Fairprice Xtra

The new NTUC Fairprice called "Fairprice Xtra" was opened at AMK Hub - Basement 2 , at Ang Mo Kio Central a couple of days ago. The name was so suitable for the new outlet cos it was...

1. Xtra Crowded - movement was greatly restricted if you were using the trolleys, and it looked as if the whole AMK residents had gathered for a common goal (to be inside the biggest NTUC Fairprice). I supposed there were residents from other Estates too... cannot condemn AMK residents solely lah~


2. Xtra Huge - the interior was huge... it was as if I'm at Carrefour and not the typical household Fairprice anymore. There were Electronics & Electrical section, Clothings & Household section and not forgetting the standard F&B section. I didn't even know where to start walking and I also did not know where to go looking for my shopping list items.


3. Xtra Slow - the travellators were super slow... the speed is equivalent to the one in Underwater World, where we were supposed to look around at the fishes slowly. But in this case, the only thing to see were people occupying every inch on the travellators, either surrounding you or moving in the opposite direction. The escalators were not ready yet cos the whole mall was still undergoing renovation. So... ya... the only choice was to proceed slowly and enjoy yourself among the human traffic.


4. Xtra Cheap - maybe the low price was only for the initial stage. Actually I also do not know what was the standard pricing but the apples were going at S$1.20 for 5 and "Sunkist" oranges were going at S$1.95 for 5. The apple section was crowded with 2 layers of customers trying their best to reach for the "best quality" apples with their stretched arms. Luckily the orange section was ok... cos I need to buy 10 oranges for my new blender to squeeze juice for me *hahaha*.


5. Xtra Staff - touching on good service in almost every Industry now, there were a few staff at the trolley section to help you put the S$1 coin into the slot and pull out the new trolleys for your usage... but you have to give them the S$1 coin lah, it's not free you know?

As a word of advice in case you wished to visit the huge place safely, go in the day time during weekdays. Weekends are a killer~ unless you are prepared to spoil your day.

Merry X'Mas!!!

Here's wishing everyone a Merry X'Mas!!

So where did I celebrate my X'Mas this year with my close friends???

Well, the lucky place goes to... a 6-star Hotel at Raffles Ave!!

Ahem... it didn't really ended up that good initially during the check-in on 24/12/06 cos there was some cocking-up issues by the staff. We had expected the high-rated Hotel to deal with the various situation in an exemplary way, but the answer was NO. Allow me to share with you a few issues:

Issue #1

The Check-In

It was an unusual long queue, mainly due to the promotional packages offered by the Hotel for the festive season. There were about 5 counters with its respective staff. Adrian and I had slowly progressed to the 1st 2 in the queue after waiting patiently for 15-20mins. There were also about 2-3 mobile staff near the queue, who seemed like they were trying to help ease the long queue.

A while later, a lady staff approached Adrian and offered her help by asking for his reservation number. After walking away and came back again, she directed him, me and another couple behind us to follow her. All of us thought that we would be served at that instant or soon... but guess what!! We were brought to another queue with a guy in front and another guy still being served at the counter!! Could somebody tell me if the lady was helping us or... just trying to be funny?

The four of us were so pissed... and I then went over to observe the previous queue we were in, to see if the originally 4th customer (who was now 1st) had been served before us. And yes it did... I then asked the lady staff over and asked her what help had she offered to us earlier, since she had now prolonged our waiting time. Of course she apologised and immediately processed our check-in personally.

Well, we thought that the poor handling issue would stop with us but then another male customer was also directed to our queue while all 4 of us were being served. The man made such a loud unhappy comment when he saw us and angrily walked back to his previous queue. Hey old man... as if you were the only one being "ill-treated" here.

Issue #2

The Silent Wait

We were told by the counter staff that our rooms were not ready yet as the housekeeping was still in the process. We then left behind our contact numbers as she said she would call once the rooms were ready (estimated duration - 1 hr). So we waited... and waited... then Baoli and Shir went over to check after about 35-40 mins of boredom at the lobby sofas. Another disappointment: one room had actually been ready but no calls were received from them. This pissed us further but Baoli and Shir managed to get a late check-out at 2pm for our rooms to compensate for the long wait as well as issue #1. Hahaha... girl power!!

Issue #3

The Incomplete Room

Finally when the other room was ready, it was yet again another disappointment. The toiletries tray was incomplete with missing combs, shaver, bath scrub, and some shower necessities. The two small cushions which were supposed to be displayed on the bed was absent and ended up playing hide-and-seek in the closed plasma TV rack. Furthermore, there was a yellowish stain on one of the cushion cover! Omg... who would believe this is the standard of a 6-star Hotel??

When Baoli called the Housekeeping to top up the toiletries rack, the staff even asked her what was missing so that those could be replenished. If a person who had checked-in to the room on the 1st day, do you think he/she know what was supposed to be in the tray?

Issue #4

The Check-Out

There's always an end to a beginning~ but why couldn't it get better? During the check-out, Adrian was wrongly billed for 2 extra chargeable breakfasts, which were supposed to be complimentary for MY room. I had actually written both our room numbers on the charged slip during the breakfast and they could still make the mistake *sigh*...

Well I dunno if Adrian was unlucky or what... cos after that, he was wrongly billed again for his room package. He was being charged an extra $30+ for the same room package as us and when we informed the staff about the matter, we were told to go back and wait for the amendments to be reflected in the creditcard statement. Hmm... I thought they could cancel the overcharged amount instantly and let Adrian signed on the amended charged slip? Well, just hope they are not "pushing us around".

Finally The Good Stuff

That's all for the bad experiences we encountered during our 1-day stay. Putting the unhappy moments aside, the room itself was great! It was big... especially the bathroom (which is almost twice as big as my bedroom) with the famous octagon window beside the bathtub.

The view was fantastic from the room and Adrian, being a photo-shooting fanatic, and a really great one, had fully utilised his newly bought camera lens which costed him $900+. He had taken some great shots and I had attached some of it below.

