Break Time!

I've just woke up from a 13 hour sleep. Now, before you recoil in horror and start yelling "Pig! Pig!" let me assure you that my long slumber was fully justified.

I've not sleep properly for the past couple of weeks. Holding down two jobs is not fun, especially when I have to rush from one to the other. Fighting the going home crowd, running down the streets of Raffles Place, just to get to OCBC on time. And then sit through meeting after meeting after meeting. Not fun at all.

So anyway, I'm unemployed again! Yup, my contract with RP is over, so back to looking again. But this time, I don't think I'll be looking very hard. It's just not worth it. Having to run around like a stupid chicken and sleeping a few hours every night is not how I envisioned spending my holiday.

So anyway, if anyone has a nice, high-paying, office job that doesn't require much effort, call me! I'm available!

Right. Now back to my slacking. Muahaha!

Hello, I'm Dork Vadar

Nope, not referring to myself, I'm way to cool for that. For some weird reason, I'm surrounded by NUS engineering people. My boss is one; the other temp is also an NUS engineering undergrad.

Don't get me wrong, the girls are perfectly fine. (Jing Yi don't kill me!) There's just something wrong with the men. Maybe the NUS air, combined with male hormones, creates this dysfunctional breed of men.

How we've all heard horror stories of engineering men at clubs, with bad dressing and even worse pickup lines. Those, we're familiar with. The socially inept gorillas, bane of every clubbing girl.

But let me now introduce to you another peculiar specy: humus havenotgrownupus. They're the eternal boys, to put it mildly. Forever lost in the long-ago memories of their childhood sandbox, these boy-men are nervous around women, sometimes awkward in speech and always surprising to a totally urbanized and modern gal. (cue: me)

My boss was nervous around me the first few days. I've been described as aggressive before: do I intimidate grown men as well? Previously, he would swallow repeatedly when talking to me. LOL, at least now he no longer minds his Ps and Qs around me and we have been known to share a laugh together.

Now, the other curious specimen I'm about to dissect is also a temp at the Office of Registrar at RP. He's a second year NUS engineering student. Seeing how he is also a RI alumni, I felt I had to be friendly to him out of courtesy to Fadz.

Two words: He's weird.

Today at lunch, he exhibited silly behaviour. He asked me what dessert I wanted and I said attap jelly. And he was like "grass jelly?"

Me: "attap jelly."

Him: "grass jelly?"

Me: "attap jelly!"

Him: "grass jelly? grass jelly? grass jelly?"

No, he's not a moron. He just found doing that very funny. My eyes nearly popped out from too much eye rolling.

We proceeded to have a casual conversation over dessert. The topic somehow veered towards relationships, and I asked him what kind of girls he liked. Anyway, you all know I'm a strongly advocate guy-watching and every guy I meet, I passed on the incredibly useful knowledge that girls like looking at nice male tushes. He then followed up with: "Well, I suppose boobs and butts represents the person's... you know... organs" and "If you're not visually satisfied, how do you.. you know...copulate... and copulation is the key to a successful marriage".

I burst out into horrified laughter and amazement. The last time I used the word "copulate" was when I was writing an article about Aphrodisiacs for a school newsletter. The first thing out of my mouth was "sex? you mean sex? why can't you say the word sex? are you offended and can't say sex?" He then turned incredibly red and said "Yeah... besides, I think corpulate sounds nicer". I couldn't stop laughing for the next 10 minutes. I was sitting next to a real-life prude/conservative, all at the ripe old age of 23. How brilliant.

And the piece de la resistance would have to be when I was walking towards the office. Because all the doors are only accessible by a pass, it's a little inconvenient. I thought he was being chivarous when he held the door open for me. Upon walking nearer, he suddenly let the door close. I thought he wanted to let the door slam in my face. But at the last moment, he kept the door open by squatting and bumping the door open with his butt! Oh gosh, I think my jaw dropped immediately! Eh, has being in a boys school during your developmental period completely warp your ability to associate with normal people?

Haha, or, can we draw the connection that NUS engineering is, well, a breeding ground for a new kind of dorks?

Enter the Dork Vadar, beware his light saber of moronic behaviour

Tee hee hee. I'm so mean.

Koped this off Sydney's blog. Hope you have the patience!

Top 100s

1. Name: The Goddess Joanne

2. Nick: Jo, Anne, Anne-Anne (are you sensing a pattern here?)

3. Middle Name: easily-amused

4. Hair: Raven Black

5. Eyes: Limpid Pools of gorgeous brown

6. Height: 160

7. Location: From the west 'hood

8. Birthday: 24 May

9. Zodiac: Gemini the Twins

10. Status: Very blissfully attached (go ahead! roll your eyes all you singles!)

[Favorites/facts]

11. Animals: dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, sheeps (mutton-eaters be damned!)

12. Sports: Volleyball (sigh, I try to)

13. Color: Pink, purple, red

14. Song: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

15. Band/Singer: Always switching

16. Flower: Roses! Violets!

18. Scent: Hugo Women

19. Movies: comedy, drama, action, romance, horror, epics, senseless... Did i mention that i'm a movie buff?

20. Holiday: Maldives, Venice, Atlantis City (the hotel), Hong Kong Disneyland

21. Season: Summer

22. Element: Er, who knows? Fire?

23. Book(s): Romance (don't snigger!), anything that is readable

24. Do you wear makeup: Hell, yes!

25. Do you pluck your eyebrows?: Duh! Gotta keep away those unruly hairs!

26. Do you look for personality or looks?: Looks for me to lust after, but personality to keep me interested.

27. How many rings before you answer the phone? : sometimes 1, sometimes never. I'm a bit deaf so depends on your luck.

28: Perfect girl: ME

29. Future Career plans: Tai-tai who keeps herself busy with a nice little sideline business; nothing too strenuous that would get in the way of my facials

