they just say the darnest thing

Aunties are a weird breed.
Sometimes you hate them
for no matter how spacious the pathway, you will sure get an elbow or two in the gut
yet sometimes they truly crack you up and puzzles you to no end
simply with the ridiculous and illogical comments they make.

Today i went shopping at Tiong Bahru market with my mom and we were sucked into a shop by this extremely vivacious auntie. she practically physically forced me into a red top which frankly, makes me feel like minnie mouse. somehow she managed to hypnotize me to purchase that top! thankfully, SOME common sense prevailed and i decided on the navy blue version (which she insists, is black) instead and managed to look pretty decent. (saw a similar top at bysi!)

she was telling my mom how pretty i am (not flattered at all, since its standard procedure to compliment each other's offsprings) while my mom was saying with how unfriendly i usually am and how i dislike to smile (again, it is part of the protocal to be humble). the auntie suddenly countered with a comment which makes me go ???. she said: "you3 yi4 dian3 sha1 qi4 shi4 hao3 de" ??? i have sha qi? and how is that good? this truly baffles me as my mom smiled in return.
so do i really exude sha qi?

lets move on to auntie no.2 who sells shoes. i was bio-ing a orangey red pair of heels which unfortunately was the last pair and too big for me and she cannot stop recommending me other pairs of flats which are...frankly speaking, shinning at me. yes, shinning becuase of the sequins. when i kept saying no, her expression kinda turned sour and mumbled in mandarin "you so tall already still wear heels..." and once again i went ??? me? so tall??? wahahaha what a joke.

well, i tink 2 weird aunties are sufficient for a day...

the haze is getting worse and i truly fear for my eyes...i will be very lonely next week, for i'll be aLONE in office...nobody to lunch with...HOW?!?!?! i cannot be independent n eat alone...feel so pathetic now...

this is going to take some time to read...

halo everybody!!!!!! i am back!!!

yesterday marks the LAST day of work on the "eat shit" client.
i must say, i am RELIEVED and sooo glad that i can finally:

1. have sufficient sleep (latest i have worked till is 2am. meaning worked at least minimum of 14 hours a day)

2. not have to suffer hunger (lunch usually 1plus and dinner after 8! suffer hunger twice a day)

3. not have to take shit from people who are obviously stuck up and obnoxious (for no reason. not as if they're the PM or high esteemed characters)

4. be afraid of visiting a toilet in the building which is rumoured to be haunted (i swear, the auto hand dryer really started by itself. i was nowhere near it!)

5. be delegated work which obviously, is not mine and usually shit jobs.

6. cut my nails, do mask, shop peacefully and basically, spend time with myself and with friends.

however, i am also kind of regretful that the team is disbanded (and hopefully won't come together again because it means that we are back doing the shit job) because from the 5 weeks i spent with them, i actually got to know them better and learn their quirks and shared complains together. the 3 seniors who have taught me alot, whether is it GAM, or how to deal with superiors and in their own way, showed their concern towards us. the A2s whom we got to know better and especially that i have gotten close to haidi who is actually very tan chi! how can i survive ont he next job without her? nobody to accompany me to the toilets, nobody to share grumbles and gossips with, nobody to help me with my work and nobody to discuss what to eat for lunch! however, all good(and some bad...) things must come to an end and i look forward to the next engagement and making new friends and colleagues.

Thoughts and feels.
1. Is this the right job for me?
2. Am i too unmotivated?
3. Am i too sheltered such that i cannot take hardships?

These questions kept on floating in and out of my thoughts constantly while i am on the job. initially, the late nights and tough clients really made me resentful, and entirely frustrated that i am stuck in this line. I kept feeling like this is not the right occupation for me. I am not strong in my accounting knowledge, i get bothered by rude clients too easily and i dislike having insufficient sleep daily. I have mentioned that the latest i end work is 2am in the morning, but in actual fact, the latest my seniors and supervisor worked till is 11am in the morning. Yes, that will be 26 hours of work straight. that knowledge itself really rendered me speechless. i question myself: what is their motivation? it is not as if they have a cut of the profits. further, how is it that they can take such hardship just to churn out a report for the boss who decides that he needs it at the eleventh hour, receives pay that does not compensate for their effort and yet maintain their optimism and passion for the job? why is it that i cannot comprehend their dedication? am i too sheltered by my parents such that such "hardship" , such sacrifice (of personal time and of resting time) seems entirely ridiculous? the bottomline is that i lack the passion for this occupation (or for accounting in ANY form) and together with the fact that i have never endured such long hours of working non stop workes together to make me extremely resentful of my present job. in addition to this, i cannot help but feel underpaid and under compensated for my efforts (yes, 3 legged stool theory and the motivation theory.). Hence, i am extremely unsatisfied with my job and the thought of leaving just kept on haunting me. shall i leave? if i do, i have no idea what interests me and thus, no notion of what type of job i can apply for.