My X'Mas Presents

I had always like the gift exchanging segment during X'Mas~ This year I got a "aslurpingape" T-shirt, a "Crumpler" laptop slingbag and a "Philips" blender (it's part of my wish-list towards healthier lifestyle with higher possibilities of drinking self-made fresh fruit juices). Here are some shots of "Happy Sze & Her Gifts"...

Busy Busy Busy

It had been a busy week for me... sorry for the late post my dear readers hahaha...

19/12/06 - It's a normal day shift with an unfortunate news at the end of the shift. I had to report for some kind of centralised training from 20/12/06 to 22/12/06 (9am - 9pm), which means I'm gonna have muscles ache soon.

20/12/06 - 1st day of training (9am - 7.30pm)... saw some familiar faces but still felt isolated. Got myself injured on the left lower butt with 2 super distinctive bruises (refer to picture below).


Thanks to Shir for helping me massage the concentrated region cos it's too purplish (looks very much like the purple sweet potato colour lor).

21/12/06 - 2nd day of training (9.30am - 6.30pm)... another boring day~ tried to force myself with the training but felt my left upper thigh and knee failing me at the end of the day. Mum asked me who beat me up when she saw the bruises and she said she'll help me whack the culprit (hahaha... so nice~ although there wasn't any culprit).

22/12/06 - actual day of audit (7.30am - 6pm)... I didn't joined the group cos I couldn't move swiftly at all and I would be more of a hinderance than a performer. Ended up I switched role with another guy to join his team on day shift temporary til the end of the audit. It was actually quite enlightening to work in a different region cos I got to see new things and I'm glad that I was well taken care of by the friendly team. Thanks AS 'D'!!

23/12/06 - finally a day FREE for me cos I managed to apply for leave after a short "discussion" over the phone with my supervisors. Hmm... isit so hard for No.2 to manage the team on his own? Anyway, it was the only day where I can do my X'mas shopping lor~ since my schedule was so damn packed... and tomorrow is the DAY!!

Gathering at PS

Had a great chat and gossip session with Karen, Grace, Cynthia, Shiqi (refer to below pic from left to right) and Shirlene (the one beside me) at PS yesterday evening. Most of the juicy news were contributed by Karen, who looked abit like the Korean lady appearing in the CNN morning news (dunno what's her name). But her presence does made the evening more "gossipy". Oh, and all thanks to her 4.1 megapixel digital cam that she brought along. All of us were like having an expedited photo-shooting session with a total of 31 pics in 10-15mins. It felt as if we're gonna leave for home soon, but in fact we had just finished ordering our drinks at TCC. Wonder what's the rush about... hahaha~

Well, these friends whom I had known for 6 years were much younger than me - 7yrs difference in age, but the gap did not stretched us apart. Ahem~ anyone mentioning about eternal youth? Anyway, it's been a long time since all of us gathered... erm... 3yrs maybe? Although occasionally I did bumped into one or two, we rarely have the time to chat.

This pic was taken because I had some problem trying to pull up the metal tea filter device from the cap since I was supposed to use it to mix the tea leaves-cum-rose buds with the water evenly (by pulling and pushing it down). Struggled for about 5mins and finally had to get help from the waitress... end up she said had to use more strength to pull. Ya rite, use more strength... but I scared the teapot will topple lor~ Hmm, thanks for the new-age teapots nowadays which were supposed to be more user-friendly.

An Ironic Belief

Today was my dad's 2nd year Death Anniversary according to the Lunar Calendar at that time - 25th October 04. But I could only remember the standard calendar date - 6th December 04.

Went to offer our prayers to him with my mum at the Bright Hill Temple yesterday morning. As usual, we did not know the standard procedures for the placement of the food and the "foreign currencies" since we're not really into those religious stuff, but there was this one and only staff who was always there to offer his help. Well, he taught me the way, but most prob I will forget the next time I visit again - he had taught me before and well, it got filtered out somehow (small brains cant store too much memory lah).

Sumtimes I wonder... had my dad got reincarnated? Cos if he did, who are we actually offering the stuff to? I mean, alot of people are still offering their prayers to their late loved ones or even ancesters who had passed on for so long, and don't they want the souls to move on with their after-life? According to the religious studies, it was mentioned that those who had done good in their current life would get to reborn to another life after their death, and it was supposed to be a good thing - better than roaming around aimlessly.

So, isn't it an irony that on one hand we want the souls to get reincarnated but on the other hand, we're still praying to them? But come to think of it, it also contributes to the economy since there's this demand and supply thing for the prayer items in the market... and it is going to last as long as people believe that the "recipients" are there to receive the offerings.

The Primary Ones

Recently I heard some funny incidents encountered by my friend and her friend who were having their NIE attachment in a Primary School in Yishun area. The students are all in Primary 1 classes... and Teacher refer to either one of the two ladies mentioned above.

Incident #1

Little Shy Girl (in a soft tone): Teacher, today is XXX (boy in same class) birthday. I want to give this present to him.

Teacher: Oh it's his birthday today? (Turns to the class) Ok class, today is XXX's birthday, so let's sing him a birthday song!

(After the song ended.... the Little Shy Girl wanted to pass the present to the birthday boy. Present = a small keychain in the design of a crab)

Birthday Boy: I dowan (and Teacher tried to persuade the boy to accept)

Birthday Boy: I dowan (at this time Teacher noticed the girl has the "want-to-cry" look and finally manage to pass the keychain to the boy)

Teacher: Ok XXX, now what should you say? (Hoping he would say thank you)

Birthday Boy: I dowan (Teacher almost fainted~)

(Some boys started to act cool since young~)

Incident #2

Teacher was marking the students' spelling books at her table in the class, and a boy went up to her...

Boy: Teacher, I want to draw a card for my mother. Can I borrow your pencil?

Teacher: Erm... ok (at the same time wondering why the boy doesn't want to use his own pencil)

(After handing over the typical yellow and black stripes 2B pencil to the boy, the boy passed the pencil back to the Teacher)

Boy: Teacher, can I borrow your mechanical pencil?

