B-O-R-E-D

I'm officially bored. My big boss is terribly ill and took MC for the whole week, meaning my Sup is pretty darn free too. So free that she was bored of looking at the screen / watching YouTube, and decided to go for a smoke break walk. The person next to me is on leave cos her boyfriend was going for minor surgery. That's girlfriend speak for I-want-to-sleep-in-late.

So where does this leave me? Doing data entry. Ok, I kinda know that is what I signed up for, and frankly, I recognize the importance of setting up the employee system. Seriously, the information is all over the place, no one knows who someone else is, don't even know whether male or female. It's semi-ludicrous. So yeah, that's my grand job, keying in everyone's information.

But that doesn't prevent it from being the world's most boring job. I'm practically snoozing away at my seat. And hence, blogging.

Guess I could bitch a little about my colleagues. They're mostly nice people, very task-oriented but always ready to spare a smile. You just have to distinguish the fakes from the genuine warm human beings.

I absolutely detest the Executive Assistant to the CEO. Now she, redefines BITCH. And probably SLUT too. Social climber who is shameless about her antics. On my 2nd day here, I met her at the photocopier (yup, that's where we all form close bonds). She smiled at me, and I thought, what a nice lady. And then she tried to make conversation as we printed our stuff. So when she asked what I wanted to do for a career, I told her I'm quite interested in exploring the HR track. That's when her claws came out. She smiled a pitying smile, and said in a vastly superior voice, "Why HR? Now, if I was in a management position, HR would be the first to go. It can simply be outsourced." Erm, thanks a lot bitch. Did I do anything to provoke such a hostile statement? You think so easy to outsource ah? HR personnel fight fires every single freaking day, solving problems that demand immediate attention. Sure, the calculation of payroll can be outsourced, leave and MC can be electronized. But what happens when there are queries? What happens when there are discrepencies, miscommunication, unhappiness? A warm body is important can! Fine, you think everything can be outsourced. Next time you need to make an expense claim or medical claim, I shall put a phone in front of you and ask you to call the outsourcer to solve your stupid petty problems!

After that attack, I became rather weary of her, and also more observant of her behaviour. Boy, is she a disgusting old cow. Ok, so at 47 she's not that old, but for her to blatantly flirt with all her bosses gives me the creeps. She speaks with this stupid, fake ang moh accent, thinking it gives her polish but just reminds me of sad SPGS and what they would be like 20 years down the road. Pitiful. And she giggles like a cross between a hyena and a 2-year old, which grates on my nerves. The women in the office steer clear of her. The men are too stupid to realize.

And things really turned for the worse just a few days ago. It was about 6pm, knockoff time. She comes over as if the queen is sweeping into the room, gracing her serf with her grand presence. She wants a favour: drafting of a simple letter and getting the CFO to sign it. In the time she takes to explain the situation to me, she could have jolly well completed the whole damn thing. But no, I suppose piddly little letters are beneath her Royal High(Ass)ness. So after taking 1 minute to write the bloody thing (there were previous letters! Similar! Just change the damn fields!) I passed it to her to take a look. She reads. She sighs dramatically. I ask if anything's wrong (hello, this is the 5th of such letters you've asked for), and she has the gall to say "It's not perfect, but it'd do. It's grammatically off."

Mother fucking, holy hell of all bitches!!!!!!!!! You ask for a favour, show no gratitude, be a complete bitch and dare to behave as if I'm a total imbecile! Argh!

And as a powerless intern, all I could do was grin and bear. But in my mind, all these gruelsome thoughts were spinning so quickly I developed a headache. Yes, I was THAT pissed. Sheesh. And all the way home, I kept thinking of insults that I could have hurled at her if I was in a different position. My favourite was "At least my face isn't so lined it can be used as a water catchment area!" or "At least when I raise my eyebrows, my kneecaps don't stretch!" Ok, I know these 2 statements contradict each other, but I haven't had time to look closely enough to see whether her face is indeed lined or Botoxed to death.

Ok, enough grousing. Back to work..... Zzzzzz....

Meet the New Pod Pod

My life was really quite miserable without my ipod; it's amazing how dependent I've become on it to block out all of life's horrid noises. I truly hate people sometimes and there's nothing like blasting some great rock music to make me feel better.

Want to see the condition my old ipod was in?


Yeah, this bad. Simply heartache.

I refused to suffer my intolerable fate anymore. As fate would have it, SMU's finance department decided to stop sitting on its lazy ass during summer and expedite the TA pay processing. They told us the money would come in on 24th July. My heart sank to the bottom. But lo and behold! When I needed cash the most, SMU pulled through and paid me. Bless their materialistic hearts; never shall I yell profanities at them again.

So even though the huge gorge out of my bank account caused me to hyperventilate slightly, I took a leap of faith and bought a new ipod nano.


Meet Pod Pod v2. Isn't it simply gorgeous? I feel tears of joy coming to my eyes simply looking at it in all its pink glory. Instant love, I tell you. Even the packaging is flawless. I bow to their almighty designers.


Eat your heart out, Creative. I know I'm supposed to support local brands and all that propaganda crap, but seriously, there's simply no comparison. You've stolen their design, made them pay you patent rights on their creation... why the hell doesn't Creative just bribe the Apple designers to create better stuff for them? I guess money really can't buy everything, and the Apple culture is imitable.


Side view. Guess even for gadgets, thin is IN huh?

Ok, enough fawning over the ipod. Even if I do HEART it to bits.

My Heart is Broken

I dropped my ipod on the train to work and the screen shattered. :[ :[ :[

You know how in the movies when something dramatic is about to happen and they slow time down? Well, in reality bad things happen real quickly and there's simply no way you can react in time.

It just dropped. And all I could do was watch in horror.

*Sniff* It feels like I just killed my own baby. I even had a nickname for it. Pod Pod.

In loving memory of Pod Pod.

You have served me well and weather quite a number of falls. I guess your time was up.

Greatly missed, especially when enduring long, unpleasant rides on the MRT.

25 December 2005 - 14 June 2007

I was planning to go watch Anna and the King with Pei Wen, but now that I have to replace the ipod, goodbye musical.

Hmm, should I get the 2GB ipod ($248), 4GB ipod ($348), the Samsung music player (think PussyCat Dolls in "waitaminute") or a PSP? All about the same price... decisions, decisions, decisions.

One Last Hurrah for My 22nd!

Hmmm, photobucket seems to be down.

Anywayz, that's not the point of this post, just a general comment. I hate it when Internet sites do not work properly.

THIS POST IS BY ORDERS FROM A CERTAIN MISS AW JIALING WHO IS NOT CONTENTED WITH MERELY SEEING MY HUMILIATION ON JACKYLN HUANG'S BLOG BUT WANTS MY SILLY PHOTOS DISPLAYED HERE AS WELL. Since I'm such a nice obliging person (plus since she's my ex-captain and I shudder to think what horrors would befall me if I disobeyed), I shall oblige and make a fool of myself.

Moving on. I was pleasantly surprised when the girls got together to celebrate my birthday (belatedly) and Angie's farewell. Ms Angie Wong is flying off to the land of Mao to increase the already sizable population of SMU-ers in Ching Chong (China lah). Well, best of luck babe. We were supposed to meet early to play beach volleyball at Sentosa followed by a nice dinner at Vivocity. And of course, the outing was typical of any volleyball girls outing.
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Everyone "flew aeroplane" (放飞机, geddit?). I thought I was bad for turning up at 4-ish when the original meeting time was at 12pm. At least I turned up. In the end, it was down to me, Jacklyn, Greg, Jack's SMU friend, and a bunch of ex-ACS boys. Can't remember their name, just remember them getting sunburnt.