30. Do you sleep with stuffies? too many in fact

31. Do you want kids? Yup yup, but stop at 3!

32. Are you popular? You betcha!

33. Are you pretty: I have my moments

34. Do you have your own phone line?: Not so high-class; just a cell phone

35. Do you get along with your family?: very well

36. Do you have any piercings or tattoos?: Just 1 on each ear. I'm too wussie and I can't stand pain

37. Giving hugs?: Long, warm, luxurious hugs... all for it!

38. Taking walks in the rain?: Only with my lover... :)

39. The mall?: My favourite pastime. Goes best with my good friend call Money

40. Go on stage?: I crave attention... even though I have stage-fright... I know.. how complicated

41. Drink: Anything fruity. But I'm nuts about banana milkshakes!

42. Smoke: Bad for health, bad for skin, bad breathe.. of course I don't smoke!

43. Drugs: I'm too clean-cut

44. Eat meat: Can't do without... I pity vegetarians

45. Date: Anytime I'm with Fadz :)

46. Sex: Wouldn't you like to know?

47. Eat sushi: Crazy about that stuff

48. Bake: Cookies, cakes, brownies, potato dishes

[Preferences/facts/beliefs]

49. Hot or Cold: Hot

50. Lace or Satin: Lace. it's so incredibly feminine and sexy!

51. Blue or Red: Red for passion

52. New or Old: Bring on new experiences, while retaining the best of the old

53. Rain or Snow: Snow

55. Wool or Cotton: Wool in Singapore? Want to die ah?

56. Rose or Daisy: Rose. Especially red roses. So sensuous...

57. Private school or public school: Public school. Private schools are for brats

58. Plain milk or chocolate milk: Chocolate milk. Love chocolate-y stuff

59. Celsius or Fahrenheit: Celsius. That's all I ever learnt

60. Spring or Fall: Fall. It's cooler

61. Math or Art: Math. And only because I can't do the other

62. One pillow or two: ermm.. I have 4

63. Dogs or Cats: Used to be dogs.. but now I'm incredibly fond of kitties!

64. Adidas or Nike: Nike. Nicer logo.

65. Coke or Pepsi: Coke light. Low on calories, great on taste. Pepsi is too sweet and gross!

66. Oranges or Apple: Depends on my mood.

67. Deaf or Blind: Deaf. I would rather die than not be able to see

68. Pool or hot tub: hot tub... more action!

69. Blonde or Brunette: Brunette. I may be ditsy at times, but never a full-on bimbo

70. Guys or Girls: I've batted for the other team before.. but now definitely male. Mmmmm..

71. Tall or short: Tall man!

72. TV or Radio: TV! there's MTV mah...

73. Homosexuality: Hey, it's your life.

74. Brand names: A&F/Zara/Topshop/Warehouse/Inphinity

75. Abortion: Hell no! It's cruel and mindless!

76. Religion: Free thinker

77. Animal Rights: Ermm.. can't say I'm a deep fanatic...

78. Love at first sight: Yes! I'm a hopeless romantic...

79. God: yeah, but not the ones defined by present-day religions

80. Aliens: too myopic to believe that we are alone.

81. Horoscopes: never comes true. all rubbish

82. Heaven: my afterlife home, how lovely

83. Hell: better have, or else where will all my enemies go?

84. Reincarnation: No, there can only be one of me. ever.

85. Transvestites: Sure. Some people really need it.

86. Boy Bands: *blush* Unfortunately, I was a fan. A very big and crazy fan of that era.

87. Rap: bring on the Jay-Z, Snoopdog and Eminem

88. 80's music: I'm not THAT cheesy.. (karma, karma, karma chameleooonnn..)

89. Punk: eww.. too weird

90. What's the most beautiful instrument?: The human body

91. Whats the prettiest part of the body?: arms on women, butt on men

92. Biggest fault: Jumping to conclusions

93. Biggest fears: That I'm not as competent as I believe myself to be

94. Do you live in the moment?: YES

95. Do you care about looks?: Hey, I love guy-watching

96. Do you like your handwriting?: could be neater

97. Obsession: Scent. I even smelled a stranger in a crowded train cos he smelled so clean

98. Looking forward to: A life of luxury and travel

99. Favorite weather: Slight overcast with a gentle breeze

100. Do you ever wish you were somebody else?: Not anymore. I love myself now. :)

I'm bored (again!)

Hello kitties... yes, it's me again. The whole office is out for yet another meeting. And I've finished all the work... so it's time to entertain myself.

Koped this webby off somebody's blog. It's hilarious. It's simply amazing how stupid (and bored) people can be on irc. So sit back and enjoy some choice pickings. By the way, the website is http://www.bash.org . So once again, enjoy! :)

Zybl0re> get up

Zybl0re> get on up

Zybl0re> get up get on up

phxlpaper> and DANCE

* nmp3bot dances :D-<

* nmp3bot dances :D-<

* nmp3bot dances :D/-<

[SA]HatfulOfHollow> i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet

t0rbad> so there i was in this hallway right

BlackAdder> i believe i speak for all of us when i say...

BlackAdder> WRONG BTICH

BlackAdder> IM SICK OF YOU

BlackAdder> AND YOUR LAME STORIES

BlackAdder> NOBODY HERE THINKS YOURE FUNNYBlackAdder> NOBODY HERE WANTS TO HEAR YOUR STORIES

BlackAdder> IN FACT

BlackAdder> IF YOU DIED RIGHT NOW

BlackAdder> I DON"T THINK NOBODY WOULD CAREBlackAdder> SO WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT FAG

*** t0rbad sets mode: +b BlackAdder*!*@*.****

BlackAdder has been kicked my t0rbad ( )

t0rbad> so there i was in this hallway right

CRCError> right

heartless> Right.

r3v> right

Guo_Si> Hey, you know what sucks?