(The result of kids living in the 21st Century - they have higher needs)

(After using the mechanical pencil, the boy went up to the teacher)

Boy: Teacher, can you give me the mechanical pencil please?

Teacher: (almost fainted) No no... this is mine. I cannot give you~

(Kids are so "demanding" nowadays...)

Incident #3

My friend had to observe how other full-time teachers teach their class, and so she had to sit at the back of the classroom behind the students. One day she arrived early and she was sitting at her seat with a handful of students in the class. Suddenly a small girl from another class came into the classroom and handed over a folded note to her.

Small Girl: Miss See, give you! (then she ran off)

My friend opened the note and guess what the contents were -->> "I Love You"

(Some kids are so daring in expressing their likings...)

Life Is Unpredictable~

It is so true that Life is always so unpredictable. Things juz happened without a warning and the next moment, you have to recover from the shock and learn to deal with it.

Recently I got to know that my friend, Raven (it's her nick) was warded in the hospital's MICU and her condition was quite bad. Her other friend got my number and sms me about the news... I was shocked and of cos at the same time felt sad that I had not been able to find time to meet up with her earlier, although she did asked for a short gathering with Elaine (another friend) if we're free. Kinda feel regretful now~

Went to visit her and it saddened me further to see her lying on the bed with the lung support system connected to her mouth. She couldn't respond to us but it was a relief that she could open her eyes and acknowledge our presence. Previously she was warded due to some initial problems with her heart and this time she suddenly fainted while she was at Tampines Mall with her friend. I managed to inform all our other friends, who in turn inform the others... all thanks to the technology nowadays - sms.

What we can do now is to pray for her recovery~ and hope everything will be fine.

Life Is Short, Play Hard

Live Each Day As If It Was Your Last, And You'll Find Each Day Worth Living For

7 Days Reign

Finally I had completed my 7 days reign from 17 Nov to 30 Nov 06. It's really tough having to manage two supervisors' job at one time (or 7 times for me), but I had learnt alot during this short (but long to me) period. Nevertheless it gave me the opportunity to have a feel of what my future would bring...

However, without the support from my team guys, I wouldn't have passed through the test. I would like to thank the following persons:

1. Lawrence - for giving me that last min "return" which end up having my name mentioned in the panel... hehe no lah, actually I would like to comment you on your great service rendered at the counter on 25 Nov 06. Well done!! Keep it up!!


2. Kow - for owing POIs but I really appreciate your attendence cos it meant alot to the team. Congrats for being the 1st in Dec "10-4" list!!


3. Shah - for bringing up the "Why you scold my mother" issue and letting everyone know that we MUST look out for each other always.


4. Hisham - for giving me the assurance that things are well taken care off with your presence and I dun need to worry this and that. Congrats for being 2nd in Dec "10-4" list!!


5. Hairul - for lightening my load on 29 Nov 06, but required me to nag and nag so many times for a few tasks left undone. And still dare to write "On time, on target, holiday mood liao lor" on my paper...pls note that your "on" should be written as "own" k?


6. Zul - for helping out with the returns in Ong's absence, in addition to your other duties. Not forgetting the laughter whenever I talked to you (cos all are nonsense *haha*).


7. Kamaro - for changing your handphone (again) to BenQ Siemens during this period, which I should feel honoured since you had tahan for so long~


8. Eugene - for also helping out with the returns in Ong's absence, and showing the initiative in submitting the POIs. I can see that you had slowly blended into the outside work and soon you would be shouting at them~ but dun follow your FTO's style on that - he's a babarian.


9. Hoong Ta - for having me to remind you to write down the needful and do CXR after that, which made me realised that you still need more attention from us. Please dun accidentally follow the wrong path. The team needs you wor~


10. Weibin - omg... how can I left out my 1st baby in the list? Haha accidentally forgot to include him in the thank-you list when I post, but now (5/12/06) remembered liao, guess it's becos he had not gave me any headaches for the past few days and he had been a good boy. Okay, so I have to give him a big thanks for showing up in the Team since... he's well-known for his "weak constitution"~ hehe

Always remember that all of us are equally important in the team and we need each other to make things work. Our team had always been the best in team spirit and cohesiveness, so dun loosen that up. Kudos to Bravo!!

World of Warcraft

This was my 1st online game, and also the game which got me so engrossed that I could dream of it in my sleep... Max was the one who showed me the game box but Teng was the one who persuaded me to join. Actually I should also "blame" GV Bishan for giving away the 7 days free trial disc with every Popcorn Combo purchase. Hahaha.... no lah, I admit I'm weak lah...

I had to pay a subscription fee of USD$14.99 for 1-month recurring charges online or USD$41.97 for 3-months recurring. But the game is worth the charges~ mainly because a few of us are playing together and it was really fun and comical. All thanks to Teng, Max, Weibin and other friends that we slowly got to know while playing.

Had started "living" in WoW since 13 Sept 05 and finally decided to suspend the account in June 06 during my final exam revision. I guess my interest had switched to my new O2 PDA at that time bah~ normally my interest for certain things are short-lived hahaha...

On 26 Nov 06, I decided to rejoin the game... cos the trio had successfully persuaded me again, but the main reason was because we're all gonna create a new character in a new realm, so everything's gonna start from zero.

These are the characters that I had created so far... and this time I would try my best not to be too engrossed in the game, since it's considered "unhealthy" by someone~ hehe

Hinokio - Inter Galactic Love

This is a very great Japanese movie introduced to me by Eugene (You Jin Dan) - thanks alot pal~ and it made me cried again... haha for your information, my tears would always flow uncontrollably when it comes to touching or sad scenes on tv/movie.