however, after speaking to a senior, (who is also leaving!), i am faltering in my stance of leaving. she tells me that if i keep feeling dissatisfied about my present position and keep entertaining thoughts of leaving, i can never feel at ease with my job. if i don't stop comparing with others (in terms of working hours, pay and perks of the job), i will always feel restless and resentful of whatever i do. this really gave me second thoughts about leaving. yes, the present job really does not have much to offer in terms of immediate compensation. however, what it gives is exposure, to how different industries and companies works. particularly, the portfolio which i am "allocated" to, i must admit i do have a different portfolio from others and i will get to see more. further, since i do not know what is it that i want in life (except to marry lee hom and just sit back relax and see the $$ rolling in), waiting at least a year before i leave will open up my eyes to the real world and hopefully, by then i have a notion of what is it i wanna be in life.

taxi drivers
once we end work after 8pm, we get reimbursement for the taxi ride home. obviously, given the hours i work till, i took cab home virtually everyday. as such, i have lots of opportunities to chat with these taxi drivers, one of whom in particular, leave an impression. he is a semi-retired man who continues driving because he cannot sit still at home. once he earns enough to cover his costs, he packs up and goes home to accompany his wife for high tea sessions, mahjong or goes clubbing with his daughters (zouk le!). he is the type of man i wanna become. or rather, i would love to be in the same situation as him in about 35 years. he seems satisfied about his life and enjoys each day with no regrets. i wonder, if i can be like him? happy go lucky, has a close knitted family and has a cheeful outlook.

of course, another reason he left an impression on me is that he he says i look like i am born in '87 or '86. wahahahahahahaha...that means i look 18! of course, he made my day! but after he was informed that i'm 22 and single, he says "how come! faster find one or else too late!" and in that one-liner, he has just said out what i FEELS deep in my bone! HOW COME?!?! i also duno! the next worse thing about not having a bf is that there isn't even anyone in the "potential" league nor is there anyone in the "eligible" league. so girls, is it time to activate our membership with the SDU yet? or shall i tattoo my forehead with "single and available" tag?

shen arh...jiu jiu wo (men) ba.

tell me why

it is one of the scarce resource you ever possess
everybody wants a part of it
it is never easy to allocate it such that everyone is satisfied
you can never have enough of it
it can cause disappointment, impatience and stress,
yet when given to the right people, it can make one's day, even a perfect stranger.
it is valuable whether you are someone important or a small fry in the world.

time, the most scarce resource in the world.

why why why...why is it that when you have alot of time with nothing on your hands, you will end up wasting that time waiting for somehting to do. yet when you have alot on your plate, you find that you dont have enough time. time to complete your work. time to visit the toilet, enough time to rest and relax, and time for family and friends. even if you have some time, who do you allocate it to? it seems that when someone asks you out, every other friend wants to meet on the same time slot too. it seems that when you have alot of work coming your way, someone else will ask you for help. it seems that there is no way out. and it irritates me to no end!

there are actually people who exists in ths world who are utterly beyond belief! unreasonableness, rudeness, people who look down on you when they are worth shit, people who insists on getting their way and refuses to compromise. how can a complete stranger push the blame on you and shouts at you when in the situation, you are of superiority status, and chose to be humble and courteous only to be met by such ridiculous attitudes? why do we choose to keep quiet and tolerate such nonsense? why do i lack the guts to put things right? why is the world unfair? all questions no answers.

about......nohting in particular

long time no see.
been busy with work, more or less. further, not supposed to blog about my job, coz of confidentiality issues. or else it will implicate my integruty according to some accountants act or something...don't really recall the details of what i've learnt in the 3 years in ntu. hmmm...thats bad ain't it? thought i'm supposed to acquire life skills.

somehow feels very lazy to blog also. feels no enthusiasm towards anything le. though i am dying to shop and anyhow spend money (my dad says i am a waster. i always waste stuff...and...i AGREE though i try my best not to. maybe i didnt try hard enough. hai...like how i shouldn't use photocopying machine, coz i always end up with WRONG print jobs!) on many many clothes and SHOES...and i really wanna go bangkok this year. who can go with ME!?!?! hai...deep inside, i know it won't be realised. i should go out n make more friends. not that i have time. every sat is the day to meet up with friends, and so must rotate...also somehow chel left n it feels funny. like missing something like that. then sundays are family days. whether we go out or juz nua at home doing things on our own. i really think it is important to just be togther at home or something. my parents are aging and i am really worried. heart attacks, diabetes, and that C word. nowadays i hate it whenever my dad say "char kway teow".the guilt after i quarrel/be rude to them is also muchmuch worse than before. its not that i am paranoid, but dear friends, pls try to watch out for your parents too! especially those who have hit 50..

