well.. I guess that many of us face the same issues. Too many of us do not dare to step out of our comfort zones, too many of us are bound by ppl's critiques, commands and even mere words. If I am given the choice to relive any 3 weeks in the past 25 years.. I think I would.. I would go right back to my first year in Uni.

What about you?

Chill out room in our office

2006-01-16T22:06:00.000+08:00

haha Ntg to write so am posting pictures.. Me and my pretty colleague..

Flu Flu Flu

2006-01-16T13:19:00.000+08:00

I usually get sick once a year..so there u have it.. my quota for 2006 reached. And it has to be when the sun finally makes its long-awaited appearance! Over the past 2 weeks, where we hardly bladed, we went to this boardgames cafe that is recently opened at circular road. Pretty nice place.. small and cosy, on the 2nd level so you dun have nosy passer-bys staring at u; friendly service and gamemasters who teach us a variety of games.. Never knew there were so many different types.. We usually ended up playing Taboo. Fun game with a big group! Good place to try on a lazy Sunday aftn or if u have no plans after a sat dinner.

oh well..advertising for them aside.. went blading yesterday..pant pant..hot sun, running noses and blading do not go together..darn tired after that. Had a pretty big group with LSY reappearing and 2 new frens!

Oh started on Pilates lessons too.. fwah, backbreaking and I must applaud the gungho aunties who twist, turn and stretch with no sweat at all!

Monday blues.. nothing much to say.. back to work!

OAC Gathering 2006

2006-01-02T13:02:00.000+08:00

First gathering in 3 yrs. Was pretty fun and updated one another's contact. Wonder if the next time we meet are going to be another 3 years later..

2005

2005-12-29T15:49:00.000+08:00

It's been 2 yrs since graduation, since I left the hall and the people I love so much. Time sometimes flew by, it sometimes crawl past.

The first year, where I worked hellish hours and have barely time for friends nor activities, flew past. Working 14 hour workdays, stretching 6 to 7 days per week, under strict scrutiny, intense stress from clients and unnecessary pressure from co-workers, I think i came out quite well.. Having a naive optimism for life, I took everything in stride for one year. I even convinced myself that i love what i was doing for a while. Actually.. i did, sometimes. I love the joyous faces on my client-friends on their wedding days, I revel in the appreciation they showed and am extremely glad for the aft-wedding cards/gifts/thanks. Beyond that, I did learn alot in other ways. While my boss then was strict, I've learnt alot in people-management, self-standards, goal-achieving, soft skills that I hope are not wasted on me.

I have digressed though. In the last year, there have been alot of changes in my life. I have changed my job; both my brothers got married; I retracked my friendships with a number of people; I've grown closer to some, I have drifted from some; I've learnt to spend time myself again; I found time to do things that I never did think I would and challenged myself a little more. I found sadness, disappointment this year, yet also.. times of happiness and vibrance for life.

I'm extremely grateful for the friendships strengthened over this yr (Ma, di, Joe, Jia, Qi, bird, jeff, SY). I'm glad to find back the once-neglected (PQ, YC, Cindy) and I think often of those I wish I had found more time for (Noelle, Wendy..we must catch up soon). I also thank my stars for finding buddies at the workplace (Yenew, BY, Jas, HL, Shir, Szu, Funky Hair and even XAS *heh*, you guys made life at the office entirely fun and esp for my DSS partner who has been my pillar of help and support)

I've learnt some new stuff and as many people can predict, yes, typically, it's either blading/swimming/baking/reading/gg to the lib/jogging or coffeeing, pretty boring stuff but amidst these, I was able to find some routine in life, some support and I learned to spend time with myself. I did my first quarter marathon, I've learn to actually blade smoothly, I caught up alot in reading, went for Salsa classes, made jogging a routine, redocorated my room, insured myself and spent alot more time at home. Restless and filled with unused energy, I often find myself bored and i wonder how my frens put up with my complaints or stand my nonsense... but thank u guys! hee

At the workplace, I'm green and learning. There have been many challenges, some disappointment, some fulfilment and in part, frustration and in part, something akin to happiness. I felt myself growing, absorbing yet limited in some learnings.. Ntg much to say here. Can only say that it is a place where I went through some extreme times.