The show is about a heartbroken boy "Satoru" who had lost his courage to face the real world after his mother had passed away during a car accident. He also became wheel-chaired bound and had given up hope during his rehabilitation period. His father, whom he blamed for his mother's death, created a robot to connect his son to the society. The robot, mockingly called as "Hinokio" (meaning Pinnochio) by his classmates, were his eyes and link to the outside world. "Hinokio" attended class on his behalf, and ended up being bullied by a girl "Jun" and two boys from his class. Well, eventually it became very sweet when "Satoru" and "Jun" liked each other and I shall not blabber about how "Satoru" regained his confidence as it would be better for you to watch it personally.

It's a little similar to Steven Spielberg's A.I (which made me cried also *sigh*) but the storyline is definitely different. You can choose not to watch it if your heart had turned to stone... cos it'll juz be a waste of the movie's time on you~

Pessimistic vs Optimistic

Recently I had been feeling sort of moody~ or should I say troubled actually... definitely not because of relationship, but it's kinda work-related issues.

Mr. V told me he had spoken to the Head about the matter, and to wait for the good news soon.

I didn't get to "see" the good news on 12th Nov 2006, so I called to enquire... and I was told nothing was changed. The status remained the same~ and I felt cheated...

If I was the one who had done wrong, I would gladly accept the verdict. But I dun understand why I must be "punished" when all I did was to follow an instruction given, and I didn't know it was given wrongly in the first place. Furthermore nothing was adversely affected at all during the incident. Why do people end up backstabbing their own colleagues?

Things are starting to piss me off once again~ he kept asking me to be patient. I told him straight that it's easier said than done. The matter had been postponed twice and now I dun even know if the effect will extend til the end of the year.

I'm having a mixture of feelings right now - angry, disappointed, lost, worried... But I know I must remind myself not to think too much about the matter, and I should tune my mood indicator back to "Happy". Well, it's my choice now~ pessimistic vs optimistic. Of cos I'll choose the latter hahaha... I'm good at counselling people you know, so I must show a good example. I just wanted to type my thoughts down today so that I could feel slightly better after sharing.

PS: Please do not ask me to explain further about the matter if you do not understand what I was referring to~ Thanks for reading anyway …

Dinner Buffet At Ritz Carlton Millenia Hotel

I cant believed that I actually ate 5 large oysters during the buffet dinner at Ritz Carlton Millenia Hotel yesterday!! You must be thinking there's nothing great about that, but for a person who dun dare to eat it usually, it's an achievement hahaha...

I guess the clammy fellas were too fresh and yummy for me to resist. There was no "smelly" taste at all and it was really delicious with an added squeeze of lemon on it. The dinner buffet was worth the price of S$58+++ per pax especially for those seafood lovers (luckily I'm one of them) cos they served alot of big juicy prawns (garlic-fried ones and boiled-chilled ones), black pepper crabs, freshly steamed lobsters and large crab pincers by the chefs (so many people queuing up for them - I mean the seafood not the chefs), and not forgetting the "melt-in-your-mouth" sashimi (salmon, tuna and another dunno what fish).

While we were enjoying the superb dinner, we noticed a middle-aged aunty sitting opposite me, indulging in her crab-eating session with 100% concentration. At 1st she was using both her hands, then she used the tool (think it's called a nut cracker) to crack open the crab pincers, and she kept on attacking the crabs. After that she asked the waitress to change her a new cloth napkin and a new set of cutlery cos they ended up dirty. Then there's this table with one man and two ladies who asked for distilled water instead of the normal ice water, and when one of the waiter almost refilled their glasses with the latter, the man made such a big fuss about the issue and even requested to speak to the Manager.

Man: (with an air of high class) What's the point of ordering distilled water when the waiter almost poured in the ice water?

After the Manager apologises, the man ordered white wine.

5 mins passed, and the man asked another unlucky Manager who happened to pass by the table.

Man: (with the same air of high class) Where is the wine that I ordered?

Manager: It's on the way, Sir.

Man: It's urgent you know? (I wonder how urgent is it)

Manager: ...... (must be thinking to himself "urgent then go to the toilet lah")

Ok these two cases have nothing to do with the dinner review... just some minor entertainment sighted.

Anyway this time I forgot to take pictures on the food cos we were too busy munching away. Well, of all the buffets that I tried so far, this is the best cos it's worth paying for great food and the ambience is also good.

Happy 21st Birthday to Shirlene!!

(Strawberry Shortcake from Bakerzin)

Today is Shirlene's 21st Birthday!! This post is dedicated to her~

First of all, let me congratulate her on her official entry into the cinema to watch R21 movies (but still muz bring our NRICs cos 95% will still kena check by the staff due to our "outlook").

I had known Shir for 6 years plus and she is still the same comical (or clumsy) girl who never fail to "entertain" me with her bear-like actions (meaning clumsiness lah) hahaha... but she is way more matured-thinking compared to other girls with the same age. Both of us can talk about anything under the sun and we both like to enjoy our lives~ by travelling around to other countries (end up spending all our savings for trips lor).

Anyway, here are my birthday wishes for her:---

Hope you recover from your illness soon~

(For Good Health)

All the best of luck in your part-time degree~

(For Future Prospect)

Stay happy & young forever~

(For Overall Wellness)

My "Baby" Is Back!!

Yeah!! My CPU is back with a new P4 processor and MB (collected on 13th Nov & cost me S$328)! Plus it comes with some upgraded programs like my Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player 11, etc.

Haha I'm a happy girl now... Lalalala~~

These few days had passed so fast that I couldn't recap what had happened unless I make some effort to think it through. Sometimes I think I'm suffering from early senile syndrome cos I could remember past events that happened long time ago but cant recap recent activities. If you were to ask me what I had for lunch the day before, I would need some time to think about it, with no confirmation that the answer is known.

I ever heard from some people that eating certain nuts (edible ones lah, not those nuts & bolts type) at certain time of the day will improve your memory absorption, and eating raisins will also help. I tried the raisins technique during my final year exams in May/June 2006 but I dunno if it works cos it's a last min effort, but I did pass lah hahaha...

