the weekend's here!

this morning, i managed to get my lazy ass to the gym..and then i went to work..now i am going off for another work related appointment, again!
got loads more to do ..but heck! let's make an appointment to end it with a bang, ya!

* see that smileyface fireworks..i hope to get to see it once more. the most fantabulous fireworks display i have ever seen, had smiley face, peace signs and daisy fireworks :)

yesterday, he drove me home..we were on the main road, approaching a junction, and this car was coming through without stopping first. he sounded the horn..but the stupid driver did not stop..anyway we missed the car by a mere whisker and both cars just had a tiny bit of paint scratched...my mum sounded worried when i recalled the incident to her.but i was just too tired to feel anything about it.

the worse road incident which i personally got myself into was when i was riding pillion on a motorbike overseas. it came back to me as i read about the fatal accident at batam. i was on the bike with someone who obviously did not have a bike license (because they ARE lax about this overseas) it was a scary ride especially the roads were winding, along mountainous terrains and sometimes a road was just next to a steep slope that plunged down to the sea. my nervousness showed and it happened as we were going back from lunch. we skidded as we turned a corner and i had my calf skin badly scrapped. the experience sort of unnerved me alright, and i took it as a retribution for not listening to my parents..ahhahah who were not too happy that i just left on the spur for a holiday.

my friends and me, we had done our fair share of reckless behaviour..to think of it when i was young(er), i didnt think too much when i do some things and often do things on a wimp. now i am more cautious..simply because i feel that it is just too irresponsible of myself, if i do something that put myself in danger, purposefully and recklessly. it comes with the realisation that my actions not only affect myself but also my loved ones... you know, actually, when i think about it, this comes about simply because i have too many bills to pay..hahah like "who will feed my family and pay the bills.." yeah yeah, ,there's that thing called insurance. but STILL...heh.

do i sound like an aunty? yeah, he thinks so too..and he thinks i am paranoid a lot of times too..i want not to fear. i can have a heart attack and die while seating infront of the laptop. but heck, it is not wrong to want to be safe(r) than sorry.


the holiday that could have been more fun had i not had been 'skinned'

quick note since i am incredibly busy and in that state when i need redbull to survive. which is incredibly B.A.D

but i have been feeling incredibly important and needed. heh.

today, someone spoke to me about the joys of gardening. he was incredibly enthusiastic about growing things like tommoatoes, curry leaves etc.. and was incredibly proud of making a neat profit from selling the sunflowers (?) or was it roses, he grew. i dunno. i got no green fingers. keeping a pet is already a responsibility. hah..so i asked him..errr..can i just put the seeds in and leave it aside? seriously, i always think gardening is cool but dont think i can handle it.

i also wore my new fav black skirt today. the type that flares a bit. and this morning when we had a meeting..i was actually incredibly bored..some salsa song started playing in my mind..and i started dreaming of twirling around wearing 'i just have to dance in it" skirt..like strictly ballroom (yes, i love that show. i am that old in that generation. sorry i didnt catch dirty dancing mambo night or something) but darn, HE would never do a salsa.

but what i actually like about the skirt was it has very high ROI.meaning it is cheap yet it looks good. and looks more expensive than it actually cost. i always look for goods with hight ROI or with good mileage. makes sense, cause i dont have much money to spare.

okie. dats all for the senseless rambling. and also thanks for the sushi meal ;)

"three candles? three years to thirty?"
".. blow the candles" " ...make a wish"
"..i know, what you need badly? hahah..make a wish u can save $X in the next few months.."

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earlier on, my culinary adventures.. i made CHILLI CRAB for my baby's b'day. it's big deal for me okay, since i seldom cook..and i shall try to note it down in the same way as one of my fav netizens, fairy, documents them...and also so that my cooking gal pal advisors can see the result of it all..heh..one of em even conspiringly told me that "if all else fails"..i can get the ready made sauce! but i did it, from scratch. no ready made sauces!

i have spurts of interest in cooking and most often i cook something which my mum doesnt normally cook..and since her attitude towards cooking is different from mine..me being more adventurous..she often shakes her head, and stands aside as i make a mess in the kitchen..we never had home-cooked chilli crabs..so she told me to consult my gal pals who cook..heh.. and so i did..

but i got different variations of the recipes from different people and even from the google search results..but eventually i found a few common essential ingredients..but i didnt follow any fix quantities..same as my attitude towards cooking, which is experimential and "just do it"..i made this dish with a large dose of "agak-ration" or better known as estimation..essentially to follow the taste bud as one proceeds on..