It has been a emotional rollercoaster in 2005. I experienced real fear for the first time when my mum was hospitalised, I felt so glad for my brothers who started a new stage in their lives and I see the hardship that my parents endured..all for the family. With KK, whilst our friendship remains, we do not see each other often anymore. I surrendered my heart once more and have it scarred yet again. I think I am afraid already.

I felt that I have grown up alot this year. Alot more to go though..

Thank You my friends!

2005-12-27T01:39:00.000+08:00

Guess which is my Favourite Pressie?

2005-12-27T01:32:00.000+08:00

no... it's not the adidas cap nor the visor.. It's the photo that Amy framed up and gave to me. *hugs ma* Love ya!

Christmas 2005

2005-12-27T00:28:00.000+08:00

This Christmas, I met up with alot of friends. There was the gathering at ZY's house on 22nd.. Albeit not all of us were able to turn up, we had alot of fun and laughed our hearts out at LSY's extreme reluctance for Andy's present and in turn, my mock horror at getting LSY's. In reality, the presents are very nice. SY particularly like the tee from A and I do like the blue star from her.. reminded me alot of one I once had.

Went over to ZJ's house on 23rd. Made a big booboo! Did a big, colourful and what i tink looks quite nice salad only to have amy bite in and declared that I used CABBAGE instead of LETTUCE!! Sad sad.. lucky the cold pasta was still edible! loads of nice food! Yummy otah from Bedok Mkt, Sushi, Pizza, Chicken from Giant (very gd!), mummy Wong's delicious vermicelli.. Pressie exchange was hilarious as we realised many identical presents roaming around. Haha..gd to know that we all either share similar taste or we shop together too much. Was a very good get-together and so glad that jas cld join us! we dun see enough of her!

Christmas eve was spent Steamboating at Ah Bird's hse with qi and SY. A quiet night not so to celebrate but more to bask in one another's company. Went thru dvd af dvd. hah!

Had a warm Christmas picnic lunch with my longtime gal pals, qi, mag and yi. Literally warm too as the sun shines overhead! Adjoining to Coffee Club for some heat relief was a wise decision.. Evening was spent at KK's house with the rest aow, DX, Jem, SY etc.. Kinda like a once-a-year gathering. I do missed seeing his family and even his doggy! His mum asked me why I never visit in such a long time.. I just told her I'm busy with work.

Haven exercised for a long while..went for a jog at MacRitchie with yi this morning. Took only the female cross country route and the slope up to the expressway was a killer!! We huffed and puffed our way up! Off to KAP aft tt...we are afterall, KAP kids at heart. Nicely done up and renovated, we are toying with the idea of doing another Mac birthday party!

This Christmas was a bountiful one.. caught up with longtime friends, showed our appreciation for our close friends and renewed friendships accidentally neglected. Thank you all my friends. For the Christmas greetings, for the warm wishes, for the thoughtful presents and most of all, for being the people that you all are.

Wishing you guys a most wonderful 2006 ahead and may we spend Xmas 06 together once more.

Aircon Haven!

2005-12-26T19:27:00.000+08:00

More desserts!

Hot Hot Hot Aftn sun...

2005-12-26T19:24:00.000+08:00

2005-12-26T19:21:00.000+08:00

Pressie Exchange!

Christmas Picnic Lunch at Botanics Garden

2005-12-26T19:16:00.000+08:00

With my dear pals.. Mag just counted the years...we have spent 11 yrs together.. Have spent 9 yrs with Huiyi and 7 years with Xiaoqi. Unfailingly, we will meet on all our birthdays, V days, Christmases etc.. Love ya gers! and we are organising a OAC Outing on 1st Jan 2006 at ECP. Please revert, OACians 1998/99.

the nuahing after dinner.. watched the 40 yr old virgin

2005-12-26T18:14:00.000+08:00

2005-12-26T18:11:00.000+08:00

The new wine opener that broke into half.. and the new Dragon cap that Joe got!

Party at Zijia's house on 23rd!

2005-12-26T18:06:00.000+08:00

2005-12-24T15:21:00.000+08:00

the reluctance of recipients..

Marketing Gathering at Shaoyi's house

2005-12-24T15:14:00.000+08:00

The cordial exchange of presents...