It was fun enough I suppose, except that my delicate skin absolutely cannot tolerate the freaking sun or sand. I'm burnt even though I smothered myself in sun block and kept running for the shade cos it became too unbearably hot. Plus, I contracted sand rash. Now my legs look hideous. :(

Ok ok, this was supposed to be a happy post, but I keep getting sidetrack. I'm sleepy can. Work is not fun. I'm so damn busy, I can't even chat properly on MSN. And the work keeps coming and coming and coming.... Ok, i'm drifting again.

Yes, so after coercing Greg to have dinner with us (well, not really, seeing how he preferred to dine with the other guys. Humpf), we met up with the other girls for dinner at Thai Express. I see a pattern here. We went to Thai Express for my birthday last year too. And of course, we had to make as big a ruckus as possible. It's us man.

All these photos are taken from Jack's blog as photobucket is being a total bitch.

The very delectable Angie, Pei Ying, Moi and Soo Teng

Ms Aw, Jack Jack and Jia Yan. I shall use the funnier photo of Jialing as this is my blog. Muahahahahahhaha!

More camwhoring. What do you expect from 7 girls man?

All so chio right? Taking applicants now for... man slaves.


This old commerical suddenly popped into my mind. Remember this commercial that had this woman dressed up like Cleopatra, and she was being attended to by 2 slaves? Then she wanted a nut that was still in a shell and she passed the nut to one of the slaves. The camera pans to the slave's face which contorts in pain.. we hear a snapping sound and he grimaces, before handing the cracked nut back to Cleopatra. He had used his thighs (or knees, I can't remember which) to crack open the nut. I thought it was the funniest thing on tv. Don't remember? You people have no childhoods.


Group shot of my dear girls

Oh yeah, and they made me do stupid things too. I was given the most hastily put together ang pow and it was vaguely embarrassing seeing them collect the money in front of me before passing it to me. I hope I looked suitably surprised. But hey, I had to work for my money ok....

First it was this...

Then it degenerated to this. Thanks ah, people. The other customers thought I had gone nuts. Lost it. Went over to the other side. You get my point.

Sigh, but you know I still love you all right? Thanks for everything!

P.S.: My tagboard very hard to use meh??????? I feel so untagged and unloved... :[ :[ :[

Impending Doom

It's Day 9 of my internship and I'm sensing impending doom.

I'm about to lose my table.

Yup, for the past few days, I have been happily ensconced at my cubicle, with my own drawers, telephone and stationery. I have a nice brown wide desk and colleagues on either side of me. But all that is about to change.

The company, which is already woefully cramp, is hiring people in a mad rush. Currently, there are only 5 available tables left. 3 more newbies are arriving next week. 2 the following week. And 5 in July.

Do the math, see who's expendable. Seeing how I'm the lowest of low interns, and in the HR department (always the first to get axed/pushed/mistreated), they have decided that I'm the easiest to dispose of.

Oh woe is me. My big boss (the group HR Manager) is thinking of getting me to sit in her office. What a barrel of fun that would be. I would have to mind my Ps and Qs, endure her nagging (she's actually a nice lady, just naggy) and have to be surreptitious with the (mis)use of my Internet authority. Currently, I'm quite flagrant with the way I display my MSN and Skype and random checking of mail. Shitters man. My supervisor tried to save me by suggesting that it'd be highly inconvenient for my big boss cos I need to move in and out, and she needs to have meetings during which I need to vamoose.... I dunno how that would work out. But my replacement location isn't much better - the interview room. Great. Just freaking great. The interview room has no windows, no telephone, high, uncomfortable chairs and a freaking tiny table.

Hmm, should I ask them to shorten my internship? I just wanna get outta there now if that's my future working conditions.

Urgh.

Birthday Celebrations =)

Yup, some backdated photos from my birthday celebrations... I've been pretty busy with work... Even though it's only been 1 week, and I'm doing mostly administrative work, there's constant stress to complete work ahead of time and deal with an office full of women. Anyway, some photos from my birthday...

Things kicked off with a family dinner at Garibaldi. Two words: freaking fantastic.

The food is flawless but the service could do with some improvement. There's a strict hierarchy with regards to the service and the customers just have to suck it up. We wanted water when we sat down and since we didn't realize there was a hierarchy, we asked a random waiter. He looked at us, smiled curtly and said "immediately". Except, immediately wasn't quite immediately. Only after we asked for the 2nd time, did we get water. It turns out that we had asked the sommelier for water and HE didn't serve water. And since the water/bread server guy wasn't around, we had to wait until he turned up. Amazing, don't you think? And man, was that stupid sommealier a stuck-up bastard. We didn't order wine cos the meal was already horribly expensive, and when the place became busier and he was "forced" to serve some food to our table, he plonked it on our table and walked away quickly because another table asked for wine. Bastard. But all that was soon forgotten when we tasted the food. Beef ravioli with mushrooms in wine sauce. Oh. My. God. I died and went to heaven.

That was the Sunday before my birthday. The following Monday was my Chinese birthday, actual birthday on Thursday. Since my summer school exam was on Friday, I didn't get to celebrate. Sort of. In compensation, my dear mommy planned a steamboat dinner for me on Monday, and I had crab and fondue on Thursday. Fair enough.

Haha, yes, those are Shrek ears on me. Hey, it's for charity ok! And Cheryl got them for me as a joke. Don't you just love older sisters?

Met Pei Wen and Mei Bao for dinner on Friday and ate Japanese. Thanks for the celebration even if I was a last minute substitution. Humpf.

But the week was capped off in a fantastic way. My celebration with Fadz. He brought me to watch Pirates of the Caribbean since I was dying to see Orlando Bloom on the big screen. He more than delivered. He brought me to Vivocity Gold Class! I was so freaking excited!

Orlando Bloom looks so much better on a big screen. I nearly flooded the place with my drool. And it was such a long movie that lounging all over a huge, comfy seat made it sooo much better. The retractable seats are damn fun to operate. No one to kick my seat!

Dinner was at Baladi, this Lebanese place at Arab Street. There's a hilarious story. Fadz had made a reservation at this other Lebanese place he found on the Internet. We got to Arab street, and it turns out to be a COFFEESHOP. Apparently, they changed management, but kept the same name. And there on a table, was this reservation sign with Fadz name on it. I nearly collapsed onto the floor with laughter. My poor baby. Luckily I recalled this place nearby that Aaron Aziz goes to and we went there for dinner instead. No aircon, so that was a little icky... But the food was pretty good and the service was decent. Hahahaha... nothing like a man who can make me laugh.

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! And it certainly was! Moreover, the staying in to study on my birthday sure was worth it. I got an A+ for Portfolio Management!!!! :] :] :] :]

Happy Birthday To Me!

You know, some people hate celebrating birthdays, or think that they aren't anything special. But I love, love, love birthdays! Especially mine, of course.

It's such a happy time... A celebration of my being, of aging gracefully another year, of gaining another year of knowledge and experiences. How can it not be glorious?

And it started off on a great note. I had gone to sleep early cos I only slept 2 hours the previous night, thanks to last minute changes to my project. At 12 midnight, my mum and sis burst into my room, and I thought they had gone nuts. Geraldine starting saying fire! fire! and I was CONVINCED she had lost it (she later claimed I refused to wake up to my mum's gentle prodding so took a more extreme stand). And there he was, my darling baby holding a piece of Oreo Cheesecake that he had made for me cos I had mentioned it before.

So in my dishevelled, bleary, post-lack of sleep bad skin self, I could only grin like an idiot. Awww.... love my brown cow. Bless his current cooking life phase.