didnt i say, the dish is surprisingly simple to make..the difficult part was choosing the crabs (i got help from this ahpek at shingseong...) and of coz manhandling the crabs (thanked my dad for helping me with this)and then having to crack and clean them .. after the 'dirty work' has been done..we start with the cooking or the pre-cooking. information i got from my advisors, i could steam, boil or quick fry these morsels beforehand to semi-cook them. i chose to steam them..as one told me, so that i can contain the 'essence' in the crabs..while at the same time collect some of the 'sweat' from the steaming to make crab stock. OK.



next comes the part where you will really regret if your cooker hob is spoilt. that is to fry , saute or whatever the base spice. which is the dried chilli that has been grounded with some garlic, a lil bit of ginger, and, my mum chipped in here as she always can never miss, 'dried shrimps", in her cooking



after you've got that base spice to be sizzling and fragrant..you can add the other ingredients that give the dish its 'body'..that will be the stock, some tomato sauce, light sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. this is where my "agak-ration" comes in. i added the ingredients to the taste bud's desire..or as the makcik says it "secukup rasa". but me being the novice cook, had to be doubly sure and asked the expert a.k.a. mum to do a taste test..



next part, is where i made a mistake. that is addition of egg..it should be the very last.. but i added it before i added the crabs. but nevermind..the white egg bits act as pseudo crab meat as well as to thicken the sauce. a lil bit of conrstarch does the job to thicken the sauce as well..



last but not least of coz..the crabs go into the gravy. i dint use a big kuali as all expert chilli crabs cooks are probably using..so i had to put in a lil bit more effort here mixing them and bathing them in the gravy..



and finally....after a few final taste tests..it's done!
does it look like the real thing? wait, it IS the real thing! heheheh...



the ultimate test of coz came when he rang the bell to pick me up. by this time i have changed from the smelly crab cook mode to the girlfriend mode, all dressed up. i told him we are having dinner in when i opened the door..and said it was going to be "chilli crab"...his first expression said "macam betul ke ni?"..heheheh so i led him to the kitchen..and then to the dining table..

and his first word on it.."very good"..i am not kidding!



it is said to be our national dish coz it has elements of the different styles of cooking from the various races..now there is also the angmoh element..we had it with french baguette from delifrance. toasted hot to wipe clean the spicy chilli crab..and i have just to down it with some cool sharp (cannot have sweet or cloying drink with heavy tasting dish) sparkling juice.





okay, no more snapping. it's chow time!


.....and at the end..my parents were amused he could take so much crab from me..heheh. no surprise.



didnt i say he loves his crabs..oh, this time, make it MY crabs!

:)

-oh..last weekend when i did another dish..one madame said on online chat..i shud learn to cook malay dishes..yah..i think i shud..heheh jadi full fledge makcik..my mum thinks it's difficult to teach me in the kitchen..so instead how about anyone giving me the new 'asma laili cookbook' as pressie..baru betul boleh jadi mak cik bedah..lol!

the other team's manager..he has this relationship which reminded me so much of the one we had in the prev place. he's the boss who always kena 'suanned' and who 'suan's..and sometimes....get shouted and screamed at by his female charges. yes, his subordinates. but they mean well, and it is not really a form of disrespect, in fact it is a sign that they have a very healthy working relationship with open communication.. but one can only imagine if the boss was a female..can we get a chance to scold and suan her ? and why do they scream? because he frustrates them with his workaholic tendencies..like sending sms to them in the middle of the night or the weekend to remind them on things.. but we all know that at the core, he's actually a sweet guy. hahaha..just like kk nd kimmy used to get on each other's nerves. n the suaning we had which was funny.

my suan fest in the dreary last two days of work come by from totally different place. i always have a soft spot for this instituition where my boy came from. and the last two 'appointments' at the last hours of the workday somehow have to be with this group of rather smart and but sometimes too 'smart alecky' for their own good, bunch coming from the same instituition as my boy. given the timing of these appointments..they can just be a dreary and draining experience. but most times with these bunch, they are not.

did i mentioned before i like 'my clients' ..for they get my jokes (even tho they're lame sometiems)...and they get the sarcasm and we sometimes get into this suanfest..most times it's me against this group i name 'the gg bunch'..so it's one person against a group and sometimes i have to try very hard to outwit them (of course naturally i get to outsmart them) or at least try to keep a straight face. which is very difficult sometimes. today i had to turn around to surpress that smile and laugh that was about to burst out...but i couldnt hold it and they caught me..and everybody laughed at that ..but i guess that makes it a better way to end the week.