Ben&Jerry's Uncanny Cashew

2005-12-20T17:53:00.000+08:00

I must I must and I must say the service crew at B&J, United Square is SO SO SO SO Excellent!

I went there for a scoop of moi favourite brand and eventually decided on Chunky Monkey. As I was chatting with the young ger serving us, I casually mentioned tt I love Uncanny Cashew and expressed my difficulty in finding it. She immediately went "We have one tub here!".. Mind u..it's the one and only tub she has.. the ONLY one. Yet!! She was willing to share!!

She asked if I wanted to add on to my already scooped ice-cream. I blink blink my eyelashes and asked if she could exchange the ice-cream instead... without hesitation.. i repeat.. without hesitation, she went YES resoundingly! I could have kissed her!! She gave me a new waffle and she gave me a HUGE serving of uncanny cashew. Yummy!!

I am so gg to visit them regularly! to everyone..PLEASE VISIT Ben&Jerry's at United Square. 3rd floor, outside popular/toysRus.

What should I write about?

2005-12-19T18:05:00.000+08:00

I am a Taurean.

Today's horoscope reads:
Raise issues that are bothering you about your personal relationships and the conditions under which you are living. If someone is dumping additional responsibilities on you or an older relative is becoming too much of a burden, look for outside help before you get run down.

General Features of a Taurean:
Taurus represents art, beauty in all its forms, and strength (not only phisycal). Taureans are realistic, security loving (both on the material and psychological level) and they like routines, also in their love relationship. In order to obtain this kind of security, they use all their qualities: resistance, quietness, patience and practical intelligence. They seldom lose control, but when they get angry they can be violent. This is the reason why it is necessary for him to find the right partner. Taureans live love in a complete manner, they are constant and never vain. Among their most suitable careers: interior decorator, teacher, cook and any job concerning earth and nature. This is the sign of the Zodiac which most of all likes relaxing, but only after having reached a prefixed goal, of course

In short, I am supposed to be good in Art, love beauty in all forms and are mentally/physically strong. Common traits are Routine, Stubborn, Realistic, Patient.

hmm.. to some extent, I can claim some semblance to the above... let's see...

I am not gd in drawing/designing/colouring but I can do some handicraft pretty well. I am not creative at all. My frens would know that.. my mind works in a very structured manner.. I always go by 123 and not 369. If you ask me to brainstorm, I would come up with a list and number them systematically and may even re-write them to make it neat. Never would I draw them all over the paper with different colours, infusing a sense of beauty into it.

I am extremely into Routine and to some extent stubborn, I must admit. I am not in-your-face kind of stubborn. On the other hand, I am usually described as easy-going and agreeable. That is due in part to my Cannot-make-decisions nature and Eager-to-please temperament. I stick by my routine...every morning, I must have my coffee, every evening I will switch on my computer, I will check my emails, read my friends' blog, surf the same few websites, watch the same channel and I even listen to the same music for the past few years. At the same time, I am stubborn in some little ways.. some principles I guess... or maybe I should say I'm persistant in some ways..

Realism is probably one trait I fall short in. I'm an optimist.. sometimes overly so. I claim to be a positive thinker or I can also say I'm an escapist. When I do not know how to handle certain situations, I avoid. The asian culture of conflict-avoidance, of community-living, I have them ingrained. When there are unhappy things, sometimes, I choose to ignore or I try to forget. Whilst my persistant minds takes a long time to forget some important issues, my escapism manages to keep it at hem.

I used to be a patient person. As I grew up, I've became less patient. I am slightly more aggressive and am less tolerant. My close frens say I have a tolerance level high above many. It goes both ways, good and bad. I am easily bullied because I choose to tolerate other people alot, combined with my agreeable nature. Yet, as my patience draws thinner as I grew up, I became slightly less. I have learnt to assert myself a little more.. to stretch that threshold somewhat thinner. I am still learning.

One more thing I must add is that I do not verbalise my emotions/thinkings/feelings very well. I do not often reveal to one and all, what I am thinking. My close galfren says that is bad. She says I do not treat her as a fren. I say I choose not to burden my frens with my thoughts. One heavy mind is more than enough. Over the years, I kept most thoughts to myself. My face is pretty expressive. I know not to pretend, know not to put on a mask. But, I somehow do not put anything into words. Already, I felt I have improved over the years. I am trying to say more, I am trying to share more. However, sometimes I feel so confused that I do not know what to say...becos I am usually not very firm in my own decisions or thinkings. such that I seem to lead them the wrong way when I say certain things. and they get unhappy.