So even though there's the incessant drilling outside my house, the still slightly-groggy feeling from weird sleeping patterns, and the need to study for my exam tomorrow, they ain't gonna rain on my parade.

Happy Birthday To Me! xoxo

Let The Celebrations Begin!!!

Well, it's that time of the year again. When the special one (moi) turns 2-2 on the 24th. I luurrrvvveee my birthday week... a week long of (food) debauchery and celebrations. Love it love it love it.

And if anyone wants to show me some love, here's my wishlist... Muahahaha....

Sigh, bad thing is, I have an exam on Friday, so no fun for this poor girl on Thursday. :P

Beijing Finale

Well, we've pretty much reached the halfway point and by then, the old people were getting pretty weary. They would seek out benches and sit down at every available place; the poor guide, she was left with the task of throwing the whole itinerary away or plodding ahead regardless of the old people. Oh well.

These are some photos from day 4 and 5. Day 6 didn't offer many things to take pictures of, so didn't add any photos. Besides, I sprained my ankle on the 6th day, so only bitter memories. -_-'''

We saw the Olympic Countdown Timer, walked around Tiananmen Square. That was exciting, seeing how there are plainclothes detectives who have been trained in foreign languages to listen in on conversations and haul away anyone if they even mentioned anything bad about China, Mao or the other M-word - massacre. Yes, even tourists aren't spared.

Also went to a theme park. Don't know why it was in the itinerary when the average age of the group was 50, and they didn't allow people over the age of 50 to take certain rides. Duh. But I went on this super scary ride (see above). It's like the ultimate Viking ride. The thing hits a perpendicular and it truly felt like I was about to get flung out of my seat. Not only does the ride go from side to side, but the round thing spins 360 degrees continuous. Nausea-inducing. My knees were shaking when I came down. Hiak Hiak.

We had to change hotel on the last day and checked into this spa resort that had a sauna in the room. Yup, there was a freaking sauna in my room. Muahahhaaha. But the hotel service was beyond lousy and it was quite a heinous experience on hindsight. Totally not worth the time and effort.

Erm, things are a bit choppy cos I'm in class right now and the TA is sitting behind me. Oops.

This Takes The Cake...

Oh.My.God. You have to watch this. I nearly died from rolling off my chair in laughter. To be fair, I'm sure they had to interview thousands of people in order to find these few gems. But still. STILL.

Watch at your own peril. And no... I know smart Americans. It's just fun to laugh at them sometimes. :P

Disclaimer: No malicious intent was erm, intended, in showing this clip.

Someone Finally Wants Me!

I'm employed, I'm employed, I'm employed!

Now I can stop feeling sorry for myself and think that I'm useless and worthless as a potential employee. Yes, Ms Chan is rejuvenated.

Well, I was hoping for this 6-month internship at Starwood Hotels and Resorts but they are taking forever to come back with a reply. So in the mean time, I applied to another company, Global Brands. They are a relatively young company, founded in 2003, with 14 global offices. Their main line of work is to promote and manage their brand partners' products and promotions and their partners include FIFA (woohoo!!), PGA, Warner Bros., Bum Equipment and Marvel. When I was at the interview, I overheard one of the employees discussing about the promo posters and signboards to be used for the release of the Harry Potter movie, what would work, what colours are more appropriate. So exciting!

So what am I doing? According to my supervisor, the company has absolutely no electronic Human Resource tracking system, and their employee records are mostly still in paper form. That's where I come in. I have to create a HRIS (human resource information system) to track all their employees globally. Things like personal information, compensation and benefits packages, private information etc. etc. etc.... Basically, I have to communicate with all the employees, get the information (because even then there are missing gaps), organize and devise a workable system so that future employees will be more easily managed.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you are thinking. Sounds like bloody data entry. Hey man, I'm not so proud and arrogant as to think that I'd be doing executive work as a lowly intern. Everyone has to start somewhere and since I don't have any experience in HR, nothing is above or below me. So I just hope I don't screw up. Seeing how this position is for someone meticulous and with an eye for detail....

Yes, I've managed to bluff my way through many data entry jobs. Even for my last Finance project, I came up with the model, but my team mates had to pore over the numbers cos erm, I'm not that careful. Hahahahaha!

Besides, this means I'd get to see what my supervisor is paid and if she gets a little something something, if you know what I mean. Ah, what power.

I start work on the 28th May, I end summer school on the 26th, my birthday is on the 24th. Hmmm, no break for this lady.

Trials and Tribulations of Life on the MRT

Singaporeans are vicious, vicious people. Drivers whine all the time about the bad traffic on the road but until you've been traumatised on the MRT during peak hour, you ain't seen ugly.

Aside from the usual assholes who block the entrance and pretend not to hear you say "Excuse me" until you practically yell in their ear; bastards who read newspapers (the big Straits Times, not Today) despite passengers being pressed chest to chest and hence inevitably whacking everyone around him/her with the stupid paper; jerks who lean on the pole and leave a whole group of passengers to wobble precariously whenever the MRT jerks; the poseurs who choose the "speaker" option on their phones and blast emo music and ignore the death glares directed at their way . I hate these people.

I hate going to school in the morning. Seriously. It is possibly the most horrifying experience EVER. I attempt to take the through train that goes directly to City Hall instead of having to transfer at Jurong East. Sometimes I manage to hop on the earlier train at 7.34am, but usually I'm stuck with the 7.44am one. Bad choice. By the time the train gets to Bukit Gombak, people are semi-pressed against the door. I feel really bad when I take advantage of pockets of space and squeeze in, but when there's really no way, I give up. But yesterday, when I made it into the train, this stupid guy used his stupid back and pushed backwards, creating some space for himself. But seeing how he might be caught by the closing train doors, he squeezed behind me and effectively squashed me between his belly and the train door. I was stuck in that position, my back against his belly, face against door, until I reached Jurong. Dickhead.

I fervently hoped that my trial was over but noooooo, the train gods have to test me. I was standing next to this Indian woman and we were near one of the poles. She was standing 3 seats away but STRETCHED her hand across the space and held on to the pole with a death grip. Was it because she was falling? No. It was to block me from accessing any seats that might suddenly be available. She was basically reserving 3 seats and the probability that someone would get up soon. Bloody bitch. We were near the door so more and more passengers kept pressing into the cabin and squashing me, but she obstinately refused to move despite space in the middle opening up. Arrrgh!!! In frustration, I pushed past her to the empty spot and STILL, her death grip persisted. The only consolation I received was that she left before anyone stood up. HAHAHAHAHA, the gods have spoken, bitch!

And another thing we're all guilty of is profiling. We all do it. In a bid to get a seat, you assess the people seated and attempt to make a guess as to who would get up soon. The ones dressed in suits --> headed for town. The ones dressed not so well --> most likely destined for the industrial parks and suburb offices. And people with laptops? Dover / Singapore Poly. That might explain why people refuse to move once they have zeroed in on a potential target. The belief that a person was going to get up soon.

Me? I'm equally culpable. One time during the peak hour on my way home, I zoomed in on this Indian/Bangla-looking dude. I know it's stereotyping and racism, but I usually associate the Banglas with 2 locations: Jurong West (bad) and Outram (good). Good because that means they are leaving soon and I will get the seat. So when I saw that this Bangla was dressed quite well, I thought perhaps he was going to Little India for a little R&R. So I stood in front of him. When we arrived at Outram, a Chinese dude 2 seats down got off. -_-''' I never said it was a science.

But the ultimate gross act has to be people who think of the MRT as a grooming station and attempt to groom themselves in PUBLIC. The nail clippers, nose diggers, hair pluckers. Argh, argh, argh. And how do they pluck hair? Easy. Take 2 10-cent coins, use said coins like tweezers and by positioning hair follicle between coins, tug until hair comes free. Of course, remember to fling body waste around the cabin because the other passengers DON'T MIND.