TheXPhial> vaccuums

Guo_Si> Hey, you know what sucks in a metaphorical sense?

TheXPhial> black holes

Guo_Si> Hey, you know what just isn't cool?

TheXPhial> lava?

mage> what should I give sister for unzipping?

Kevyn> Um. Ten bucks?

mage> no I mean like, WinZip?

Ben174> : If they only realized 90% of the overtime they pay me is only cause i like staying here playing with Kazaa when the bandwidth picks up after hours.

ChrisLMB> : If any of my employees did that they'd be fired instantly. : Where u work?

ChrisLMB> : I'm the CTO at LowerMyBills.com

*** Ben174 (BenWright@TeraPro33-41.LowerMyBills.com) Quit (Leaving)

tag> Ouroboros: lets play Pong

Ouroboros> Ok.

tag> l .

Ouroboros> . l

tag> l .

Ouroboros> . l

tag> l .

Ouroboros> l .

Ouroboros> Whoops

Rabidplaybunny87> Okay, so my neighbors officially hate me

GarbageStan23> why?

Rabidplaybunny87> Well, me, david and andrew were having a bonfire in the backyard, and we were making s'mores and all... and suddenly we here sirens, and see a firetruck turn into the street in front of us.

Rabidplaybunny87> So we all went running to see what was up, and our neigbor's house was on fire!

GarbageStan23> oh shit!

Rabidplaybunny87:> Yeah, and when we got there, the wife was crying into her husbands arms, and we were just kinda standing there, and then she saw us, and then like for 10 seconds, gave us the dirtiest look ever

Rabidplaybunny87> Turns out, we were still holding our sticks with marshmallows on it, watching the fire....

Rabidplaybunny87> talk about bad timing...

i8b4uUnderground> d-_-b

BonyNoMore> how u make that inverted b?

BonyNoMore> wait

BonyNoMore> never mind

Hahahaha... so lame right? Yes, I've been reading this webby a lot. Got a problem with the way I entertain myself?

More celebration

First off, thank you, thank you, thank you Pei Won, Mei Bao and Jing Yi for celebrating my brithday with me! *muack*

Yeah, I was too lazy last night to upload the photos, but yay! It's done! Oh gosh, we all look so oily and shiny can? Quite icky, so I don't make the photo so big... haha... A lot of pimples leh!

Before that, I even have photos from that long ago day when I went cycling with Fadz at East Coast.

We're definitely an ice-cream couple. Hehehe...

Right, back to 24th May.

We went on a mucho-heavy binge-a-thon. Think Crystal Jade and tons of Swensons. Oh man, I think I put on like 20kg this weekend! Aarrrgghh!


The white goddess, the comic freak, the KB queen and the dragonboat fanatic.

I'm never leaving the house without my makeup ever again. (That oil! Those pimples!)

Erm, no pictures of the food because when I finally remembered to take pictures, we'd already eaten most of the food. -_-'''

We then proceeded to Swensons cos it's my birthday and I get a free Firehouse! So?? We still ended up eating shitloads. Think firehouse, earthquake and apple crumble. I think ice-cream nearly came out of my nose.

I couldn't resist the photo op. Watch me eat the flame!

Look normal?

Not anymore! Muahaha!

Awwww... So cute right??

Ok, now I'm tired. Need to bath. Maybe I'll upload later. Very tiring yeah....

Happy Birthday To Meeeeee...

Blimey, I'm the ripe ol' age of 20. This is indeed turning out to be a blossoming day, wot wot. Would you like a cup of tea, love?

Haha, ok, that was my bad impression of how the British speak. Farewell, colonial masters. Now back to Singaporean frequency lah. Hehehe...

I had a gobsmacking fantastic weekend. Seeing how I have to work on my birthday, the family and boyfriend pushed foward my celebrations to the weekend. And since I left my camera at Mei Bao's house (bugger it!), I have no real photos. So live with the ones I got off the Internet. Haha!

I kicked off my weekend celebration with an invigorating facial on Sunday morning. I say invigorating because I alternated between pain (damn those blackheads), pleasure (mmm... teatree masks) and endurance (I was holding my pee in for 1 hour!).

Fadz then picked me up at my house and whisked me off for my first surprise. LOL, the surprise turned out to be a Star Wars movie at Plaza Singapura. I don't know if that was my present or his. =) Anyway, the movie was good, I'm a movie junkie anyway, and Hayden Christensen was hot!

Besides, even though I'm not a Star Wars fanatic, I felt marginally excited when Anakin was suited up to become Darth Vadar and took his first deep-throated breath.

Ok, I'm digressing.

After that, Fadz put me on a bus and refused to tell me where we were going. I badgered his continuous for 25 minutes with the classic "Are we there yet?" line. That man has the patience of a saint. I think at one point he wanted to strangle me, but out of love, he saved it for another day. We landed up in the middle of Joo Chiat, near Marine Parade. And then he told me to wait at the bus stop. Now, seeing how it was growing late, and even though I didn't know which was the hooker street, we were near Hotel 81 and I really didn't want to hang around. So i tagged after him and and we entered Katong Mall.

My darling had ordered an Awfully Chocolate cake for me. I had mentioned in passing to him that I wanted to try that cake and he remembered. I think I almost cried on the spot. That man actually listens when I babble. *Sniff*

We then proceeded to walk to Parkway Parade Shopping Mall for dinner. Throughout the walk, I continued my one-man harangue, wanting to know where we were going. Haha, I'm really not the easiest girlfriend, yeah? He took me to Ichiban Sushi. Even though he hates Japanese. Even though he can't eat anything there except fish, which he doesn't even like in the first place. And he even checked out the place beforehand to make sure that the place was nice and not conveyer-belt-like sceptic. And to top it all off, he took out the cake in the middle of the restaurant and sang me a birthday song. Without reservations, without embarrassment (ok, maybe a little). I was awed and a little humbled by his love for me. Remember, this is my reticent, hate-to-make-a-scene-in-public Fadzli.