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and MY BOY...he is up partying with his friend rite at this very moment. i called him and what do i hear..pounding music...all part of the 'launch for their new bachelor pad' in the far west i presumed. heh. but i 'give him chance'..i already scared him a few days ago by repeatedly telling him..he's now 3 years away from the big "THREEE-O"

happy birthday old boy!

it's home building time for a lot of newly weds we know..one of our fav online couples and of coz my lovely cousins (and weblog celebs..hehehe)

last nite, we became the kaypoh makcik n pakcik..since we ran out of ideas wat to do in the east..decided to pay my cousins a visit at their new lovenest..i guess we like to share the joy of lovely newly married couple's new house..because we wont be having a new place of our own..so i have to say i am jeles..muahahah..becoz i also want ma own place..we instead can only call a bedroom and one other room to call our own next year. since both of us like to entertain, we hope our friends will still be willing to pay our small lil attic room a visit.

i have already start imagining wat our bodouir and guest room shall look like. right now his room is not very imaginative since it is still bilik bujang...one mattress thrown on the floor, a stereo system and big tv with cable is all it takes for his friends to keep coming to his room so that he wont feel as lonely.

of coz later we have to make sure the additional guest and entertainment room has to be interesting enough to keep our friends coming eh..so i asked my friend mk for help..and these were his suggestions..

a few people have asked me how it has been conducting a part of my job. it has been good. and i love that particular part where i hold centerstage infront of a few hundreds. it is not as unnerving as it may seem unless of course a vip comes in to observe..then it'll probably get one to feel slightly nervous. but as always the case, this anxiety will dissapear once you forget that the person is there at all..

so today i told phyz..that on that monday when i held one session. i actually felt like a powerful person..hahaha sounds silly. but it was true. it wasnt particularly a good start to the week coz i had a busy weekend. so i was in partial bitch mode..meaning i wasnt feeling so pleasant. but i didnt bark. this one just had to pause. stare. though once in a while i had to pause and tick one or two for showing signs of simple harmonic motion.

i have to tell you, all in all, i love my charges. i am very fortunate. the ones i get, most of them make a captive audience. most importantly i can see a spark in some of them. they ask a lot of questions. and both parties learn. so we are like a coalition of the willing towards one goal. which is good. there a few slack ones and a few weaker ones of course..but i just think sometimes give them time..they will wake up from whatever stupour they are in. we know both of us did in the end.

tomorrow there will be a preview for the d i m s u m dollies..it'll cost 10 buckz ..since it is a preview afterall..and it comes with a pint of stout.yucks. but it has to be stout since it is part of that brand comedy night series. of coz i dun drink..so the stout is quite useless. the next question is if i will have the energy to go over...

and so i caught the continuation tonight..when they showed the triumph of a p o l lo 11 landing to the near tragedy of men being flung to outer space of ap o llo 13...

and the moment when they showed this on screen..i couldnt help but exclaimed....



the first view of planet earth from outer space. as taken by a p o llo 8. this year happens to be the 35th anniversary of that landing.

previous day before i watched the show, we actually had a conversation on scientists exploring beyond the moon and further out in the solar system for possibility of human habitat..my reply was actually, why bother. we have f**k up tis one..we are going to do the same to watever planet we get to next..humans are doomed anyway...

now i think that is beside the point..

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last night i watched this show..and i wanted to scream at the end of the hour when the dreaded words appeared "To Be Continued..."

it wasnt a soap opera or one with a hunk or babe..but i was captivated nonetheless..it appeals to the nerd it me..it makes me want to jump up and say, ,"kudos to the engineers, mathematicians ,and scientist of the ,world" .i was watching this show which is based on a book by the flight director of several space missions, apollo13 being one of them. and it traces the story of the race to the moon in the 1960s and the thing that captivated me the most was the human story that has to be told. it was a story of the men behind the scene. the ones in mission control. the group of young men, mostly fresh out of college putting in all their time, energy and heart to realise a challenge set out by a slain president. they were so passionate about their work, they suffer from what is term "gold fever"..and what captivated me as well was..uhmmm being partly a 'science' person is of course the use of maths and physcis to push the boundaries.or more so to test the logic and principles not on paper and not so much on sinmulation at that time but in real life with such intense problem solving scenarios. hence the title of the book and show, 'failure is not an option'. i thought it was just so cool..if you dont understand what i am rambling about, nevermind.

both of us had a busy working weekend..which means some plans had to be cancelled..

but we did have a few updates on THE day..

on friday, we went to the expo. this time it was more for him and we only went to one booth to do the booking. and that was about it. i think we got expo fatigued already. we were with his parents, and they prefer to go with the tried and tested while he just dont mind anything and i have almost come to that point as well.