Fuck. I truly hate these Singaporeans/foreigners. See, I'm not racist. I just hate motherfuckers who don't have respect for public property, regardless of race, language or religion.

Check out my Slide Show!

Beijing - Part 2

Ok, I'm a bigger procrastinator than I thought possible. Day 3 of 9.

We visited the Ming Tombs and climbed the Great Wall on the 3rd day of our trip. The Ming Tombs are similar to the Egyptian Valley of the Dead, with the remains of 13 Ming emperors that ruled China from 1409 to 1644 buried there. The Ming Tombs were ravaged by the Red Army during the Cultural Revolution to show that the royalty was overly decadent even in death. Hence, all that remains of the once magnificant crypt are replicas. Such a great pity; so many national treasures lost. Also, part of the treasures were pillaged by the marauding French Army. Which brings about the biggest tragedy of all: a lot of China's art and historical artifacts can be found in Western museums, and the China tourists have to go out of China to view such artifacts.

The other amazing thing about the Ming Tombs is its architecture. With the high arching walls, voices are carried all around and there's a coolness that permeates the place. One of the highlights is this amazing door that used to guard the entrance to the Emperor's tomb. It is incredibly heavy and almost impossible to move; apparently, one tomb was blast open unceremoniously because the soldiers couldn't move the door. But there's this catch in the door that when fitted with a key, swings the doors open with amazing ease. More Chinese ingenuity.

But definitely, the day was meant for the unforgettable Great Wall. Seriously, seeing the pictures and being there are 2 complete events. The structure stretches for miles and miles, and covers the mountain. We only climbed one portion, but I was out of breathe by the time I reached the top. However, I took 25 minutes to scale that portion of the Great Wall and hence, am immensely proud.

But the thing is, I was nearly humiliated by this old dude in my tour group, Mr Ng. Now, Mr Ng is 70+ and definitely no spring chicken. No doubt, he got a headstart and was like 2 flights of steps ahead of me, but he was relentless and kept pushing forward. Tirelessly. And there I was, huffing and puffing away, and he was like taking a bloody stroll through the park. So to avoid being outclimbed by an old man 3 times my age, I summoned my energies and overtook him in the end. I know, I know, beating an old man ain't no glorious thing...

But I took a picture at the top of the Wall to celebrate being the 1st 2 people up the Wall.

You know what? When I reached the final 10 steps, I felt like Rocky running up the Capital Building. I nearly burst into the Rocky theme song. I was THAT proud.

Beijing - Part 1

It has dawned on me that I posted photos only from the 1st city (out of 6) that I visited in Vietnam way back last year. Hmmm, guess I grew bored from the sorting, arranging and uploading of photos. Hope this Beijing trip doesn't end up with the same fate. Anyhoo, it was only a 6-day trip and fingers crossed that I'd make it to the end and not lose interest before that.

Going on organized tours has never been my thing cos you're restricted by your fellow tour members, and I've never felt that way as acutely as this trip. When the average age of all participants is 50 (and that's after taking into account an 18-month old toddler), I had the sinking feeling that there was going to be a lot of resting, waiting and general lack of a spring in the step.

Not to be catty, but I was so right, and then some. Didn't realize senior folks had to go to the toilet so many times a day. Shall never take my ability to hold my pee for 14 hours on a train in Vietnam for granted ever again. The horror of a gross toilet can sometimes overcome any urge to relieve oneself.

But having said that, the trip was fun enough, the older folks friendly and jovial; pity the way we were rushed from historical site to historical site. I felt like before I could soak up the culture, I was being herded off to the next destination. The cattle associations are intentional because that was exactly how I felt amongst the thousands of people we encountered at each place. Simply madness.

The flight on Air China was uneventful; the piping of Chinese music into the cabin at the start and end of the flight, coupled with less than appealing stewardesses made me sleep all the way. However, the food, I must say, was better than I thought it would be.

Pardon the shakiness. Was experiencing a long bout of turbulence. And yes, the flight was cold, as evidenced by the poor ang moh guy in the background.

We finally arrive in Beijing after 6 hours, and had to endure a very abrupt landing because the runway is damn short!!! Here, I must caution all visitors to China. In order to prevent hundreds of people from cursing at you, please be aware that there's this arrival form that you must fill up before you can clear immigration. The forms are available at a counter before you reach the immigration checkpoint. Please do not be one of those stupid, inconsiderate assholes who arrive as a group, do not have the arrival card, and hold up the queue for 30 minutes because they are stupid and stand at the counter filling up their stupid forms, instead of moving aside and letting other people pass through. So there. Be forewarned. And I'm sure those people got a massive earache from all the cussing I did.


A long bus ride ensued and I got my first glimpse of Beijing. If you can't see the picture clearly (I was taking through the glass ok), the facade is all crumpled on purpose, like it has been hit by a train. Maybe the Chinese think it's artistic....

The atmosphere in the city is electrifying, to say the least. It seems like the entire city has rallied together to get the place spruced up and ready for the Olympics. You can see it everywhere; massive construction, souvenirs and memorabilia being hawked at every corner, even our China tour guide had an Olympic pin on her jacket the whole way through. Apparently, the government has passed an order declaring that all work not related to the Olympics has to be postponed and the workers have been redirected to Olympic projects.

Our tour guide, Long Jie, was very nice and chatty. Throughout the whole trip, she kept feeding us with ancient China history and for the most part, I found it fascinating. However, most of the group fell asleep promptly whenever she launched into another history lesson. Poor thing man. They only perked up when she talked about current day Beijing and it's practices. Also, things that we had to look out for. Like the beggars and touts that surrounded the tour bus whenever we disembarked, thrusting hands and merchandise in your face. And we had to be especially wary of anyone who got too close as they were all potential pickpockets. Yes, murder may have gone down in the city, but pickpocketing and robbings are still plentiful. And giving you fake money. Yup, very commonplace, especially for the bigger notes like the 50s and 100s. People get cheated all the time.

Our first stop was Wangfujing, this shopping district much like our Orchard road. You see shopping centres that range from Paragon to Lucky Plaza, side by side. And since they are government-run, the service is.... minimal. A common mantra in this city is "Start work on time, end earlier than stated". Simply because there is no incentive to work harder. You work less, you work more, you still get paid the same.


I thought those 2 guards in the 2nd photo were from the People's Liberation Army, akin to our Armed Forces. Turns out they're merely security guards; the equivalent of our Cisco guards. -_-''' And I was so excited at having taken a picture with them. was wondering why they were so friendly, though.

Fake flowers are also very, very common in China. Those next to my mum are fake, fake, fake. I suppose since China is so big, and flowers really do make a drab place look better, fake flowers make more economic sense, and they last forever too.

Wanfujing is also famous for its street food, which is simply heavenly. We only got to walk around for 1.5 hours which was a real shame because we didn't get to do much. I didn't get to sample much either because I had just finished a 10-course dinner. But if you do get a chance, skip the restaurants and head straight for the street food.

Day 2
The day started off brightly enough, but we were soon caught in a brisk afternoon shower. The weather was pretty cold when I went there, so the rain didn't exactly help. Despite the cold weather, the sun shone unbearably bright, which explains why I'm almost wincing in a lot of the photos.


And it's off to the Beijing Sports University first. Here's where they train all their future Olympic hopefuls. The training is of course gruelling but it's such a thrill to watch them perform. We caught a glimpse of the gold medal-winning female gymnastic team and even though they had not perfected their routine, they were still breath-taking to watch. Oh, and we got a tour guide for the school. She's a track and field hopeful, so I told her I wanted to take her picture just in case she got famous.