Consultation

Didn't go to Sim Lim for the consultation cos the previous "clinic" was no longer there. So I carried my "baby" all the way to Jubilee (lucky it's only a 5mins walk) for it's 1st consultation after its major makeover 3 or 4 years ago.

Had to leave my "baby" overnight for a more detailed assessment before the exact cause is known. The Doc said it might be due to the motherboard or the processor as the latter is abit old (either one I have to change the MB). Estimated maximum cost incurred = S$159 (change MB only) or S$328 (change MB & processor). Just nice that it falls on my pay day~

====> Pay Day <====

A Day You Get Paid?

or

A Day For Paying?

Nitemare!!

Ahh!!! My beloved pc is down!! And I had juz cleared all the dust in it yesterday!

Omg... what's happening? I could still use it yesterday and this afternoon after the clean-up, but half an hour ago when I was using for only 10mins, it hanged and when I restarted it, I couldn't see it's face anymore~~ :_(

There's still power on the motherboard and fan but there's no LED light beside the power switch. I dun tink the problem lies with my LCD monitor so I dunno what's wrong actually. As I'm typing this post, my world has became greyish~~ because it means I might need to spend more $$ again... anyway I'm gonna bring my CPU to see the Doc in the afternoon at Sim Lim.

Hope everything will be fine without any big holes getting burnt in my pockets. Sigh~~

(Internal Organs of my poor CPU)

Tonsil Infection

I'm having an ulcer on my right tonsil and another one in between the upper teeth and gums. How heaty can I be? It's been three days and it didn't cool down abit. Felt the pain whenever I talk or swallow, so I dun tink I can go work if I couldn't talk - basically I'm earning a living from talking to people.

On the other hand, my colleague Lawrence had his tonsil operation at CGH this afternoon. Currently he cant talk like me and it's still painful for him. Although Lawrence and me were doing counter duty together last night shift (the ulcer's birthday), but we weren't doing anything "funny" hor, if you are wondering what happened to both of us. His Ops is not due to infection, so he didn't pass the virus to me hahaha... *choy*

Anyway no cold drinks, milk, oranges and fried food for me. Muz drink lots of water and finish the antibiotics given by the doc. Hmm, my previous post was saying about myself talking less nowadays... now there's really a valid reason for talking lesser lor.

False Alarm

Got a shock today when my O2 Atom went into comatose suddenly. Everything was still fine when I went to sleep at 3am this morning but when I awoke at 1pm to answer a call on my house phone, the caller told me he cant get through to my handphone line. It was then that I realised something was wrong. After that, I cant even restart the phone or do a hard reset on it... basically nothing happened except for the weak blinking red lights when I pressed the ON or reset button... I was so devastated~

On my way to O2 Care Centre at Bugis Junction, I kept thinking whether the cause of the comatose was due to the new application and games I installed in my pda yesterday night... and how much time I need to restore my "sicko" O2 to my preferred settings after its discharge (need to reinstall alot of stuff wan leh).

Waited about half an hour for my turn at the Centre and I was already mentally prepared for my O2's admission. Told the staff about the problem and then she tested using their own battery. And guess what... the problem only lies in my battery! But I was lucky to get a one-for-one battery exchange cos my warranty is still within the first 6 months validity... if not... you know how much is one pda battery for my O2 Atom? S$98/- siah!!! Phew~

Hehe... it was a false alarm afterall... now I know I must wait for the battery to be utilised until 20% left then I can recharge it, and don't over-charged it, cos it'll shorten the battery life. This applies to ALL batteries... doesn't mean a pda battery can charge anytime hor... expensive stuff doesn't mean it's special~

What's In His Mind?

Humans are always the most complicated species in the World. It's unexplainable how some people think and make their decisions based on their gut feelings. Animals on the other hand are more simplistic in their thinking, even though some may have superb tactics in getting their prey - at least their actions are more logical (to me)...

I juz got to know that one of my colleagues had expressed his wish to resign (before getting his year-end bonus!) and get into the insurance line instead. I was told that his "good friend" who was currently in the insurance sector had somehow or rather "convinced" him that it was worth taking the risk to resign now, as he would be compensated on the amount he had forgone (the bonus) by the Insurance Co. if he could achieve a 5-digit sales figure by the end of this year.

Come on lah~ by the time he got his insurance certification and officially joined the Co., he only has less than a month to get his sales! Well, unless he's already working for the Co., or maybe his "good friend" could really help him in achieving the target, if not it wouldn't be easy to hit the 5-digit figure in such a short time frame on his own. A lot of us really wonder where his "confidence" came from, cos he's gonna plunge into an unknown situation (it's not a confirmed greener pasture over there based on past feedbacks).

However, if he's really convinced that it's gonna be the best decision for him, all of us would definitely give him our blessings. It's juz that we do not want him to make the wrong choice since we're still concern about each other's well-being.

Honestly speaking, if he were to say that he had wanted to tender his resignation after getting his year-end bonus, I wouldn't be posting such a topic about him at all cos it would sound more logical to get the $$ before you leave, right? Hmm... maybe he's too rich to even care about the extra salary~~ Or maybe I'm too money-faced? Hahaha....

Behind Closed Doors?

Recently I discovered that I had not been meeting up with my friends for quite some time, regardless whether it's for shopping or just chatting. I do not know what's the reason...

Am I becoming more anti-social? Or am I reverting to my old self, staying behind closed doors... and shutting myself from the outside world?

I'm not a person who would talk alot, unless there's really something for me to share. I am always the listener, giving the attention that you need. If I had ever talked to you alot or even share my deepest secrets, do treasure the moments... cos it means I'm willing to step out of my door for you at that point of time.

However, please forgive me if I had gradually retreated back into my world and neglected you as a result~

Baby Boom

Went for a short gathering at Shufen's house earlier to see her new-born son, Aden Chong. Everyone else brought their hubby and kids along... so you can say it was a "Family Day" outing for them.