anyway they went with the same decorator as the one they had for his sis's wedding. ditto for his caterer (which they had already booked some months ago, since i heard it's one of the more popular ones). the decorator brought up an important point, which is his wedding reception location is one of the most popular ones and he might not just get that place..the older folks being conservative and not so rececptive to change were ideed quite worried about this fact. because they REALYY want to hold it there and even mentioned about shifting the date *Nooooo.....

anywway we also made a call to a couple who just had their wedding reception there..and indeed she said we had to be KIASU and get in line (gasp as early as 6am) once the booking for the location is out. oh dear. i think he may just forget about this being quite the slacker sometimes..anyhow we did cracked our brains for a few alternative locations..but we still hope to get that place..

on my side, my mum got wind of some news that my caterer may already be booked for my date..and somehow it appeared there was some miscommunication, my mum thought she had already booked the caterer ..our caterer is a relative who has traditionally been the caterer for weddings in my family. so same same as with all older folks, they stand steadfast and loyal so they REALLY want this caterer..i had somehow push this responsibility of booking the caterer to the older folks..and now there was this glitch in the plans. my cousin was amused that i wasnt so worried or kancheong..i mean, i also want this caterer coz they are good but dunno why leh i am not so kancheong as i should be .anyhow as of last night my mum managed to sort this out, and i did get my caterer in.

most times i am in dishevelled comfort rather than being immaculately done up, that's my stlye so it goes the same with my wedding prep. i am not very particular sometimes and so i am not staying true to the supposedly virgoans perfectionist tendencies..some days i dun mind anything at all..you know what the makciks2 always say about weddings, asalkan selamat & sempurna. so many a times both of us wish that we can do a quickie weddnig at romm. just a small one. asalkan selamat right..that's the idea..but i gues to the family that's not a sempurna one. which i think is actually relative (sempurna, ok sempurna or very sempurna which most prob comes with a 12ft s&k pelamin).so the sempurna part lah is the one that is taking a whole lot of coordination..

all in all; got my makandam-merpati, got our decorators- decorama & d'wedding gardens, got our photograher-poise, our caterers-anis&din & wak manik, and also our videographer-boombox videos (up & coming and one i have complete trust in their taste.heh) what else? i think that's about it, eh. the most important thing for us now is to get that bank account to grow fatter.

doing powerpoint for monday..feeling terribly sian..so...

take this test, dear..i have no idea who Paul Begala is..but this sorts of explain me.if this test is to be believed.


"You are a WRCF--Wacky Rational Constructive Follower. This makes you Paul Begala.

You are unflappable and largely unconcerned with others' reactions to you. You were not particularly interested in the results of this test, and probably took it only as a result of someone else asking you to.

You have a biting wit and intense powers of observation. No detail is lost on you, and your friends know it--relying on you to have the facts when others express only opinions. You are even-tempered, friendly, and educated. Foolish strangers may mistake your mildness for weakness--they will be surprised.

You entire approach to life is enviable. You will raise good kids."

I WILL RAISE GOOD KIDS..LOL..errmm he thinks i will be a very conservative mum. how conservative? i think mtv is baaad..so no mtv and mcDs for my kids..

 
in one episode, the lady was made to feel guilty for spending too much on a pair of shoes which was deemed frivilous, by a friend who has now gotten a family and a mortgage to pay......since i have just as many bills to pay, i have to say i have never been shoe-shamed dear, coz i have never splurge on any extravagant purchase of shoes..tis new favourites of mine..i got it for under 40bukz... sweet. ....and as some shoe hoarders will know it..i have to work around to find clothes to match the shoes..since friday is pants day for me..  safe conservative day..
 

 
 
and as for the tv series that inspired me, to be more adventurous with my shoe choices (well ok, my frens an-an n dor have a role too here ).... it makes its debut on our isle tonight... finally...
 
and one of my theories on why this show is still engaging even to the last episode..is because the characters did not have to play musical chairs to date/sleep with one another or for that matter their best friends' partners..as in some other shows..my interest in some shows (yes. even friends) just plummet when the characters play this partner exchange programme or out of the blue develop some romantic interest in each other. duh. and why eventually season 5 onwards are passed to screen, i think it's because  the girls have mellowed here and there is less of the S in it compared to the earlier seasons which also had more of the promiscous behaviour (tsk tsk tks)
 
*anyway, we went with his parents to book his decor tonite. tonite i just felt like i am quite done for now with the wedding... 