btw, this is a sunday afternoon and i am bloody working at home. ok la, not very difficult, not vry stressed...just very tedious!!! also, my laptop can't be used until i find an anti-virus....can some kind soul lend me if u have? real desperate. or else all the photos i have of u will be lost forever!

020806

Cold cold cold. The weather is unpredictable today. I remembered thinking while on the way to work that finally! a sunny day… and how my mood is considerably lighter compared to the prior day. However during lunch hour (12-2pm) the dark clouds gathered and poured for 2 full hours. I finally found people to have lunch with me but the rain destroyed our plans. Though we are only a few blocks away, I feel bad to make them walk here and neither do I want to swim there. Somehow my mood was so mild that I told them its fine, I will pack lunch and eat alone and I don’t mind. And I really don’t. except that it was really dull to lunch alone.

And you may ask, where’s my senior? He disappear at lunch time everyday. He knows I have no-one to lunch with but he didn’t invite me to join him. Perhaps he’s meeting gf or close frens. However I can’t help but feel that he didn’t make the effort to be friends because we’re from different departments and after these 2 weeks, we may never work together again. Though I wouldn’t mind transferring to his department (note: not for him, but for my own good) but that is provided I want to pursue a career in that aspect. Speaking of career, I seriously doubt I will stay on in my current job forever. Probably 3 years? Though it is relatively stable (yearly promotion and pay rise of at least 20%), you need to put in long hours and probably develop fine lines and eye bags within 6 months. For me, I am just not the driven and career-minded kind of girl. I am unwilling to sacrifice sleep time and play time for career advancement. Which makes me wonder, what type of occupation will suit me? I am happy with a salary which is sufficient to survive and shop (I don’t need to earn 5000 a month, 3000 is good enough!) and I dislike sitting at a desk doing the same things all over again. I certainly won’t mind in the service sector but I am not very good with honeyed words. Maybe I should be a talk show host since I love to talk and talk. However I am quite ignorant and have poor general knowledge, not pretty nor slim enough (tv puts 10 pounds on you!) and definitely not able to memorise scripts! ( Think I am a Pentium II model. Slow and limited memory). After all this nonsense you may ask, what is Lirong’s point in today’s post? The answer is…I am very bored at work and have nothing to do so I am typing all this shit in MS words before transferring to blogger. Thank you.

On Friday, the 3rd team member finally appeared! And she is a normal and decent human being! We can actually chat (abit la..) and she invited me to lunch with her and her kakis in GFS! Though I was quiet most of the time, it was pretty enjoyable listening to their gossips (though I duno who they were talking about) and them laughing at each other. We also gossiped abit about Senior and I realized, its not ME! Apparently I’m not the only one who is not able to solicit responses from him! And yes, he was condemned for leaving me to lunch alone.

Driving Lesson
As usual, I dread going for driving lessons after work. Not only am I brain dead, my eyes are going blind and I have no energy to twist my body here and there in order to get a better view of whatever bend and curb I am negotiating. However, contrary to my expectation, the lesson was enjoyable today! It’s the first time I encounter this instructor and the first impression he gave was stern! Yet he was actually pretty jovial and entertaining. Most importantly, he was good at his job. The tips he gave me were practical and to the point such that I am now able to do the “directional change” perfectly! I hope I will attend his lesson again! And the Most important lesson learnt today: how to start the car engine.

A thought here…Would you pay for your girlfriend’s living expenses and/or credit card bills?

Convocation 2006

yippee!

the only day where you get the chance to do this! (unless you're going for masters or phd la..but by then you are supposed to look dignified also lo)

its my day. so allow me to be narcisstic.

Parents. They are even happier than me on this special day. And of course, they are the reason i am standing tallER and proud in the gown for the conferrment of the degree.