We had 7 persons in our group: Lishan, Shufen, me, Shuyi, Kunpei, Baoli and Liling. All of us had been friends for more than 15 years!! (omg... it's scary how time had passed) Occassional gatherings were done during birthdays, arrival of new-borns, etc. However Lishan was unable to make it today as she wasn't feeling well (she's currently expecting her 2nd child wor~).

Ok I had done a calculation... we had a total of 5 kids and 2 more coming next year. I managed to get some pics of the cute little ones...

Friendship Fragility

Omg, I love blogging!! Recently I managed to uncover a shocking news which at one time made me wonder "who's the culprit" after reading E-blog (cool term huh?), and finally realised "so you are the one" in M-blog. Guess I was fated to know the matter cos I dunno why I still went to M-blog to take a look even when I'm already a step into my hibernation mode. Well, now you cant read the truth in M-blog anymore cos he had deleted the post. Now you know why I say it's fated for me?

It was sad to see my friends falling out with each other, and they are not the first group to me. But it's funny to see that the reason was always about "love vs friends". Why do friendships built over the years became extremely fragile when it come to matters of the heart?

Ice (Friendship) + Fire (Desire to Love) = Water (Friendship melted away)

It usually happened when friends brought their love interest to meet their other friends. But can things be avoided by staying away from them? NO... cos the problem lies in the common object, who normally failed to clarify things properly, or sort their own mind. Certain things are always unpredictable and uncontrollable. When things happened, it just happen like that... you may blame everything under the sun, but eventually it is you yourself who can choose to remain sad and angry for the rest of your life or accept the fact and move on with your life to be a happier person. Well, that's Life~

I Dunno...

For the past 2 days at work, I had been talking alot... I guess that might be the cause of my unusual tiredness these few days since I'm not a chatterbox in the first place (I prefer to listen).

1/11/06 marked the arrival of our new TL and I'm supposed to enlighten him on our team culture and other stuff, cos the "Cas-Caller" had gone for a pre-retirement talk for these two days (well planned indeed). Thou it was a non-stop talking session in the car, it was enjoyable (on the gossip parts) and constructive (on the work issues) at the same time. Talking to him had actually made me looking forward to work under his charge and it had slightly raised my morale a little. He knew alot of stuff about us from the info he gathered from his sources, one of which is confirmed LPC. However there were some issues which certain people had mentioned to him which were not true, and I had to clarify the matter on behalf of our team.

For example, that idiotic "part-time" INSP told him that our team had treated his "part-timers" as 2nd class, which we didn't. I told him that we would only "return the favor" on whichever "part-timers" who had mistreated us or misuse his authority on us in the 1st place. He agreed that the two main "part-timers" were too much and he would not approve of the misused authority either. It was a comfort to know about the support from him~

This two weeks would be the time to lay some changes and get ourselves accustomed to each other's working style, before he left on 13/11/06 for centralised training on Dragonboat til the end of the month. The "Cas-Caller" would be going to UK from 21/11/06 til 30/11/06, and so I'll be covering their duties as a TL for 6 working shifts!!

Now you should know why my posting had been KIV. Recently people had been asking me when I am going over to IB since my name had been mentioned numerous times in their meetings.

.

.

.

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All I can say is..... "I dunno".

Take Cover!!!

The program for today was scenario-based training for the 1st half. It was fun and at the same time "heart-pumping" with the deafening realistic shots. Each of us had to form up in groups of 3, and mine was the 1st to start. Normally, our natural reaction was to give chase when we spotted anyone fleeing upon our approach.

And so it happened... I was the 2nd person in the 5m dash and out of sudden, the 1st runner was "shot" and I dunno if the soles of my boots were too smooth (ahem... I'm not trying to find an excuse here), or I got shocked from the sound, that I slipped and fell on both my knees, right in front of a pillar. There were about 10 over pairs of eyes (observers and trainers) watching the "show", and my 1st thought was "Shit... so malu!!".

So I faster regained my posture and a few trainers asked me if I'm ok. After that they told me that I'm considered "injured from the shot" and asked me to sit near the pillar (hmm... but I dun remember I'm being shot at leh... well, we're back to the "Comply 1st, Complain Later" concept again~). Anyway, now I'm having some "blue-blacks" on both my kneecaps and it does hurt a little when I walked (but of cos it's still manageable lah).

After the training, I was told by some of them that I looked as if I had dived for cover towards the pillar when the shot was heard earlier, and they thought "wow, what a realistic reaction". Yeah right... taking cover at the pillar... it was already considered lucky that I didn't get my head smashed directly at the pillar (phew~ the face already not nice liao, I can't afford it to accomodate further damages).

As an ending note, always expect the unexpected, and always cover your backside... cos you wouldn't want to end up being held hostage like our Mister K, with a surprise attack from the back by the "nobody-knows-he's-the-roleplayer" guy.

Greener Pasture

Seems like alot of my pals are moving on to their greener pasture nowadays. Last nite (29/10/06) was Ah Tatt's last working shift with us, and we had a farewell breakfast earlier at the "don't-eat-there-if-you-have-a-choice" canteen at our workplace. Thank you for the treat wor, Ah Tatt. All the best in your new work environment!!

Apart from him, one lady resigned to work at CPF and another lady transferred to another department. And then there were some other internal transfers going on here and there. Someone else told me that he might be transferred to another unit within the same building too, but dunno when. For me, I still have to wait patiently for my turn. Cant rush into things, you know? This type of thing muz plan properly wan, since it concern my future earnings hahaha...

Changes, Changes, Changes

>>> it's the only constant in life - step up or get stepped instead <<<

The Final Countdown

28/10/06 was the last working shift with LPC, and I could see that he also turned a blind eye to certain things during work. He didn't comment anything when 5 of us (Zul, me, Kamaro, Ta and Jehan) were in the canteen having breakfast at the same time... nothing was said when two cars were indoors in the later part of the afternoon... guess there's no point in saying anything since he's leaving soon.