it has been a crazy past few days where i lost a few things and found a few things..
currently , i am still missin a few things. superficial as this entry may sound, these things are important to me; my custom blend powder (i need this coz most times i go out only with conceealer n this), my favourite jeans (worn long and worn out enough since uni days to fit just perfect on me) and lastly my birkies (also used since uni days)

like money doenst make one happy, but sometimes i feel money can make survival more bearable.....you know i can be a cheapskate but a few things like the last two items i dun mind spending a bit more coz they have been one of those few of my ole faithful belongings that make life easier ( no need to think, just slip them on) and more comfortable..my birkies have died on me..but the first two items, i searched long and hard..tear my hair, cant find :(

i can be a forgetful lady sometimes. i am not always like this..but some episodes of my life, normally when i am under stress, i tend to be very forgetful. phyz once said, one day in the future, i might just leave my kid at the supermarket or somewhere.

i found this tho...



boy during his no hairwax day. taken by the girl. windsor, uk.

we decided for now at least (until one of us changes mind. again) we shall save the money from a photoshoot..coz we want to go to some places again. and maybe to new places we have always wanted to go :)

someone asked me yesterday how i felt when i was leaving my previous job...because the person is considering a career switch. so i decided to look at some of my older entries:

" jen asked me if i would have anything to say in particular to anyone. like any thruthful "you are a bitch" you comments..i told her no. but in actual fact, i had fantasies of it. of telling some people of what crap they were. of giving a farewell speech. but no.i am not going to. i am a coward."

"started clearing my desk today. i found my notes of the earlier days. we call it the good old days. and i added this to the collection in the existing dumpster box, the same box which i used to move to tis new place, in the store room.it already had my name written there. so there lies all information, cases, events related to this girl.eeeekss.

never felt like a dead person before. so sad. jenny asked me if i was sad, and i said of coz."

"looking at the pic made me feel a bit sad. coz the girls in our team, we work best as a threesome. brad used to call me, khim and ruth the three stooges, and chuck call us charlie's angels (yucks!). then ruth left, and amy came. so there was khim, amy and me. "

"he looks like a goateed-guy from san fran. he likes singapore coz he loves the food. also, he can for most of the time, wear tshirts,cargo pants and sneakers.his choice for tshirts is quicksilver and for shoes, it'll be vans. he's refreshing coz here is one married 30-something guy who doesn look like all the other married men in the office. also he's a living testimony of how it is much more acceptable for people in the states to switch careers. tim was formerly a chef at kaya, this jamaican restaurant.(which explain why he loves all things spicy here), "


she had almost the same reasons why i wanted to leave my previous job but both of us i suppose however have grown attached to it and more importantly to the people and the friendships we have developed. another friend of mine on the other hand, had finally decided to throw in the towel after mulling over the decision and after much egging from fellow friends and ex-colleagues to leave the place which was basically dying a slow death..she has however not dared to tell her mum of her resignation...


change is scary, especially for us who had decided to make a career switch. i thought about it long and hard when i decided to switch. at that point of time, my company had a rate of 1 resignation per month so it was even more tempting..so the push factor was strong enough..and i prayed to ask for guidance for me to come to a decision which was to switch and take a big pay cut and go into something which i had never thought of doing before. then one night, i woke up in the middle of my sleep, i wasnt dreaming or anything..but i woke up feeling so clear of what i should do. which was to just leave.

eversince then, i had to adjust three times..twice at my first two 'holding places" before i got my permanent posting. i have met several characters in my previous job but my new path was not scarce of them either. and i miss some of my ex-colleagues who had been one of my best buddies and mentors but along the way, i have also met some amazing people and forge new friendships.

so in restospect. i think change is good. but only change if you feel that it is time and you have a good reason to..phyz had asked me if i could turn back time and done something else upon graduating, my answer was i dont think so...my previous job really thought me A LOT.. and i was also aksed what was i sad about leaving..not the glam factor (that is the travelling and meeting 'big' people if that is what was meant, i have grown attached to my 'small' people now and my current job provides me with enough mental stimuation and challenges) but most of all i was sad about leaving my friends.

watched supersizeme last night. i was munching on fries and burger while watching the movie..hahah how ironic..but i was damn hungry..and hey, i had bk not mcD..

my boy has a love-hate afffair with mcD ever since so long. he's a junk food and fried food addict actually so he loves their fries..but deep inside he feels guilty for supporting the evil clown ronald mcdonald because sometimes he has this anti-corporation sentiments...



the funniest part of the show, besides the john lennon looking guy who has been eating bigMac everyday, was one prof's explanation to morgan on how kids are socialised to associate good feelings with something like eating out at mcD (the birthday parties, the play pen, the funny clown)..to that morgan replied that he may just punch his kid everytime they pass mcD..errmm i wonder if maybe i should try a more subtle form of treatment for my kid someday when we pass mcD.



we watched the movie with riz and sw..and riz is on a very healthy diet coz the boy is trying to build some muskles..and since they were not as greedy as me, they decided to forgo the junk food munching while watching movie and opt for dinner later..at that tong seng coffeshop at bugis (found out we can eat at the second floor) dinner consist of healthy fish soup and rice..low-fat..which was funny coz he used to laugh at phyz for stocking up on only apples in the hostel. which he thought was kuniang thing for guys who should stock up junk food.

our conclusion after watching the show...