And my present? Season 7 of Friends. I know this is rather random, but he knew I liked Friends and didn't know which season was the best. Still, I loved it, loved it, loved it.

And for the final surprise, he brought me to East Coast beach. Ok, this is not really a great surprise, I'm just easily amused. He had brought along light sticks; something really trivial, but something that I'm so entertained by. Awww... Sheer contentment as we sat on the beach and watch the black, torrent waves. I hope when we are 50 we'd still be doing that. :)

+ (ok, I couldn't find a night-time pic of East Coast) = Bliss!

And so Monday rolled around. In the morning was kinda blah, cos I had to go to OCBC for some meeting. But at least the boys were nice to me and let me stew in my crankiness. Oh yeah, did I mention I am the only girl in a team of 4? Anyway, we finished quickly and they let me go home for some much needed rest, Amen to that.

At night, I was treated to dinner by the family. We went to Menotti at Raffles City. Menotti is this uber nice Italian cafe that has pretty darn good Italian food and amazing desserts.

I felt like I could go on forever. Not cheap, but for the amount of food we consumed, I think it was a fair deal. Yay! My plan when we move to the Bras Basah campus is to not eat for 4 days and then splurge it all at Menotti. Hohoho! Fatdom here we come!

So now here I am at RP again. I think I'm going out for dinner tonight with the KB gang, not too sure. If not, back to bed. I stayed up till 2am reading a book. Yawnz, not a wise choice. I think I'm running on a sugar high now.

And thank you everyone who wished me a happy birthday! Happy it is indeed!

I'm a horrible person

As I was rushing out of the MRT at Raffles Place, in my haste I brushed past this blind man valiantly making his way to his destination.

This lady then approached him and offered to direct him.

I didn't stop to help. I just ran off to OCBC.

The corporate world is making me this frazzled, unfeeling and unhelpful idiot.

I'm such a horrible person. If this keeps up, I'll be making fun of the infirmed soon.

Someone come and save my soul.

I sound too angsty

Reading my previous posts, I feel that my entries have become full of rage and depression. Seriously, I'm not usually like that. I think it's the corporate life that is starting to get me down. So, I shall bounce back (gracefully, of course) and start sounding... happy. Giggly. Anything that is uplifting. Alright, here goes.

Wow! I'm so glad that I'm working 2 jobs! No longer will I sit on my ass at home and rot my life away in front of the tv, laptop and reading. Instead, I can spend my time meaningfully at RP printing documents, and at OCBC concentrating very hard on the subject at hand! How fun! And at home, all i get is the boring, constant temperature of coolness. But at work, I can alternate between the freezing condition of RP offices, and the stifling hot meeting rooms of OCBC. Yay! I can wear my favourite winter wear jacket to work! I love it!

Ohhh, of course I'm looking forward to my payday. 2 paychecks! Whatever will I do with the money?? Hmmm, maybe I should buy a Furla bag, or go on a short vacation! Hehehe, so exciting...

Hmm, what else? Oh yeah, my time is so well spent now. In fact, I no longer face the dilemma of what to do during weekends. I have the answer...work! On Saturdays, Sundays, and even Public Holidays! After all, I don't celebrate Vesak Day. So why waste the day resting right? Instead, I can enjoy the pleasure of hard work 24/7, with only that darn need to sleep to break up the pleasure. Hohoho, I can't wait.

And you know how they say what happens on your birthday would signify what you will be doing for the rest of the year? Well, I can predict my life for months ahead! Guess what? I will be working on my birthday! Yup, yup, so lucky right? Oh yeah, forgot to tell you guys! My contract at RP just got extended! So during my birthday, I can work at RP in the day, and rush down to OCBC at night. Hmmm, maybe if I'm really, really lucky, I can even get a couple more hours of sleep than usual! Such anticipation!

Alright, enough. Bugger it. Yes, I'm bitter. But this mood will not last long (or much longer). I think I'm just suffering from a serious bout of pms. My stupid period is late and as a result, the pms is prolonged. After this trying time, I should be my lovable, adorable self again. We shall wait.

And I can't really complain because I do want both jobs. My financial status is so bad that anything that brings in money will be helpful. So yes, I will survive. And I will be happy, dammit.

It's amazing how you can trick the brain to believe almost anything.

But I do have some highlights in my days ahead.

First up, my second facial! So happy. Yes, I know, so bimbotic, but it's fun ok!

Secondly, Fadz is celebrating my birthday with me the whole of Sunday. I can't wait! I asked him to give me a surprise and now he's refusing to tell me anything. Just where to meet and that's it. Woohoo!

Thirdly, I love that my friends care about me. Last night Sylvia called me to catch up. Also, she remembers that it's my birthday soon! So she fished around for birthday gift ideas. So sweet of her... Really am grateful.

Sigh, my only job at RP is to print things, and someone else is using the printer. At least I'm enriching my mind. Been reading the New York Times. Have to constantly keep up with the world, yeah?

In The Name of SMU, Hear Me Roar! (and Curse and Swear and...)

I just had lunch with my boss. It was kinda awkward; the stilted conversation, the prolonged silence... And being me, I couldn't help noticing that he was sweating profusely and I felt a little... Ewww... Yes, I'm like that, even with my friends. Once, when one of my friends, let's call him Apple, came a little too close and spoke to me, I had to hold my breathe cos of his bad breathe. Yes, I am that evil. Muahaha...

Anyway, back to the lunch. I spent a good half an hour defending not only SMU's name, but also my choice of study, Business Management. You see, this obnoxious China Professor accousted the both of us having lunch and promptly settled himself into the seat next to me.