Panel of friends and family.

do we look like we're in love? haha! but veryvery touched that lunz came all the way frm civilisation to ntu and specially taking leave to take pictures with me! and of course she gave me a hugh bouquet of VERY colourful flowers! not to forget, she's the unofficial but voluntary and very responsible photographer of the day..my dad was spot on when he said that you are my "si dang" who has stuck with me all these years..

my jie-meis in school! and now, my jie-meis in the audit industry..(jaze disappeared half way as usual..) and soon, my jie-meis in plastic surgery (to suck out eye bags)

hall fivers! the lao zar bors and one CJ (or is it CK?) its difficult to get a perfect picture where everyone is awake and looking at the right camera (there were more than 5..)

the family entourage taking a break before moving on to heritage centre to take MORE photos!

outside heritage centre: while everyone was chatting away and packing, lunz decided to take a candid and photo and guess what she caught on camera!!! MR and Mrs HOW!!! What are you doing?!?!

flower from hou.

huge bouquet from lunz!!

this weekend...

(i realise that i only have a life on weekends..)

Meet...my saturday girlfriends CULT members...my buddy specially turn down a DATE to meet us!!! very touched though i dont show it..(well, she actually HAS a date! i am forever dateless..lee hom, where are you?).

why are we a cult?

first, we were doing weird actions like massaging our collarbones, eye sockets and brows. next we attempt to group hug and then we stare into blank space and tried to sniff some suspicious white powder (which is actually sugar which julia ground into REFINED sugar!). no doubt everyone in gardens liquid kitchen is wary of us!

after forcing my buddy to shop for 4 hours straight, i finally...finally found the perfect pair of covered everywhere heels for work. i hope it doesn't kill my feet as much. (i checked out all the tinkerbell outlets i see but sorry ah ju, i cannot find your heels anymore!) after accidentally cheated a booth seat out of the cartel staff and a very satisfying meal which was peppered with disgusting dialogue..buddy and i settled in chel's car and wasted $1 for parking 5minutes in the car park and went to coffee bean, found a seat and realised that the "fengshui" there is not too good and left for liquid kitchen so that we can get sucky service. why sucky? actually, it was sucky due to ONE particular staff. we asked for a table for 4-5 and the reply was something like this: "would you mind a table for 6?" of coz we didnt and practically pounced on the sofa. then a lady staff came and told us that the table is meant for large groups of 8! and that we had only 4 people and asked us to change tables! FINE. so we did. after us, a group of about 5-6 wanted that table too but similarly they were rejected. in the end, SHE showed a group of a grand total of THREE people to THAT table. thank you very much. i really don't see the logic in THAT. and because of that, you have made 5 customers very dissatisfied and very unhappy. i wonder what are the odds of us coming back.

the night of the smelly armpits.

Lao Zar Bor outing. i was tired, and left early.

the korean food really sucked.

and i am quite upset that i didn't get a chance to chat much with audrua and qianlu and han xiao jie.

i do miss last time when i walk to school with audrua and she will always listen to me complaining with the most patience and understanding.

my convocation is this coming tues, 25th july. its now 23rd july. yet i am not excited at all...

tirade of thoughts.

on family...
i don't need parents who are of upper class, fine dines, abide by social etiquette etc. i accept my parents who are simple middle class citizens whose first and foremost role in life is to be good parents. it doesn't matter that they talk too loudly nor that they ask the waiter to pack food we can't finish. it doesn't matter that they scold us when we fall nor sayang us when cry. all it matters is that they love us, however subtle the forms of expression is.

on people i don't get...
sometimes i do not understand why people does certain things.
one sunday, my dad was feeling generous and in the mood to pamper the family. so he came up with a plan to treat us to some famous avocado shake, followed by a nice meal at My Humble House(because they have this delicious dish of braised spare ribs which he has eaten before). however, some irrirating and immature kid was feeling anal and refused to have anything that is NOT buffet. this disgusting individual spent the entire journey complaining. thankfully he received the tick off he obviously deserved. pissed, he left the restaurant even before the food was ordered. that was after my mom wasted her efforts trying to coax him.
i really don't get such people.
my dad was making an obvious effort to please the family and the simple reason he was doing so is that he cares. why doesn't the piece of shit realise this and try to appreciate it? when will he learn?

...............

have you even known somebody whom you don't exactly hit off yet somehow or other, always remained in the same circle of friends or somehow, never lost contact with over the years? sometimes i wonder if certain people are out here on earth to torment me in the most subtle manner to obvious ways.

for example, he/she seems to disagree with me on most if not all occasions. i'm not saying that he/she should agree me on every issue or opinion, if that is so, i might as well be alone. such a person will either disagree with me outright, sometimes not even having heard my entire speech, or disagree then repeat what i have said in a different manner such that i cannot decipher whether he/she has in fact disagreed or agreed with me. this really ticks me off and irritates me !#$%^& actually, all i wanna do is complain, and wonder why i cannot shake him/her off.

my weekend..