- the obese thing will not happen in singapore..because the food chain here are going the other way. mini size me..hahah have you noticed that the size of the burgers are getting smaller and smaller..and the fries pack are not so bountiful

- it 's an american phenomenon..it's the size thing. i was there for a few months..and everyting comes in extra large portion...we asians cant stomache that much food..

- mcD's is evil..hahh but so are few hundred other things in the supermarket and convenience store..you know, the pringles, the red bull..etc..so sue 7-11? and our hawkers..too..the list goes on..

- riz was comparing morgan's cholestrol level to his mum's cholestrol level..hahah and guess what? no surprise...all the santan and the minyak beats the evilness that mcD is..anyway..we also think it will be a great experiment to get a skinny , typically small boned with small hip, chinese lass who eats yong tafoo and fish soup all the time, to go on a coconut rich malay diet for thirty days and see how she fares. see if she can get that 'prosperous' and 'healthy' look.

having said all that i am not saying i defend them..if have a choice i rather eat somewhere else..so my take is, your diet is your own choice and responsibility.

i m still at work trying to finish some stuffs..coz earlier today i had to be a 'minder' at a photoshoot..but it was fun. before it started, me and m look through his holiday photos. he was in new york, a city which i really love. he took alot of beautiful photos. alot of photos of buildings which i love too. we learnt that we both love old buildings coz they have so much character. they add to the charm of the place and once some landmarks are gone, you cant help but feel slightly uprooted. and why s'pore is dead boring and staid..because we are dead boring and practical.. as he said it, " i cant believe they tore down the national library just for that 5 min faster journey to orchard!" ha!

and new york...... i was there four years ago, a few months after i left school. yes, four freaking years ago. it has been that long ago....

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and i find that i have been yearning a lot these days.....

one of which is to go somewhere. my new colig has photos of turkiye and sikkim on her desk . while someone is somewhere in a tea plantation.....

i have been yearning for a place of my own too.. which is rather crazy coz i OWN my current place. but it is different... last few days i have been travelling to town for work. and i passed patterson edge a few times. and it's so damn effing yuppie..but i yearn to stay there. to swim in its rectilinear pool..and drive out the gates in an audi..but last night, we were at bali lane..i told him..get that number on that window..i would love to rent a space here..hahaha. so out with the swanky neighbourhood. i love the old, quaint and crumbling just as much. maybe slightly more..

*taken by phyz. changi boardwalk. 2004*

tis morning i woke up with a terrible cramp and a splitting headache. suffice to say, i found out why i have been in such terrible cranky mood (besides the work that never ends)..

so last night, his guess was right despite my vehement protest that it wasnt true..and i shall commit a betrayal to my sisters..by listing down the most annoying thing about women folk..let's just say he loves me but he finds some traits of mine annoying enough to tell me truth that that behaviour(not me!) sucks..but anyway this list is not by him but from some men's mag...and i have this up to say, yeah honey i am sorry for treating you like an emotional crutch last night. more so, you have to understand that i am not ALWAYS like that..and other women (you have to know since you never really dated other women) are about the same..

10 MOST ANNOYING THINGS ABOUT WOMEN..(an extract from a s k m e n . c o m)

- Number 10 : Pretend to be virtuous
A recurring theme among many women is that they try to place themselves under a "holier than thou" light, never admitting that they fooled around or dividing their number of boyfriends by five. Now, we applaud those ladies who truly are innocent and pure, but the rest should stop trying to water down their past. Women are allowed to have just as much fun as guys, and they should find a man who can appreciate that.


Number 9 : Criticize other women
Why is it that many women can't make a simple compliment toward another woman? They love to nitpick about everything from weight to hairstyle and everything in between. Only a woman will notice if another woman's shoes don't match her purse and turn it into a calamity. Granted there are some women who are readily willing to admit when another woman is hot (and hopefully invite her over for a ménage), but most don't want to distract their men with any competition. Nevertheless, we spot the hot ones anyway.

- hmmmm... i think i dont do this often.do i? i am more critical of my slenge self more..