When he heard that I was from SMU, he launched into this preaching sesion about how he thought that Business Management students were wasting their time and money studying something that was virtually useless. He kept on extolling the virtues of an engineering background, proudly proclaiming that he knew this so-and-so IT manager who was actually an engineer, and how all top managers will eventually have engineering background and how stupid and useless it is to learn soft skills when all you need to do is flip a couple of management books before you sleep to understand what it is all about.

That cheena wanker.

i was freaking fuming mad. I love being a SMU student, more so a business student. It's my passion, my direction and my future. And for this short, annoying China man to tell me authoritatively that my life choices were stupid and misguided made me see red. So for the first time in my life, I found myself defending my school, my degree and myself in Chinese. As in Joanne-I-can't-speak-Chinese-properly Chan. Yes, I was that mad to challenge a China man in Chinese.

But moving away from that detail... My boss kept quiet throughout this verbal battle (unfairly loped to one side) because he freaking has an engineering degree from freaking NUS. Anyway, I interrupted that stupid China man periodically with comments like, "It's the overall environment that also contributes to an education"; "Your degree does not plot your future path"; "I see myself as a manager, and a successful one" and so on.

When he finally annoyed me too greatly, I curtly informed him that I have absolutely no interest in engineering, and have never taken physics in my life. Moreover, I am very happy with my decisions and believe that I will do well. So there.

After that I lost all interest in the conversation and turned away, tactfully of course. I pretended to be looking at the posters on the wall. He too, gave up trying to preach when he realized that I wasn't listening to him with appreciation for giving me such wise words and left.

Wanker, wanker, wanker. Urrgh.

Now that I'm replaying this conversation in my head, I wish fervantly that I was more eloquent and could think quicker. I have so many more arguments to supply. How bout:

"In the business world, we need people to think dynamically and respond to changes as required. Engineers think too systematically and are too rigid."

OR

"Like you said, managing people is a soft skill. So is organisation. All the more you can't learn from books, especially not from reading before bed, but require the right environment to nurture your skills and experience."

OR

"Shut up, you good-for-nothing China Man! Your dress sense is bad and your superior tone is offensive! I hope your country attacks Taiwan so that America can retaliate!! hahahahah!!"

Ok, maybe not the last one, but it would have been appropriate. Bugger it. No wonder he's teaching at RP. The whole glorified school is centred on IT! Sheesh!

A Rare Nice Boss

I worked 13 hours yesterday doing the OCBC thing. And because I was running a little late and it was raining like nobody's business, I had to take a cab that cost me $24. Fuck it.

And now I'm back at Republic Poly twiddling my thumbs. It's amazing how different the two scenarios are.

By the way, I signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with OCBC. So whatever you have read, or will be reading, please just forget it. Stop telling anyone what I am doing. (York and somebody else knew! It was freaky!) Just say that I'm working at a local bank or something. Apparently, somebody leaked out the news to Business Times and OCBC had to do damage control. So please, please, please, don't tell anyone and pretend you don't know anything. Thank you. Or else I'd get sued and I'll have to come after you. So there. :)

So moving on, I'm at RP again, and I feel sooo bad. My boss is this incredibly nice but dowdy-looking guy (I can't help saying that! It's the truth!). He gives me the royal treatment and is always worried that I might get bored. I mean, where got this kind of people left? Maybe he's just surprised at how quickly I work... hahaha.

My job at RP is really simple. Type up certificates, print them. Do the scheduling, print it. So I'm now at the printing stage, and since the printer is unavailable, I basically have no job to do. He's so concerned that I'll blow my brains out from the intellectual de-stimulation that he told me to "surf around", and even passed me the newspapers to read!! Originally, he wants me to do OT because the printer is freer after work hours. So what he is proposing is to pay me to twiddle my thumbs during office hours, and work OT to make up for it, paying me 1.5 times the normal rate. Moreover, because of the large quantity of certs I have to print, and seeing how it will be a long, slow process, he's thinking of other admin work that I can do so that I can break up the monotony of the printing process. I mean, huh?? What happened to making temps work like slaves??

I feel really, really bad. And even if he needed me for OT, i can't! I have to rush down to OCBC for more meetings.. it will be neverending. Crazy right? And i have to work weekends and public holidays. I have already informed Fadz that our relationship will be put on the hold until July, and he's such a sweetheart. He's not happy, but he's supportive. Hehehehehe... another reason for a gushing paragraph, but to prevent you guys from throwing up, I will restrain myself. So nice of me right? I also know. Muahaha...

Ok, now I'm officially bored. The network isn't working properly, and my MSN cannot connect. Stupid idiot. So what the hell am I supposed to do?

Day 2 - And Counting

Ladida... Not much work again. Finished up what I had to do like an hour ago.. Have been aimlessly surfing the net and checking mail. My boss has just left for a staff sharing session. I guess they have a lot of problems to share here, eh? There's even a chalet... so cute! It's like bonding, at the next level. So now I'm left in the office with this other temp girl... I suspect that she's not really doing her work either. Every few seconds giggles will emit from her. Must be msn-ing... haha...

It's my 35 months anniversary with Fadz today. I can't believe that we've been a couple for almost 3 years! Just the other day, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought that if I ever broke up with Fadz, I can no longer stay in Singapore. Everything will truly remind me of him. The public transport, the shopping centres, the theatres, even the streets, wil evoke certain memories of him. Even my house wouldn't be safe. I think if that day ever comes, I will be a living wreck. It's too scary to even imagine. *shudder*

Which brings me to this point, is monogamy really all that good? Sure, it's nice to share your life with that one special person and feel like you're cherished and all. But what happens when it's all over? What happens when this special someone is no longer there for you, no longer a part of you? Is it worth all the agony that you might possibly be putting yourself through? When I almost broke up with Fadz 2 fateful years ago, I felt like dying. Going to school, seeing him and yet not being able to talk to him.. it was hell lah. I thought that I was going to collapse under the tears and misery, and I couldn't stop crying, even during flag-raising. It was truly mortifying and yet a great realization of how important Fadz is to me. Sigh..