And yes, Chairman Mao is everywhere; busts, pictures, statues... the whole nation is still incredibly enamoured by him and it's evident in the differential way in which our tour guide mentions his name. Often in the same sentence with other greats like Qin Shi Huang (If you dunno who that is, tsk tsk; he's one of the great Chinese Emperors).


Next stop, Summer Palace. I really loved hearing the history behind Summer Palace. The Summer Palace wasn't anything great when Cixi's husband was in power. But she persuaded her son, Guangxu, to tell his father to use the money originally set aside for buying modern guns and equipment to fend off Western forces and use it instead, on upgrading the Summer Palace so that Cixi would have a nice place to live in. What a fillial son, eh? So Guangxu did as he was told and when the British came attacking, the Chinese military found boxes of sand instead of ammunition. So yeah, Cixi basically destroyed the Chinese empire and let Western forces in. All for a beautiful palace.

But the summer palace is lovely indeed, and is bordered by this long corridor that is adorned with thousands of paintings. The corridor runs along the Kunming Lake, and hence the royalty was ensured a jaunt along the lake even when it rained. How thoughtful.

Our last stop for the day was the Forbidden City. The grandeur of the palace was awe-inspiring. To think that the entire place was built without a single nail. Amazing.


Many of the buildings were undergoing refurbishing in order to be ready for the Olympics, hence we didn't even get to enter the main palace. But as we strolled through the palace, the guide was telling us about the history and practices that took place in the palace, which made the tour all that more interesting. The long corridors that signified how special the emperor was; even old court officials had to walk great distances, climb many stairs, simply to speak to the emperor. The fact that the emperor changed where he slept every night in order to confuse assassins; how the chamber maids would be locked up with the emperor so that no one could tell the whereabouts of the emperor. Was the royalty decadent? Perhaps. Thousands of people could be starving and the royal family was cocooned in the deepest boughs of luxury. But for someone who was purported to be the descendent of the Heavenly King, I suppose it could seem justifiable. Do you know that the Forbidden City has 999.5 rooms, 0.5 rooms less than the palace of the Heavenly King? This was to show deference to the Heavenly King and acknowledgement that he was still ultimately numero uno.

We ate a lot on the trip; it was only after the 2nd day that my mum told me we were on a gourmet tour, and here I was thinking that I was in China to soak up the history and culture.

Silly me.

No Man's Land

I'm stuck in limbo. Or rather, I've been royally screwed by my results this semester. Officially the worst semester EVER. And that's taking into account my C from last term... damn. B, B, B+, B+. I'm BORDERLINE. I'm BLOODY screwed. I'm a BO DOH.

So why am I in the middle? My dreams of a magna cum laude have flown away. I'm now at a cum laude. In order to maintain a cum laude, I need 5 Bs and 1 B-. Not too difficult. In order to get a magna, I need 3 A+s and 3 As. Impossible. Absolutely fucking impossible. I might have a better chance if I slept with all my professors, but what happens if I get a female prof???

Anyway, if I give up and accept fate, I can pretty much relax a little. But I feel so dissatisfied. On a logical level, I know there's no way I can achieve such results. Can you imagine how gutted I'd be if I got like 5As (Which is already over-the-moon results)? How can I subject myself to such torture and self-loathing?

So how? What to do? Que sara sara? C'est la vie? Stick it to the man?

I hope the graduation gown doesn't make me look fat. (I know, how random).

Bad Karma Sucks

Went for an internship interview this morning. I applied for this 6 months internship and if I get it, it would mean pushing back one semester and I'd effectively graduated on my original date, i.e. July 2008. However, looking at the signs, I doubt I'd get the job.

Signs of Bad Karma Indeed:
1. I arrive 2 minutes late for my interview when proper ettiquette dictates that I should be at least 5 minutes early.

2. The building (Suntec Tower 4) was damn freaking far from the MRT, which partially explains why I was late, hence causing me to semi-sprint to the building, and arriving kinda crumpled from the heat.

3. I was still sweating throughout the hour-long interview.

4. Worst of all, because I had previously applied to Visa International and proceeded to use pretty much the same template for this internship application (Starwood Hotels and Resorts), and having brazenly declared that I am METICULOUS, my interviewer pointed out that I had referred to Starwood as Visa in my application. -_-''' "It's interesting that you mention you are meticulous because do you know which company you addressed your cover letter to?"

5. And to cap it all off, as I was leaving, I met Regina, this year 4 student who is a) graduating NOW and hence able to take on a full-time position after the internship and b) highly capable and too smart. A quick call to my girls confirmed my worst fears: she's too good.

I'm fucking screwed.

I'm back peeps. And starting summer school in exactly 8 hours and 30 minutes. Someone wake me up from this nightmare.

Beijing was fun, for an organized tour anyway. Plenty of old folks.

Oh, and I sprained my ankle on the last day. So graceful, right?

Update soon. Photo blog to come (I'll try my best).

P.S.: Beijing is a bloodsucker. Ensure pockets are full of green before embarking there.

Cheerios XOXO :)

And I'm Off...

Well, my exams ended (badly, may I add) officially yesterday and I'm off to Beijing! Typing this at the airport while waiting to board the plane... China Airlines - expectations, nothing really. I saw one of their air stewardesses and already, the bar has been lowered significantly.

Ok, I'm currently running on a lack of sleep (3 hours! Football is taking over my life! I love Manchester United! Haha, too bad Watford!!!) and too much coffee. Great.

By the way, Changi Airport has a big problem: stupid, inconsistent immigration officers. Do you know that Changi Airport is trying to implement an automated system? So there I was, lining up like a law-abiding citizen waiting for my passport to be checked. I'm second in the line. Suddenly, this stupid immigration officer asks me to use the automated system. He asked my family specifically. But a bunch of aunties (and I do mean old aunties) got flustered/kiasu and decided to move to the automated queue. Like a huge bunch of old people. Cue lots of problems and taking 3 times more than it would have taken if I had just stayed in the original queue. Stupid, stupid immigration officer. My dad was rightfully outraged. Assholes. Sheesh. What a way to start a vacation.

Ok, it's getting weird typing this cos people are peeking over my shoulder. And I need to board. Toodles! Be back on the 20th!

Miss me. (:

"Me" versus "We"

The dangerous thing about being in a long-term relationship is that "me" starts to blur and "we" seems to take on a stronger persona. Other people start seeing you as part of a unit, and your individuality takes a backseat. I find that fucking annoying. It's like hellloooooo, I'm still me. How about focusing on me for a while, and not just fucking assume it's always we? Don't get me wrong, I love being in a relationship and all, but when fucking ignorant people attempt to address 2 separate people as 1, that just sets me off.

I hate it when people start defining me by using Fadz. Who the hell starts a conversation with "Eh, where's Fadz?" or "Isn't this football night? Where's your better half?" Erm excuse me, who died and made you the expert on what is proper football watching ettiquette? And whatever happened to a simple "You're watching football?"

Of course that pissed me off. And when I tried to reverse the tactic and use the same line of questioning, some people are simply so oblivious, or in this case, lacking in a strong personality, to realize a taunt. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive. But the point is, I refuse to be defined by my relationship. I'm ME. I just happen to be in a relationship, My life is still mine, and you can begin a conversation by asking after ME, thank you very much. It's nice that you enquire about my boyfriend, but when you start a conversation by directly enquiring after him, what does that make me? Chopped liver?

I suppose some people have utterly no character, no personality, no sense of being, other than that as defined by one's surroundings, group associations or friends/family.