Number 8 :Act jealous
Oftentimes, just mentioning another woman's name can spell the end of your existence. Imagine, then, the warfare you'll have to endure if she finds out you were at a gentleman's club. Call it what you will, but a lot of women have this thing that causes them to second-guess everything, especially their man's loyalty.

- guilty but not of other women


Number 7 : Become needy
Some women have some serious security issues. They need their men to hold them, rub them, and tell them how special they are. They turn men into their emotional crutch and look to us for moral, mental and emotional support.
There's a real irony here when you think of all the women who go out of their way to show us how independent they are. These are usually the same women who become extremely insecure once they finally fall in love. Of course, as tempting as it may be to use this to our advantage, I think most men would prefer the tougher version. This way, they'd at least retain some peace of mind

- hate myself for this..but sometimes cant help it..i need to feel sayang..errr..

Number 6 : Speak in code
The old "What are you thinking?" question is a timeless example of how women love to test their men and search for our true feelings about them. They hurdle obscure, theoretical questions at us that, according to them, we're supposed to know the answer to if we're really their soul mates.

Number 5: Invade our personal space
Women have this instinctive tick that makes them want to groom us anytime they want and make our personal belongings theirs

- Have yet to find out..but i dont think so i will..dear..i am willing to invade if you want me too tho..

Number 4: Become too emotional
They cry over anything: a sad movie (or even a happy one), a broken nail, or a haircut gone awry. What's worse, they expect us to clean up the emotional mess. And if there's one thing we suck at, it's dealing with a crying woman on our shoulder.

- I am not too emotional thank you..now pass me that tissue..


Number 3: Shop till they drop
When it comes to shopping, there just aren't enough hours in the day for most women. Whether it's browsing, window-shopping, or an all-out spending spree, they can spend hours on end in a shoe store, among others, without even thinking about food, water, or any of their responsibilities..

- You know I am not..hahahah I am a prudent shopper. yes that's the word.

Number 2 :Talk incessantly
Chris Rock nailed it when he said that asking how her day went renders a 45-minute conversation. Most women love to talk, and if you give them the ammo, they won't stop. It's not that we don't care about what they have to say; it's just that we don't need to hear every minute detail.

-havent you heard,a woman on average needs to verbalise at least 3000 words a day?


Number 1: Use sex as a weapon
In the war of the sexes, it's all about who wears the pants in the relationship. Oftentimes most women, in an effort to show their superiority, will attack men's universal weak spot: sex. And while I applaud them for this gutsy tactic, they really should leave the basic human needs alone, don't you think?

- Errrr... let's just see about this ...later

a lil bit late... but

the day before greece was about to play france, i was telling my colig what a no brainer it was..that france would win..because what i tot and i had observed in some other mathces is that a few bright stars in the team is what one need to make the difference..but we were wrong and greece went on against all odds to get the cup.

our ambassador at large contributed a good article today in ST on lessons from euro 2004. in short,

lesson no 1: size is not destiny.
the five largest European countries in the tournament - Germany, France, England, Italy and Spain - failed to qualify for the semi-finals. it was the small European countries which triumphed over the Big Five.

lesson no 2: superstars do not guarantee victory
the presence of superstars in a team does not guarantee its victory and, contrariwise, the absence of superstars in a team does not doom it to failure.

lesson no 3: the team is greater than the sum of its parts
in other words, the strength of a team could be greater or less than the combined strength of the talents of the individual players.

lesson No 4: the coach as teacher and strategist

"... the most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. and if you find someone to love the you you love -- well, that's just fabulous" -- c bradshaw




here's to him..thank you for putting up with all my idiosyncracies, my karenah and all. the one who has seen my good side, my bad side and everything else in between..for being the one to comfort me when i am sad, to scold me the times when i am bad (and this is esp to the many times i force you to wake up from your sleepy state)...and for sticking by with the me i love as well as the me i dont particularly love...

*photo taken by is of phyz's hand and sketch in the sand. changi beach 2004*

so i finished another run yesterday!

the run wasnt too bad. to tell you the truth, i didnt run all the way because i had to pace and motivate some people .. but it was easier mainly coz the weather was cool and only got humid later...this is my second run after last year's 10km singapore marathon..

when i was in jc, i love to run. i wasnt an ace runner in the calibre of those cross country runners, but i found running addictive, i would run after the last p.e lessons with two other of my crazy girl friends. sometimes it helps me think clearly..especially on some situations it helps me to process my thoughts better. i remember 10 years ago as i was jogging my mind wondered to something which i wanted and i told myself if i can finish that god-awful clementi canal run, i can get what i wanted. as what we know, it's a mind over body matter, which applied in running, i feel can be applied to a lot of other situations. if i can do a few kilometers, other tasks will seem more doable..