Anyway, that is all thankfully in the past. I'm just glad that despite the occasionally quarrels, the sometimes temper clashes, we've pulled through.

Besides, i don't think I can ever find another man who can love me to such depth, who can tolerant all my foolishness and yet recognize my intellect. Someone who is so mild-mannered yet passionate about things that matter to him. Someone who is so comfortable in his own skin that even when his stupid friends make fun of him and say that I wear the pants in this relationship, we both know that he's really the man and that I cannot lord over him if he chooses so. I would hate to date a man who is constantly questioning his status or superiority in a relationship, or needs to feel like he has all the power.

I know I'm gushing, but it's my blog and so there. Beat it if you don't want to read another soliloquie. Hahaha... But I'm relieved that Fadz doesn't read this blog, otherwise he will remember all this and use it against me in the future. Hehehehe.

Monday Bluessss...

Just started work at Republic Poly today. I'm afraid that my "subject to extension" clause in the contract will most likely NOT come to fruition. My being there for the week is only for the preparation of their award ceremony this Saturday. I guess after that I can vamooose. Whatever...

Oh yeah, before you think I'm slacking off, think again. I'm actually following my boss's orders. He kept emphasizing that if I ever feel bored, I can surf the Net or use MSN. Yeah, he repeated that 3 times during the half-hour he spoke to me. So you see, I'm being a good employee and following orders. Hah.

Right, back to this morning. It was raining like mad and I was half-contemplating not showing up. Not seriously, anyway. RP is damn tamade ulu. Moreover, the stupid bus took forever to arrive, and when it did, I couldn't get on because all the stupid and gross students charged forward onto the already crowded bus, leaving me in the cold (and rain).

I then overheard someone say that they were going to walk to school. Which school? Hoping that my hunch was correct, I recklessly set out for RP, with no idea where it was exactly. I basically just followed a bunch of youngish-looking teenagers who were not in school uniform. Erm, that's about as scientific or professional my directional sense is.

i was late for work, but thankfully, my boss was even lately. Hur hur hur. :)

I'm currently stuck in the freaking cold school library, supposedly typing out all the certificates for the ceremony. Guess I'm not too productive eh? But it's hard to be productive when I was first greeted by a nasty mosquito glutted on blood, noisy RP students who talk loudly (stupid China Man), bring food in, and play the guitar, all the in supposed hallow halls of the library. I want to kill all of them so badly, stupid stupid idiots. Sheesh. I need to work on my tolerance.

Oh yeah, yesterday was great fun though. I went to the OmniMax Theatre! I can't remember the last time I was there, but I sure was one heck of an excited! Unfortunately, the people who go to the OmniMax are either a) Children b) Families c) Old Couples. Fadz asked me which category we belonged in. Not exactly pleasant choices... I think our cool factor just dropped a notch.

We watched The Mystery of the Nile. It renacts the ardrous journey of a bunch of crazy ang mohs who try to travel the entire Nile, from source to end, using 2 flimsy rubber rafts. The ang mohs are really nutso. But the sights of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egpyt were exquisite. From ancient Christian churches carved out of the earth in Ethiopia, to the sandy dunes of Sudan, and not forgetting commercialized Egpyt, it was simply spectacular to view the changing environments in wide screen. To be able to see all the different cultures that exist along the Nile, and also the trials and tribulations of the explorers... it was $6 well-spent. I so have to go there again! And I recommend that you all go too!

Sigh, I guess I should go back to work. Totally not in the mood for it. Oh well, half-an-hour more to lunch. Au Voir!

Stagnating... Rotting... And Everything In Between

(Disclaimer: Caution! Blog ahead consists of random ramblings!)

I'm becoming a boring old fart. Urrgghhh.

I feel so unsociable lately. I didn't go for the KL trip, I didn't go for the farewell party at school, and I'm not meeting up with the people for dinner tonight. Why, why why?

Partly due to the serious lack of funds (cue: read last entry), but also because I think I've fallen into this isolation routine.

I'm holed up in my room in front of the laptop every day, the lights are off and I'm turning mildly hermitic. I'm reading all day, thrown in with some trashy tv and late night Net surfing. That pretty much sums up my days.

Help! I refuse to become this antisocial bug! Not with so much work ahead! But I just can't seem to drag my body up and go out. No offense to anyone, but nothing seems to be worth the trouble to put on makeup, make myself presentable, and go out to talk and have fun with people. I can't, I just can't.

LOL, the only times I'm going out of the house, it seems, is for official business. Went to the super, ultra posh Kopotiam (not the food court, but a restuarant serving ridiculously expensive hawker fare) at Swissotel to meet up with the OCBC people. I felt so inadequate and was unable to contribute much to the conversation, and I suppose that stems from me not freaking talking to anyone in a long time! Hahahahahha! Anyway, I hope that Gan woman doesn't change her mind and regret choosing me. WHATEVER.

Joel, Susmit and I then proceeded to Pacific Coffee at CitiLink Mall where we had a 2 hour discussion about life, logic, truth, and belief. It was actually fun! Me, the uber-feminist, Susmit, the uber-chauvinist piggy, and Joel, the mild-mannered, holier-than-thou Christian trying to convince each other what truth and logic is. Haha, so fun! And we were arguing and talking so loudly that people kept staring at us. Once again, WHATEVER.

I think I'm blogging excessively. Oh yeah, because I have no life.. Sigh.. Somebody save me!!!!!

Yes, I am a boring old fart. Now that Li Wern has flown off to Sydney for an entire freaking month, who is left in Singapore to corrupt me and teach me the wrong things in life?

Maybe I should make friends with a nun and run off to join a... nunnery! I keep telling everyone that I might one day pack up and swear celibracy for life, but no one seems to believe me. Hmmm....