Well screw you, you pathetic excuse for a human being. This is ME, Joanne, Goddess of unstable emotions. You acknowledge me, and then perhaps I might acknowledge your existence. Attempt to define me by other people, and you become insignificant to me. Because you obviously don't understand. And you're not worth my time. So bugger off.

You've been warned.

Ramblings

Have moved into Cheryl's digs for the exam period. My block is currently getting a facelift (lift ungrading) and the noise is absolutely intolerable. Coupled with some new neighbours moving in and all that insufferable knocking at random hours of the day... Let's just say I'm not even a mugger normally. But all that noise just seems to make it too easy for me to throw the towel in. Besides, I was getting incredibly cranky. I was starting to glare at anyone who even resembled a constructoin worker. I know, I know, it's not their fault. But hey, I need to channel my angst towards someone, yeah?

I don't think I'm made out for the loner lifestyle. Cheryl is gone for most of the day so I spend my time pottering around an empty house. Locking myself in my room at home is still a vast difference from being all alone in a house from 8am to 9pm (yeah, that's how long civil servants work, so maybe people should layoff them for earning so much). At least I know that if I need some human contact, I can simply walk out of my room and talk to me mum. But over here.. I know no one. I can interact with no one. And I'm BORED STIFF. Where's my cable tv????

Sigh, I'm so looking forward to Beijing. The guide told us to expect sandstorms at least 2 out of 6 days. Goodie. I want a facial but that'd probably take my skin off. Or blow me off the Great Wall. What a spectacular way to end my life.

Hmm, definitely cranky. When I take such great pleasure plotting my own demise, something has GOT to be wrong.

Beijing, Oh Beijing!

I'm off to Beijing on the 15th of next month! No, not for an internship or something studious, but just a holiday jaunt to my ancestral land to celebrate me Dad's birthday.

Great Wall of China, are you ready for moi? *excited*

I just hope the pollution doesn't make this trip memorable for the wrong reasons.

I Heart Morton's

Double cut fillet mignon, $79.

Tattinger Sparkling Wine, $160.

Tuxedo-ed maitre d speaking Singlish, priceless.

I luurrrvveee Morton's Steakhouse. It serves handsdown the BEST steak in Singapore. Seriously. I think I ate a piece (or many pieces) of heaven last night. Plus, the service was impeccable, save for that one shock of hearing the maitre d speak Singlish to my Dad. It was so shockingly out of place that I had to stifle a giggle because our server of the evening was a Malay girl who spoke flawless English with a slight British accent, and yet the maitre d was a backslapping, laugh-out-loud Singlish speaking Chinese dude who seemed more at home in a Chinese restuarant.

My family had dinner at Morton's last night to celebrate Cheryl's promotion. She was treating, hence I had no qualms about eating well. Hey, how often do you get to indulge in decadent steak?

Cheryl and I wisely decided to share a double cut fillet mignon because the portions are insanely big. When the steak first arrived, I sniggered slightly at the seemingly small steak. After halving it, it looked even more pathetic. Well, looks are deceiving. While it may be small in size, it's thickness more than overwhelmed me.

But my first bit into the steak has made me a lifelong devotee of Morton's steak. Morton's is famous for its aged beef, hence its steak is incredibly tender and moist. Never have I tasted steak that is so incredibly tender that it seemingly dissolves after a few light chews, and yet retain enough texture so that you don't feel like you're eating air. Lightly charred on the outside, but beautifully pink and juicy on the inside. A light sauce accompanies the steak, but seriously, the steak in all its wonderfully beefy juices was more than adequate flavouring.

Geraldine devoured a prime rib steak by herself, Dad ate a steak and king crab legs combo till he became slightly sick from all the food, and Mum delicately polished off a fantastic pan-seared peppercorn tuna steak. That too, was amazing, and my one single bite afforded me a peppery, substantial tuna that was still beautifully raw in the middle.

The steaks are served without any side dishes, so we ordered a couple. Even the side dishes are deserving of worship. The sauteed mushrooms and onions (I know, I know, onions) exploded with amazing flavours. The potato skins were tasty, but disappointingly pedestrian.

And the desserts. Oh god, the desserts. We were all really stuffed, but hey, what's a meal without desserts right? And people, we always have stomach for desserts.

Morton's Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake deserves all the accolades. Lovingly warm in the centre with gooey chocolate oozing out, the crust is crunchy and not overpoweringly sweet. We also ate the creme brulee that felt like a gazillion calories with every bite, but oh so worth it. A crispy, torchblown sugar crust hid a deliciously light whipped cream bottom.

Sparkling wine throughout the meal complemented a great meal. Oh god, I love Morton's so much. And more importantly, I love my crazy family. A lot of people may think that we are very rich and extravagant, but it's not true. We stay in a HDB flat, my family doesn't own a car, Cheryl has one but it's so embarrassingly banged up that it's heading for the scrapyard (boy, was that embarrassingly when we passed the car to Oriental's valet), and I wear clothes from Far East Plaza and Bugis.

But we love our food, man do we love our food. We have no qualms about spending big on food; it's our one biggest vice and pleasure. Food is the source of life. We truly, truly appreciate gastronomic delights and experience. So Amen for that attitude and I can only imagine better things to come.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

I'm fucking annoyed. Some people are really, really stupid turds of shit. Seriously, how difficult is it to get my name correct?

It's like a global virus hitting the stupid button. Brains are freezing. The ability to discern between similar names has evaporated. A lot of the people left standing just call people by whatever name they deem fit. Fuckfaces.

It started with York during Leadership and Team Building. He kept calling me Joanna. Presentations, group meetings, emails; even on the cover pages of our projects. He would introduce me as Joanna to the class, directed work to me as Joanna. I was beyond mad.

I love my name and I refuse to allow it to be bastardize. So I took action. I specifically emailed all our group members and signed off as JoannE. I explicitly told him to please take care because my name was spelt as JoannE with an "E". You know what he did?

He replied, "I'm sorry, JoannaE."

I nearly fell off my chair. It was only after 6 weeks of constant bombarding, a feedback session during which I told him it was rude that he mis-said, misspelled my name because I felt it showed a lack of concern to properly learn my name, before he finally got it right. Sheesh.

Over the years, I encounter people who are so accustomed to Joanna that they slip up occasionally. But usually, they get it right once I politely correct them.

But never have I met such a fierce adversary. She's relentless, aggressive and stubborn. She's also my prof. Not only does she call my by the wrong name, but also by the wrong SURNAME. I don't even know how she comes up with it.

It started harmless enough. She called me Joanna, I said Joanne. She persisted, I countered nicely. But then she started calling me Joanna Lee. And I'm totally like, What the Fuck? Not only do you disrespect me, you disrespect my surname!

But she's my prof. I can't tell her she's a blatant retard, right? I was so exasperated once that I just yelled out "Joanne Chan!!!!". But no, she's old. She's a spinster. She's my prof. How much more can I protest?

Someone please tell me what I can do. I'm despairing. And if any of you call me Joanna, I'd have to kill you. :)

And to all those people with similar sounding names, I completely sympathize with you.

Abused Names...

~ Joanne/Joanna ~

~ Martine/Martina ~

~ Christine/Christina ~

~ Florentine/Florentina ~

~ Coral/Coralla ~

Ok, this is spiralling out of control. Will take it as my personal mission to exterminate stupid people. So I say, vote for me. Bring me to power. And then I'll go about reducing the number of idiots walking this earth.

It's The Small Things In Life...

...that brings tears to my eyes. Sometimes, we get so caught up with grand ideas that the little things in life get forgotten.

And these are the small things that make me happy to be alive...