tis may freak him out..ayway he knows i always say freaky things..sometime ago when i rollerbladed in east coast, i would see those cool mummies rollerblading or jogging while pushing their babies in the stroller. i wonder if i can pull that off..and i told him before, if i have a daughter, i would want her to go to the school that makes the girls run in the morning after assembly...hahahaha

ok girl, too much dreaming, that's far into the future i suppose..for now i just need to make sure i get my butt off the seat and peel myself from the laptop often enough to get running. will probably pick up blading once again too..

the past days with me and him..

watched spidey2 on friday..well, okay it's a good show but i am not a fan of action heroes and i found the show too long. ( he told me the name maryjane is a reference to marijuana since stan lee was always high when he was doing the comics...) anwyay, the movie was still quite entertaining. i am now looking forward for farenheit 9/11 and supsersizeme to come our way..and also case you are thinking i am highbrow and all, i am booking dates to watch chickflicks.."13 going on 30" is one of em..

since we were at gw city, we dropped by at the zara sale..which should be the called the $10 discount sale..coz the discounts were mostly that. i am not so hot about zara women but more so for the man. they have very nice quality men's apparels here. and i think i should be right coz everytime we go to the men's section, we find a lot of the pink gender there. and it was also the case that day. picked a few shirts and stuffs for him ..

last night i was feeling rather tense and tired..decided i want to dress up..ie wear a dress. (its also an easy no brainer wardrobe choice..no need to think of the matching) and it was precisely that, to save myself from a headache coz my wardrobe was in a mess..i manage to dug out the allure black dress i bought but never wore..

back to the tense and tired feeling..(as i was walking towards the car, i saw a man peeing under block near the common washing area. it further irritated the hell out of me, i called the neighbourhood police post and barked at the boy to arrest the man, or at least check his sanity.)

my boy then thought i had a long and tiring day. and since i was dressed up and all, we decided to go to esplanade. we both felt i needed something to soothe my nerves..



he got an introduction to the suckao, which he loves..

we were discussing if it is a good idea for one of us to give the other a suckao set as a wedding gift. you know it may make our marriage life easier and save us some trouble..hahah i will be very happy to have low fat suckao after a hard day's work..then we forsee the makcik makcik at the wedding asking of the use of such instruments..the answer will be it's for making hot chocolate drink. which is true, ait..if people can exchange electronic goods, why cant we exchange cooking equipement esp one that can help foster some peace .and incase if they ask why cant we make it in the kitchen..we can tell the mackik ..some things we do in the bedroom, we wish we can do it in the kitchen..some things we can do in the kitchen we wish to do inside the bedroom....

*streetwise run later today..it will be so freaking hot. wish me luck..*

*skyline taken by phyz*

i was having a conversation with someone over lunch yesterday,insisting that it was really lame to blame the blackout on the gas supply tripping...i had worked for a bid on the energy market before and i recalled they should have a back up..plus a few other reasons why i think it wasnt exactly satisfying to make the claim they did earlier.

the gahmen as reported takes this very very seriously..but sometimes i wish the people in the civil service and some singaporeans in general to lighten up! of course the power failure is no joke..but hey, even major cities had blackouts, and people there at least know how to chill out. singaporeans,very tight assed...well okay, we are no major city..and hahah so we are saying here our ability to survive is really bad. but remember, we are suppose to be more tolerant towards mistakes and failures..so what if there is a blackout. it was rectified in what? a few hours? our ability to withstand a few glitches in the oh-so-perfect-air-conditioned island dome we have here, seems to be quite thin..no wonder the kids are so weak these days..why dont we look on the bright side that this happen due to a trip and not to a terrorist attack as some feared? and at least it could have been taken as some sort of surprise exercise for everyone involved..ie those abang abang scdf, those trapped in the lifts, and for those who stay in bungalows and never in their life had to bathe without hot water to experience what surviving without electiricity is like....

i had experienced a few blackouts myself, probably around a decade or two ago..this time round however, my place wasnt affected at all. because as was reported, the place where i stay, one the few places in the south..was not affected. also by the time the blackout happened, i was already knocked out. fast asleep in bed.



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an ex-colleague introduced me to this sometime ago..and recently i found a drink form sold in some convenience stores here, that beats red bull...doesnt sound healthy but it works. she had brought with her, the ones in herbal pill form, which were more potent.

her story was that someone in her class took too much of that for the exam-mugging. he was wide awake 2 nights in a row. so on the the 3rd day, after the exams, the guy went shopping. unfortunately, the energy boost wore off . the guy passed out in the train for hours before waking up and finding his shopping gone.