Come 1/11/06, we would have someone new as a "leader". And before he even can introduce himself to the team, he would not be around for the 1st half and I had to cover his post. After that I have to follow him in the car... wonder if he'll ask me to drive and diary throughout... arghhh~

Why cant the transfer be done in December so that either one of them will be around instead of getting someone else to cover their post. Now I know why my posting had been KIV~ to fill in the blanks temporary... but the good thing is that I still have my guys and one gal with me, to enjoy every working hours until it's time for me to venture elsewhere.

Specially For You, Munz

Last nite was Chee Mun's final shift with us, kinda sad that I cant get to enjoy my work with him anymore, but happy that finally he can go out and find a job with a higher pay after his ORD. I promised I would post a blog dedicated to him. I could still remember the 1st day I saw him with the other "candidate"....

It was "Love At First Sight"....... by LPC (it's our TL lah, not me). But then luckily he chose Chee Mun cos eventually he became my "baby" (probational boy). I was supposed to take good care of him and bring him wherever I go at work (except the toilet and locker room of cos), but guess wat... that fella had a great talent in the Media Industry and end up working "part-time" with other unit in the same office!! Thanks for leaving me behind lor... and end up I also dunno if I ever taught you anything proper hahaha...

As time passes, Chee Mun's wings hardened (same like Orh Bin) and he was transferred from my group to another group, but still same team (for those who dunno our work structure). But our working relationship was still good lah... cos we had common interests mah, like our O2 gang meeting, Bleaching, Blogging and other stuff which mainly comprised of gossips. Honestly speaking, so far he was the only SC that I would talk so much to at work and after work... and I believed he would be the last probational in my list since most probably I'm going off to some other greener pasture next year.

I hate it when those SCs come and go after 1.5 years of services. All the team bonding and cohesion we had built up over the period would always end up with an occasional "hi and bye" if we were to bump into each other on the streets, and slowly it would only end up with a silent smile... but still, that's LIFE~~

<<<<< Adios... Munz >>>>>

All The Best In Everything You Do!

Hope You Have All The Good Luck You Need!!

May Happiness Be With You Forever!!!

Hangover Phobia

Oh my god... how useless can I be? Suffering from hangover after last nite's "party", and I'm still feeling that the world's spinning around me. Ong say must be I too long never drink til so "shiok" liao... that's why the hangover cant bear to leave my side.

Basically, whole day I had been sleeping cos what else can I be doing when the only two feelings I had was GIDDY & NAUSEOUS. I guess it had been validated... that I should refrain from alcohol from now onwards (esp the 3 concentrated killers - XO, Vodka & Dry Gin). Dun ask me to train up further cos I really feel like sh*t today... didn't even get to enjoy my Bandung earlier *sigh*

Farewell Dinner

We're having a farewell dinner for LPC, Munz and Ah Tatt at Max house on 22/10/06 @ 7pm. It's supposed to be a team gathering but it turned out to be a "Chinese New Year" gathering cos mostly all the Muslims did not turned up as it was too near to their Hari Raya preparations. But when Hisham turned up, I was so happy and it was not a pure Chinese gathering afterall. Yes~ he's my trusted and beloved AGL haha....

Well, it's the usual KFC and Pizza with soft drinks and liquor... completed with small talks and eventually ended up with Mahjong and Soccer matches shown on ESPN at Max house. Luckily his house have labby to entertain me, but end up I introduced a dice game to a few of them who aren't involved in the MJ, and awaiting for the next soccer match to start between Arsenal and Reading. So the 5 of us played, and ALL of us got ourselves high from the alcohol content in the end (Munz ended up KO on the couch lor but after an hour's nap, he's totally fine).

Haha, it had been a long time since I felt so "high" when I decided to stop having alcohol drinks a few years ago. It was lucky that we weren't those rowdy type, but it was definitely much betta than clubbing without the deafening noise and air pollutions... plus I only need to fork out S$10 for the fun.

The 2nd round of dice game complemented with alcohol drinks (summore!!) started with Ah Tatt after their MJ session. Haha... it was another exciting game filled with non-stop laughter. But then I ended the session at 3am cos it's really time for me to go home (I'm a good girl afterall k?) and I have something on at 10am in the morning.

Well, it was so much fun and it was saddening at the same time that a few of them would be leaving us in due time. But it is life isn't it? Always filled with happiness topped with a mild sense of sadness in between.

Death Note

This new Japan movie is out in the cinemas!! But I wonder why Jubilee dun have *sigh*. Anyway before I go and watch it, I'm gonna read the manga to familiarise with the details. But actually no need to read also will understand wan lah. So far I had read about 3 episodes (in English) and I can tell you it's worth reading lor. The movie characters looked exactly the same as the manga wor... so it's quite good actually.

By the way, Death Note's Shinigami (Death God) are so much different from Bleach. DN ones look so ugly and their job is to take human's lives, not sent the wandering souls to Soul Society or killing Hollows. I know some of you might not know what I'm talking about, but no choice leh, it's MY blog remember?

A Day Out Of The Lair

My leave was approved for today *phew* at least can hide my face from them for another day. Tml should be 80% - 90% ok liao bah, so I've decided to return to my workplace for night shift.

Finally I got my butt off my computer armchair and take a step out from my lair. It's been a week since I breathe the outside air... and it still smells of the haze.

Went to J8 and wanted to withdraw $$ to buy movie tickets, so I queue up at the ATM. As I stood there behind the lady who was using the ATM, I noticed an idiotic auntie from the corner of my eyes, slowly shifting towards me but slightly a step ahead on my left. She was from the other queue wan lor!! Needless to say, after the previous lady left, that idiotic fella walked straight to the ATM. I didn't scold her or anything, I juz waited quietly for my turn again... dunno why words didn't come out of my mouth (maybe there's gold in it bah). In the end, I didn't get to watch the movie cos only left with 5 seats in the 1st row, and I had to return to my lair again.