1. Making it to the toilet just in time after holding your pee in for the last hour because your professor/annoying class mate simply won't shut up.

2. Biting into a warm bun after having missed breakfast because you woke up too late.

3. Knowing that the weekend is just around the corner.

4. Letting rip a burp after a great buffet.

5. Receiving a flower even though the giver thinks it's a waste of money.

6. Offering to hold my laptop as an act of chivalry.

7. Walking into sunshine after being cooped up in an air-conditioned, sub-zero temperature room.

8. Getting a compliment on my outfit.

9. Taking off my killer shoes after a long day and relieving the pressure of the blisters on my toes.

10. Getting to the end of an annoyingly boring class.

Yup, like I said, the small things in life. And also, I'm easily contented. Haha!

You Mean It Was Chinese New Year?

This has got to be one of the toughest Chinese New Year's I've ever experienced... Ok, the 1st 3 days were fun because all I did was eat, gather ang paos and play mahjong. Played lots and lots of mahjong and I just kept winning. Even when I didn't want to win, even when my mum and sister threw the winning card one after another and I refused to win because I felt bad, I ended up zi-mou-ing the card myself. :)

But the days after that were simply hell. I was in school from Wednesday to Friday doing the stupid case competition, getting riled up and let my emotions run high, annoyed myself to the high heavens... sigh. In the end, we didn't get chosen. Mixed feelings about that because on one high, I was ecstatic that I didn't have to see those 3 people anymore. But to think that I wasted all that time for naught, and caused me to do shoddy work for my school work. Merde...

I had a term paper due on Monday and could only start doing it on Sunday because I still had Waikiki (an annual school beach event) to attend and help out with. I was burnt to a crisp as usual. Ah, the curse of being fair... :(

But when I handed in the term paper, apparently we were supposed to choose a research paper (i.e. hypothesis, research, with numbers basically) and I chose a research article (qualitative information). I think my face fell so rapidly that my prof tried to comfort me and said what was done was done. Haiz...

So yup, my Chinese New Year was fleet and painfully short. At least I won money.

Sadomasochist

The above title would apply to me. Why, why, why do I persist in making my life miserable? Why do I seem to enjoy engaging in activities that are bound to end in suffering and pain? Why, why, why, indeed.

No, I'm not talking about whips and physical torture, but more of a gigantic headache and miserable emotions when I subject myself to working with people of a certain nationality. No names of course, or else later the government hurls me to court and charges me for racism. That, or for scaring foreign "talent" away.

Let me now explain my situation/predication a little...

There's this Citibank case competition that I thought would be good exposure to join. Crotch (you remember him.. from my OCBC days) asked if I was interested in forming a team with him and in a moment of folly, I agreed. Even though my OCBC working experience wasn't a joyful thing to remember. It's a woman thing... recall how women forget how painful childbearing is, therefore allowing multiple pregnancies? It's the same logic. We know it's painful, but having forgetten HOW painful, we allow the same situation to persist.

Anyway, the team Crotch formed eventually consisted of 3 people from the same nationality and ME. No price for guessing what happens next.

I simply don't get it. How do they manage to live with themselves and their inflated egos? It's like having to deal with 2 people within the same body. In fact, I'm quite certain a person of that nationality would be able to have a lengthy discussion all by himself/herself simply because he/she loves the sound of his/her voice. It's simply amazing. It's like, Hi, I'm Sam. This is my inflated ego, Am. Now shut up bitch and listen to what we have to say. Any lapse in conversation is meant as a breath-intake and NOT for your contribution.

I hate it how they ramble on and on. I hate it how they can spend 8 hours talking BULLSHIT and then declaring the meeting a success. I hate how they can go round in circles, never quite hitting the point, then suddenly declare a division of work, throw you something, and expect it within the next hour. When you dare to give a "huh" face, they make this annoyed sound and proceed to speak SLOWLY (but still in CIRCLES) about what they sort of, perhaps, maybe think the situation is about and what it calls for.

Fuckers. Truly, motherfuckers. There's this one team mate, let's call him FuckFace. He's the kind who thinks he's so damn great, thinks he knows the whole damn world, thinks he's so damn good. Excuse me, if you are so damn good, why didn't you get picked for the Cognitare (this prestigeous elite club in SMU) team? Yes, you speak well, as you rightly pointed out. But the way you frame and present yourself is an INSTANT turnoff. I feel like spitting into your face.I feel like raining punches down on you. You're condescending, arrogant, self-absorbed and an all-around asshole. Maybe the reason you didn't get picked was because you aren't personable and people immediately feel like puking when hearing you speak.

A good speaker is not just one who can speak well, but also one who can connect with the audience. And you, in this aspect, have failed miserably.

Why, why, why, did I think this team was going to work?

Like I said, I'm a masochist.

Happy Valentine's Day

The Fadz man and I decided to beat the crowds and eschew tradition by celebrating V Day earlier. After all, I had a test the day after V Day so it mad more sense to celebrate early. Thank you baby for making the day great and romantic!

A beautiful rose to start the day (5 points!)

So what happens when 2 broke people want to get away for a little romance? A picnic at Botanical Gardens sets up the day nicely.

We had to walk damn far in to escape the smattering of maids, foreign workers and maids with foreign worker boyfriends who hovered near the Tanglin entrance. Lo and behold, we ended up at the same tree when we last visited Botanical Gardens 3 years ago. Talk about deja vu. The tree seems to have remembered us cos it kept dropping its fruits on us. :P

The bandstand where every wedding photo in Singapore seems to be taken at. When we were at the Botanical Gardens, we saw 2 couples circling the swan lake to take wedding photos. -_-'''

I asked Fadz to give me his best commercial pose. I suppose you can interpret this as "What do you mean you've never heard of Bunderburg rootbeer? Nuff said, it's great stuff stupid."

My darling made this outing all the more memorable and wonderful because he prepared all the food and I didn't have to lift a finger! In his exact words " It's my turn to wine and dine you." Awww...

Salad first! Grape salad with cream cheese.

Yummy, I say!

Cheese sausages! Slurp!

I'm eating here.. whatcha looking at?

Boo!

Just lazing around and looking as the white fat clouds roll by...

Chill out time!

What's a meal without great dessert?

Oatmeal peanutbutter cookies... man I'm gonna get fat.

My contribution! Chocolate cupcakes.. There's a 'heart' and 'U' too..

Happy Valentine's Day!

And you know how he made the day even more special? He consented to take me shoe shopping and stood by as I tried on shoe after shoe, nudged aside frantic shoppers and maintained a cheerful composure.

Once a year only mah.

Confused

Hmmm, either his hypocrisy runs much deeper than I thought, or maybe, just maybe, he didn't hear what I was saying. Or he is in supreme denial. I dunno. The not knowing is semi driving me nuts. Chill, I need to chill. I shall play the waiting game.

He messages me to ask for my class slides, like we're on good terms and doing favours for one another is expected. Once again, his superb prowess at making use of people rears its head. Applause, applause. Perhaps due to a guilty conscience, I acquiesced to his request (demand?). Silly, sill me. I should have just said that I had already deleted them.

And then we meet in class. Everything seems fine and dandy. He smiles at me, talks to me. We have a common event to go to after class, so we walk together. We talk some more, he does his patented back rub on me, I can't even be bothered to cringe in annoyance. Close up of his mug follows. Do I even have the strength to feel revulsion?

Perhaps the lack of energy has dimmed my fighting spirit. I simply gave in and couldn't be bothered. He offered to carry my books. At least I had enough self-preservation to reject his offer.

Or maybe I'm reading too much into all this. I should stop all the wondering and thinking what kind of mind games he is playing. What will be will be. What a fatalistic view that is, eh?