Why is being human sometimes so difficult. All I offer is my friendship, true and pure.

A friend

2005-12-18T23:19:00.000+08:00

Recently, I met a friend.. someone I have not kept in touch for a long while..say about 2 yrs maybe. There was the occasional hi and how are you.. but no real talk. Even in the few times I saw him recently, we did not talk much.

He reminds me of another friend. They are similar in some sense.. yet different in many ways. The feeling they gave me is the same though.. They do not know each other. When I see one, I felt as if I met the other too...

Funny.. how life is as such.

more pictures...

2005-12-18T15:47:00.000+08:00

erm.. a little on the act cute side.. but then again..who cares.. That's the jappy culture! la la la~

ACN Day at Fort Canning

2005-12-18T15:39:00.000+08:00

It was the annual ACN day and we had a country theme to each table. Mine was the japanese table and we decided to make it the Japanese Schoolgirl look! So here we are.. these are the 3 gers that look the part most.

The dressing up part was pretty fun, with lots of hilarious laughter and mismatched clothing (check out the green socks with red shoes!). Lotsa pictures..check them out and laugh urself silly!

it is finally done

2005-12-18T14:30:00.000+08:00

After many many days and lotsa frustration later, Joe came to my rescue! He spent some time helping me and teaching me to put in the comments, entry title and removed the hover effects! yay! so smart. It's actually pretty simple moves but just so hard to spot where to put what and where to remove stuff.

one final thing i shld look at, prob is the font.. many ppl told me that they cant read..cos it's too dark and the words are all squashed together. hmm... JOE!!!

Stitch

2005-12-17T17:54:00.000+08:00

New addition to Ms. Tan toy family. So cute!

Mismatch

2005-12-16T00:13:00.000+08:00

It's our Company day tml.. we are going to be at Fort Canning and each table have their own country code.. Mine is Japanese and we have kinda agreed on the Jap schger look.. (the decent type) So here i am with my cutsy socks, courtesy of Andy from Japan and my only 2 pairs of sneakers.. Both are bad fits.. I'm just trying to decide which is the better of the 2. All told me the red one. It's so Christmasy but I love IT! yay! Am gg to a super colour clash tml.. as USUAL!

2005-12-13T00:39:00.000+08:00

Yet one more change of skin. Hmm i like this one! Though my bro says it looks depressing..like a ger gg downhill all the way, but I do not think so. I just think it is a ger who knows where she is going.

Had my first Christmas party of the year..way in advance. Hard to find everyone at a common date near 25th. We had so much fun! Everyone is so impressed with Huiyi's cooking skills and we are sure that her cafe will be a sucess. Dinner was very yummy and we had our yearly round of gift exchanges. they were all colourful cute sweet pressies! Thank you girls! Talking late into the night, we woke up bright and early at 8am the next day. Had our breakfast of christmas cake by Siewyin's patio.. it was a bright sunny peaceful morning. Very nice. We played Tarot cards and Wileen read the answers to Jianxin and my question respectively. Apparently, mine show very good propects ahead.

Played Softball on sunday, after a dryout for several months. Had a very gd turnout with 21 people! Had so much fun and we laughed laughed and laughed. Totally enjoyed ourselves..not only at the game but also more imptly, the people. Very glad that tho we all are not very close, we do not meet other than to play game, we share a bond and a love for the game! Real glad that we have the younger ppl coming along.. and even a teammate's daddy along for the game. Superb!

Went looking ard for christmas presents after that...was lamenting abt not having had a softtoy as a present for ages... Joe says he should have saved his $$ buying me the coveted Adidas cap and just get a $9.90 green tree monster tt's damn cute!!

okie...my Christmas Wish List is now a big huggable toy for my bed!

2005-12-13T00:27:00.000+08:00

Click on the picture to remove the glazed-over effect

the morning after, with little sleep and half-de*d looks

2005-12-13T00:17:00.000+08:00

Jianxin striking the Chicken Little pose and Wileen doing the peek-a-boo