My 2nd step out was buying 4D at the central. And guess what, I brought the wrong amount of $$ and I had to go back home and get my card to withdraw more $$ for the payment!! Lucky the 4D outlet was considered near.

Argh~ what a bad day for me, trying to get back to the outside world. Gosh...I wonder what will happen next when I'm going for my dinner later on.

Sweet Memories

I had spent most of my childhood & adolescence hanging out with my cousin brother (Daniel) and his sister (Diana) since they only stayed at the next block. The 3 of us would go cycling around, enjoying the speed and thrill like every other kids. Sometimes we would end up getting injured from the occasional falls, but we would still laugh about it. Life was so carefree and fun then... without the stress from work and other problems.

Apart from all the playing, we also went to the library and listened to stories narrated by the librarians (well-behaved wor). The riddles given were also very interesting, and definitely not R-rated *haha*.

After both of them moved house (forgot when liao), I seldom went over for a visit although it's still within a 1km walk. All of us were busy with our own life and once in a blue moon when we bumped into each other on the streets, it was just a short and rushed chat.

So many years had passed and TODAY IS DANIEL'S ROM!! I'm so glad that he had found someone who can withstand his gaming lifestyle *haha* Hey sis-in-law, tell us if he bully you k? We'll confiscate his beloved computer as a punishment for him. Ok will visit you guys when I can... erm... is this deja vu?

My Big Bro

I have a bro who’s 5 years older than me, and my only play-mate when I was small. Both of us don’t look like our age, now that we had grown up. I mean we look younger *hehe*

Since he's the only one whom I can play with, I normally followed him around with his friends and acted as an observer to see him:

• play marbles at the playground downstairs
• play soccer (I got hit by the flying ball once but we dun dare to tell mum about it in case we cant go out and play again)
• play with fighting spider (eventually got him to catch one for me after continuous pestering)

Sometimes both of us would kena whacked by mum’s “super cane”. He would tell me not to cry (cos I’m a crybaby when young mah) and taught me how to minimize the pain… using the ever-available natural medication – saliva.

There was once when we played and he got a cut on his forehead when he jumped down from the bed and hit against the wooden corner. Mum was having her nap. I was crying in fear from the sight of the non-stop bleeding (as usual). He remained cool and told me to stop crying while at the same time went to the kitchen to take the tablecloth to cover his wound. Are all Big Brothers so cool in front of their little sis and bros? In the end, the bleeding did not stop on its own, mum emerged from her room, next came the thundering roar and he got scolded for the stunt.

Sorry bro~ for causing you to be caned and screamed at by the Empress.

Thanks bro~ for the stuff you taught me and I’m glad that we still remained close like friends. Will visit you and the others more often once your new home is done… and that’s a PROMISE from your little sis!

It's Peeling~

It's starting to peel!! But it's going slow... wonder if I can get them to peel faster, but I was warned not to have "itchy" hands. I cant really have big fcial movements due to the tight but crumpled skin on my face. I do look like a crumbled old lady when I tried to smile~

Going back to work on this Friday *sigh* cant take leave cos no manpower liao~ I asked to stay indoors cos it's not advisable to get under the sun. Hmm, maybe when the customers saw my face, they decided to turn back and go home instead hahaha.... isn't that nice? Or maybe I should wear the face mask that doctors and nurses wear, so that I can hide most part of my face (like Shredder in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles").

Well, it's supposed to get better after the peeling. I can only keep my fingers crossed from now on and see what happens next. Sorry for the scary and ugly pic posted above~

Phone Craze

Juz heard from Kama that he got himself an O2 Atom. Welcome to the O2 Gang, bro~

I got my 1st PDA phone "O2 Atom Pure" on 10th June 2006, juz 3 days before my last exam paper. Cant stand the temptation at that time cos my Nokia 6670 kept restaring on its own, and I really couldn't bring myself to study anymore. My mind was only "Atom vs Dopod"... lucky I managed to pass my last paper after that.

So far this is my 8th handphone, and the most lovable one. It's really good lor... acts as an organiser as well as an entertainer with the games that I installed. Dun care if you guys want to know the history of my previous handphones or not... I'll juz post them here *hehe*:

1. Nokia 6110 - got it in 1998 on my Wednesday walk-out during training at Toa Payoh central. Was interested in the SMS function so decided to get one with my own salary.
2. Nokia 8210 - dunno when and why I changed to this phone. I guess that's why it was "accidentally abandoned" by me inside one of the toilet cubicle at Jubilee. The worst thing is that I only realised the loss about 2hrs later when I went home and back to Jubilee again to catch a midnight movie.
3. Nokia 8250 - got this the next day after I lost my 8210 cos I practically cant live without a handphone for a day. Damn~ what a loser...
4. Nokia 6510 - the "business-look" phone. I remembered it was quite good, other than that dunno what else to describe.
5. Sony Ericsson T610 - my 1st coloured phone and 1st try on other non-Nokia phones. Shir got this model 1st and my hand got itchy again... love the clarity of the pictures taken and MP3 playable function but can only set your sms tone from the given 6 choices (so boring). Its pathetic death was caused by me when I went to the toilet during my night shift. It got drowned~ in the squat-type toilet bowl. My colleagues all said it was done on purpose so that I can get a new model... but I swore it was purely accidental. It was beyond repair~
6. Nokia 6230 - the phone that I'd been wanting to get cos it uses external memory card. But I got rid of it after 3 months of usage since it cant set ringtone from the MP3 in the memory card. Tried testing using my friend's card but also a disappointment.
7. Nokia 6670 - the 1st Symbian phone for me! Got it on 31st Dec 2006, a day before Joanna's wedding, and I used it to capture her sweet moments with Kelvin. This was a new era of handphone OS and I spent most of my time installing great apps and games into my 6670. This was the 1st phone that kept me company for a year and a half, and I still love it.

Am I a frequent handphone-changer? Nah... I'm not lor... I'm just following thru the technological advancement in the Handphone Industry. But I do know 2 persons who changed their phones like a "pro". Guess who??