The world will always present hypocritical people upon my doorstep. Either I pretend they don't exist (not bloody likely), step on them (how I wish I could!), or do what they do unto me. Smile when I don't mean it. Cooperate when all I want to do is avoid him. Hold my tongue when I want to release a lashing.

Pretend I'm not emotional when I'm really this hysterical drama queen. Sometimes I feel like I want to shout at the world for playing its cruel games with me and ask the world to stop. Scream and rant and hit out at some invisible force that never ceases to make my life uncomfortable and emotionally unbalance.

No, no, not feeling suicidal. Angsty and emo, yes. But tired of living, never. Thank God I take equal delight in hedonistic pleasures that are love, passion and excitement.

The Bitching Bites Back

Oh oh, I was bitching about him to Kristin and Sylvia as we walked back to class, not knowing that he was just behind us. In my typical fashion, I was animated, expressively and above all, LOUD. So suffice to say, he knew who I was talking about.

Yup, bad karma. No wonder his face was so black. And to think that I still have to do project with him. I just hope that we can separate personal from work. At least be civil to each other. Hohoho...

Yes, all that bitching has turned around to bite me. Not the first time, probably not the last. I know I should try to be a better person, but hey, some things need to be said.

Or maybe, I should be more mindful that there are ears all around. Note to self: look around before launching into tirade. You never know who's around the corner.

Another note to self: need to gather more good karma. Hey, does anyone need me to be nice to? You happy, I happy. Muahaha.

Déja Vu

Great, Mr Touchy-Feely is back in my life. No names mentioned, but I'm guessing some of you would know who I'm talking about.

I haven't spoken to him, like had a proper conversation, for close to 1.5 years. And suddenly, just because I'm in his class and happened to be assigned to the same group as him, he starts being all chummy and acts like we're the best of friends.

When we were still on good terms, he once asked me if I felt that he was too touchy, especially with the opposite sex. Since we were quite close (or so I thought), I said I didn't have a problem.

Well, times have changed, bucko. You don't start sms-ing a person you haven't talked to for a long time and ask to form a group even before the school term starts. Luck would have it that even for preassigned groups, I cannot run away from his claws.

And I hate how hypocritical he is. He sees me in the school canteen, smiles at me across the room like some longlost friend, saunters over and leans over, resting his fucking arm on my shoulder, resting all his weight on me, and gives me a close up of his fake, fucking face like I should give a shit.

How is that appropriate? And he continued to do so until I was so irritated 5 minutes later and abruptly stood up. Only then did he move his arm. And the entire conversation revolved around him whining about his grades, his GPA, and whatnot.

Some things never change, I suppose. He would always be only concerned about his grades, never know real friendship, always using people to his own advantage. Well, at least this time I'm not going into the project with any delusions of friendship. I'd be making full use of him to obtain my grade. And once the project is over, there would be no reason for more small talk.

SMU Lexicon

Terminology dedicated to the students of SMU.

Word: SMUck [noun]

Explanation: an SMU student who is annoying, annoying here being relative because some find studious people annoying, people who participate too much annoying, people who are free-riders annoying, and of course, people who are just plain annoying annoying.

Usage: What a SMUck! Only know how to talk, but when ask him/her to do work, no where to be found!

Word: SMUgger [noun]

Explanation: an SMU student who studies too much. Can usually be found reading textbook in the library right from Week 1, and is usually the one who does all the supplementary readings/obscure readings/whole life is doing readings.

Usage: He/She is such a SMUgger! Did you hear some of the questions and comments he/she made in class today? Don't know what the hell he/she was talking about!

Word: SMUgathon [noun]

Explanation: prolonged studying session, usually before exams, that can extent to a week or more. Usually conducted in school, it is an exercise that is carried out in one of the hallowed rooms within SMU. A personal space converted into a madhouse of studying.

Usage: Do you know that he/she has been in school since last week studying? Wah lao, major SMUgathon, can!

Word: SMUgging [verb]
Explanation: the act of furious studying by an SMU student.
Usage: Yeah, I know where he/she is. He/she is SMUgging in the library, what else is new?

And of course, all the words can be used in a single conversation.

What a SMUck! Act like he/she knows so much, very great meh? A chao SMUgger who is always SMUgging in the library! Whole life is a SMUgathon. Loser.

Teehee.

On a lighter note, SMU Volleyball Girls beat SIM and NYP! Woohoo! I never knew sitting on the bench can be such an exhuasting experience, especially this year. The match against NYP was nail-bitingly close... I lost all dignity and voice shrieking to keep morale up when the team lagged behind.

Oh yeah, and I finally got to play. Whoopeeee! Since I'm such an agressive person, of course I would love to be on the attacking end. However, considering that I have a height deficiency (average height in volleyball is 165 - 170cm can...), all I can do is defend. Boohoo. Don't want to be like Liverpool. I want to be Man Utd.

Life is good, just incredibly, incredibly busy. Recorded my trial DJ session... I still need to work on that. Tend to stumble over my own words from being nervous. Oops. And I realize I gesticulate a lot. And I mean a lot. Luckily studio is empty aside from myself. Haha!

Being a TA is exhuasting work. I'm the TA for a leadership and teambuilding course, so I have to act as a facilitator sometimes.. which translates not only to attending the actual lesson, but also attending the meetings that the team of freshies assigned to me have. And let me tell you, there are many, many meetings. Sheesh. And of course, I have to be constantly responsible and remind them of their datelines.

It's funny how the older I get, the closer I get to graduation, the more desperate I am to do all the things that students should do. I sort of coasted through my 2nd year at SMU... aside from volleyball and the internship at OCBC, I don't really recall doing much else. Wish I had been even more involved.

Yeah, I definitely think that students should have CCAs. I simply cannot understand one's desire to merely study and miss out on the entire part of having fun as a student. I just cannot. Going home straight after school ends? Not knowing the highs and lows of being in a team? Scary. Well, that's just me.

School, school, school

I'm having a flu and sore throat, and it's so not fun going to school when you are sick. No wait, it's not fun to go to school, period.

My prof for Analysis of Equity Investments just told us that he doesn't expect us to do our readings before class because we should have better things to do.

I like him. He has balls.

Goodbye 2006, Hello 2007!

2006 saw me...

1. Turn 21 on 24th May.

2. Travel to Vietnam, Taiwan and Melbourne.

3. Jump off a boat into the open sea even though I can't really swim.

4. Nearly break up with Fadzli on 3 occasions.

5. Attain my first A+ and C in school (how sad right?)

6. Finally watch an R(A) movie (Borat.. hohoho).

7. Get my IC checked by a 12-year punk at said movie.

8. Reaffirm my love for Civilization IV.

9. Realize that I'd never be able to play volleyball well.

10. Strip and paint my room all by myself.

2007 will see me...

1. Attempt to DJ for the first time in my life (SMU students, tune in for that!).

2. Sit on the substitute bench at IVP for the final time (goodbye splinters in ass).

3. Be a TA to unsuspecting year 1s.

4. Have a healthier relationship with Fadz.

5. Be in closer contact with my friends (KB gang, are you reading this???)

6. Travel to another glorious country for my parent's wedding anniversary.
7. Do another internship, hopefully at a good hotel.
8. LOSE WEIGHT (yeah right).

9. Make more money.

10. Graduate from SMU and unleash myself upon the working world.

I hope 2007 will be a good one. My final year at SMU. My 5th year anniversary with Fadz. My 10th year anniversary with the KB gang (wah piang, we're damn old can!).

And I've started the year with a big bang by having a flu and sore throat. Brilliant, Joanne, simply brilliant. Alright, I'm off to bed to forget how miserable I am.