Who will come and sweep me off my feet and infuse life into this dead body once again?

What was I thinking???

Alamak, I've gone and done it! I'm such an idiot! Regret.... (Not really)

Yesterday, I decided it was high time that I start pampering myself and living life right. Screw the money issues. Screw the holiday plans. I'm turning the big 20 and I better look great for it.

So what did I do? I closed my eyes and signed away $400 on a facial package. Yup, my holiday money, money that I've squeezed tears and blood out for (ok, I worked for it) , gone in 2 seconds.

I know $400 is not a lot to some of you, but to me, it was a BIG, BIG ouch. To think that I was too cheap to buy an IPOD. But now, it's all gone... gone...

But I love having facials. Everyone should go for facials. Even though my forehead looks like it has been attacked by mosquitoes, and the procedure to get out my pimples was damn fucking painful, I still loved every minute of it! To be pampered, and have mysterious things applied to my face... To have hot and cold mist gently sprayed onto my cheeks. I was acting damn excited can! So uncool right? But for a moment I almost felt like a tai-tai. Ahh... to enjoy life and be totally carefree.. hehehe...

Anywayz, I think my recklessness was partly due to me finally getting a job! Hallelujah! Ok, it's nothing great, in fact it's kinda stupid. RecruitExpress finally decided that I was worthy and granted me a 1 week job doing admin at Republic Poly. 1 freaking week, you say? Yeah, yeah, I know. But it's subject to extension, so fingers crossed.

LOL, i know that it doesn't really justify me spending that money on facials, but I was like, heck it. It's time for some celebration baby!

Fadz is going to jump through the roof. It's not his money, but in the future it might be. And we all know what a cheapskate he is. So let's just keep it a secret for now... Shhhh...

I'm Growing Old!!

Oh gosh, my age is really catching up with me and I'm only just realizing it! I'm almost 20! How can this be? Where did all those years go?

Lol, but I do love birthdays. It's the one day I can unabashedly celebrate being alive and being me. I love it.

Anyway, back to the griping. Had volleyball training yesterday and I'm feeling the full blow of it today. Don't know if it's due to poor stretching, or that I'm really old, but halfway through training, I did something I've never done before: I stopped. For some reason, my hamstring muscle pulled a little too tight and I got concerned. It's not that I've never experienced pain before, but not this pain. I couldn't stand. I was squatting down to receive the ball and I couldn't get up. My legs lost all sensation and my thigh was screaming murder. Uggh. And today, I can't walk down stairs properly, or bend my legs. Hallelujah...

But I gained a newfound respect for my volleyball mates. Also in pain, they continued with training. Moreover, their dedication and determination to do well in the sport is something to be mimicked and done. I felt ashamed for my uselessness, but I will be better. I will not let them down.

Can't say the same thing for Ventures. Racist remark alert! My growing annoyance, borderline hatred, for India Indians is expanding out of control. They're useless, talk big and think too highly of themselves. Bunch of suckups, crappers and all-around jerks. I feel the creeps around them. Uggh.

Oh yeah, don't think I'm gonna get the job. Turns out they need someone with HR experience. Back to square one. haiz..

The Show Must Go On

The show here, of course, is referring to my life. One big theatre; one neverending, melodramatic, rollercoaster production starring me, me, me. Haha, that sounds so egotistic! Oh well...

My life is regaining some semblance of normalcy. Those of you who are in the know would have seen me waste a month of my life doing absolutely nothing. No job, no school activities. My life this past month revolved around the computer, my family, friends and boyfriend. During this one month, I comforted myself by saying that this lack of activity was actually a good opportunity to recuperate and recharge my drained batteries.

Yes, I'm finally fully charged and roaring to go. Inactivity can wait. Now, let me march forward and burn this excess fat/energy!

Thankfully, my results are a comforting sight and I have no more worries on that front for now.

I've just been confirmed to take up a project with OCBC and I'm so excited! My hopes kind of died when I went for the interview, but apparently, I did ok! I'm in! I can't wait to get my hands into that start-up.

RecruitExpress called me this morning. They want me to go down for a job interview. No matter the outcome, I think that was the call that really propelled me out of my lethargy. For the past two weeks, I've been sending out resumes by the batches and received no reply. My moral was down, my finances was screaming red, and I was close to misery. No shopping, no extravagant meals, no luxury, no squat. I was living the life of a hermit and borrowed money. So seriously, even if I don't get the job, at least it helped to push me into action. Thank you thank you thank you.

And I just cleaned up my room! Such an achievement, and my fengshui has improved, I swear! The air is clearer, the room is bigger, and I'm happy! I hate cleaning my room, much less throwing away things. But I did. I put my foot down and threw away things dated circa 1999. Yup, notes and papers from my secondary school days. Whheeee... All down the chute. No more clutter. Hmm, maybe I should throw away everything and go for the totally Zen (ie bare) look! Lol, NO! As If!

Alrighty, have volleyball training later. I've been avoiding training cos I feel so fat and lazy. Even if it kills me, I'm going for training. Got to go get toned!

Still Broke, Stille Aimless

Help help help! I'm still unemployed and wasting my life away doing zilch. Sigh, I must have bombarded recruitment agencies with my resumes, but still no reply. Bugger it.

Anyway, moving on. Had a sleepover at Mei Bao's house on Wednesday. It was the hottest sleepover I ever had! Okay, that's rather misleading... I meant it in the "temperature" sense. Her freaking air-con was down and we had to rely on the freaking fan.

Now, if you know me well enough, you should know that i'm incredibly prissy and would rather die than live without air-con. Fadz keeps reminding me that he is going to be poor for the rest of his life and we will have no air-con in our future home. Yeah right. I'll pay for it darling, just that you won't get to sleep in the same room. Hahaha!

Right, back to the sleepover. We whiled away the evening playing mahjong, but we didn't last long. Mei Bao has really idiotic neighbours who would complain if they hear the sound of clashing tiles. So we had to close the door and shut the windows. Ye Gads, it was a freaking sauna! Imagine a stuffy room with only a fan for ventilation... I was sweating and gasping for fresh air. Yup, our mahjong session ended real quickly. Anyway, Mei Bao was getting kinda high cos instead of playing for money, the loser of each round had to drink wine. Make that, cheapo, gross wine. And before that, we indulged in gross Choya plum wine. It's gross, but with high alcohol content (15%!) it's a quick fix to getting high.

So what did we do for entertainment then? At 2.30 in the morning, Pei Won and I goaded Mei Bao and Jing Yi into playing the Crimson Room. Have you guys tried it before? It's aggrevating when you have your wits about it. It's a downright bitch when you are struggling to keep your eyes open. So through much cursing, smug superior airs from Pei Won and I (we've both played it before) and much tsk tsk-ing and hahas, they reached the near end. But the program cocked up even though they did all the right steps. The stupid game refused to let them win. Thank goodness they didn't have a heart attack.

At 3 in the morning, they proceeded to the Viridian Room. Big mistake. We couldn't sleep until they solved it. Imagine me and Pei Won lying on the ground whining for them to hurry up.

What an exciting night right? It's hard to imagine that we've been friends for 8 years. I can't wait for the day when we've been friends for 20 years. I think we might just kill each other for whining too much.

Your Seduction Style: The Charmer

You're a master at intimate conversation and verbal enticement. You seduce with words, by getting people to open up to you. By establishing this deep connection quickly, people feel under your power. And then you've got them exactly where you want them!

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Hehe, i think i know a lot of people who would say that i'm just a trash talker. In defense, let me just say... As if i'm flirting with you! When i want to be seductive you wouldn't know what hit you!

Ok, i'm done. Back to being sweet old me. Hah.

Stupid kite and fireworks

Spent an idyllic day at Marina Bay with Fadz on Sunday. I had been pestering him to take me kite flying and since it was a long weekend, he finally decided to keep his promise.

Now, my past notions of kite flying were that of carefree kites floating carelessly and freely in the sky; me holding the kite serenely while Fadz holds me and smiles. Bullshit. I can now safely assure all of you that kite flying is not very romantic, requires a lot of yanking, pulling, running and screaming around. And a lot of old men do it. Hmmm... It brought to mind the phrase "go fly kite". Lol, only now do I fully comprehend the sexual connotation behind that phrase. Please don't ask me to explain. *blush*

Anyway, our first few gazillion attempts to get the kite up failed miserably. I stubbornly clung on to my belief that my method was correct (clearly wrong) while he persistently tried different methods, albeit they all failed. However, what was glaringly obvious was that we both weren't cooperating and neither wanted to admit that he had failed. It reached the point where we were glaring at each other and speaking in clipped tones. Note to all: if your relationship isn't very stable, please don't go kite flying. You might end up killing each other. I would know. I was plotting his demise in my mind for being such a haughty, stubborn, pain-in-the-ass donkey.

And then it rained.

So that put a halt to our kite flying experiment and we ran for the sheltered haven of the bowling alley. We really are urban wussies. Played 2 games of bowling, and unfortunately, I lost both times. Now, please don't ever be deceived by that seemingly serene and calm facade that Fadz has on. He really is very competitive when he wants to be. He kept rubbing in my face that I a) was losing b) haven't beat him in a long time and c) couldn't keep calm in the face of adversity. Rub rub rub. Nga nga nga. Wanted to punch him so badly.

And we are supposed to be this sweet, old couple who gets on perfectly? Yeah right. Haha.

But I did whoop his ass in the arcade. So there. (Fadz - 1, Joanne - 1. Ding Ding Ding! Round 3, start!)

We then proceeded to give the old kite another attempt. By this time, I was convinced that our stupid Tweety kite was jinxed and would never know the clear blue skies. At least it proved us wrong in the end. We chose a more auspicious spot, ie a place closer to the sea so that there was more wind, and took turns trying to get the stupid kite up. Before long, we were at each other's throats again; he telling me that my method wouldn't work, and me telling him that he was exactly successful either. Sigh, how sweet right?

And when I was cut by some errant string in the grass, all he could say was, "Not painful right? Don't you always say that women have a higher threshold of tolerance for pain?" Idiot. It doesn't matter how small the cut is, or how much pain we can tolerate. It all boils down to that fact that at the end of the day, we just want our man to show concern and coo over us like we were some delicate female, no matter how different we may really be. Bugger it.

But after the requisite sacrificial of blood, the kite-flying gods were appeased and with our powers combined, Tweety finally got off the ground and above the treetops. Yay! Victory!

And then it started to rain. sssiiiigggghhhhhhhh...

Tweety dropped like a dead log and fluttered onto a tree, wrapping its tail around a branch. Tugging match ensued. Fadz leaped onto the tree and started shaking the branch like mad. Crowd gathered to watch. We threw twigs and logs and whatever was available at the kite. The tree fought valiantly to claim the prize. We tired it out. And finally, it gave up the good fight. Tweety was returned to us.

After all that effort, I had to go do a really stupid thing. We got a plastic bag to put the kite in and I threw my bag into the plastic bag, causing the sticks that hold the kite together to snap. I'm surprised that Fadz didn't go into a seizure. :)

We ended that exciting day with a pig-out steamboat/bbq buffet. I made Fadz eat until his stomach expanded and he almost puked. And then we received a nice surprise. Suddenly, the sky lit up with dazzling fireworks that lasted for 5 glorious minutes to celebrate Labour Day, and we had almost front row seats. Yellow, orange, green, pink and purple. It was so beautiful.

And as we held hands watching that spectacle, I knew that everything was great. Even the stupid squabbles were great. Because I have someone beside me to share it all.