Friday
after work, met my girls, chel and buddy for a movie and dinner date. however, our pirates tickets were sold out so instead we indulged in another favourite activity. EAT. the brand new eatery at cine, which sells "authentic" hongkong eats is a breath of fresh air compared to the local favourites. chel ordered the hongkong noodles soup which is actually instant noodles with luncheon meat, egg and veggies. the soup was pretty good and i suspect, loaded with msg. my buddy ate her favourite fish served with rice. as for me, i finally get to eat pasta! (i was craving for it since germany!) it was actually chesse baked pasta with pork chop. the chop was tender BUT i don't like! it tastes like PORK! we also ordered a "tau pok" look-a-like french toast. it was really nothing special.
the highlight of the night was actually the chat we had at starbucks (my buddy's favourite place). though it was a very simple activity, and something which they probably do alot with each other, i truly felt liberated and "in" again. it felt as if i haven't "connected" with them in a long time. and i also realised how frank my friends were. frank in the sense that they dare ask the truth and grill you for the truth. though i wonder if that's just the earl grey speaking. the topics which we talk about may just scare the average person for we discuss about any and everything. so if we ever ask you about fireworks, be careful how you answer!

Saturday
as usual, i am LATE for my date. sorry darling, but you should be used to it by now! its really hereditary! as a result, there were 2 girls trying to look glam, dying as starvation. subsequently, we slurped up the entire bowl of SPICY ramen and alot of fried stuff. feeling very fat but satisfied, we started indulging our eyes and fashionista desires by ensuring we comb the entire far east shopping centre (or is it plaza?). the shopping spree ended up with a bagful of "loot" and 2 very thirsty shoppers. so darling and i ended up at the same cafe i went to on friday. the mango ice seems to be beckoning to us man. we ended up having a small and very early dinner of dim sum and we only realised we did not eat the mango ice after we left the restaurant. what the hell! haha, but i made a good discovery: the pineapple bun and milk tea in the metal "gong" is good! we also managed to scare a guy by pretending to be lesbians. well, can't blame him for eveasdropping because our tables were only inches apart.

succumbing to our spontaniety, we called CJ out and ended up eating alot of things. first we went to subway and CJ ate a sandwich which is almost the width of angeline's shoulders. next we went to bakerzinn and we shared brownies with chocolate ice-cream! it was heavenly. quoting angeline, the brownies were "gao" enough. though the food was good, the company was even better. it feels wonderful to catch up and chat with good friends, however difficult to meet up more often. congrats to cj for finding a job and congrats to me for gaining a free meal.

Sunday
time to catch up on sleep.

yadayadayada

work...
its week 2 day 2 of work. today we had training to build up our image for the entire day. 2 speakers from an image consulting franchise came in and talked to us about how we should behave in certian situations, how to defuse sticky situations with clients, how we should observe social ettiquette, simple dressing tips for working men and women etc. it was pretty interesting and enriching as i realized that much of the way we behave and dress, including our postures, the way we sit, walk and speak affect how others perceive you to be.

so far, for the last 2 days, i get off work right on time. in other works, we can leave by 5.30pm, the official end time of work. i guess for these 2 weeks, we get to "enjoy" this, before we embark on any real audit work by taking on cases. therefore, i am making the most out of it! everyday i pia home by 6.30pm..but i realize that when i get home, i have dinner, bath and then nua in front of the TV! too tired to revise the stuff we're taught and too early for bed..sian..i am totally wasting my time. so next week, pls feel free to ask me out after work, though i must be home by 10pm. haha! still! if meet in town i can meet from 5.30 to 9pm le! luxury ok! haha..

shoes...
i have also realised that i have been buying too many pairs of shoes! 3 pairs from europe (2 of which i have not touch yet), 1 pair from penang(which i haven even "adjust" to fit my left feet yet), 1 pair from bugis mkt (which is only 10bucks le! i also haven touch it..) and just yesterday, finally bought my "lacey" shoes (too bad no heels le..). in total, there are 6 pairs AND, i have NOT satisfied my objective of purchasing a pair of comfy heels which is black or white. very gross right? to further gross u out, i just realised i need another pair of closed toe n heels shoes for work..n no pay yet..

lastly...
recently i read the headlines of an article (too lazy to read entire article) whereby they discussed about bloggers who write alot. in fact, too much and cannot stop writing. don't know where to stop. even write about mundane and boring stuff. my point is. i think they are talking about ME!

best of europe..and daniel.

this is the best pictures taken during the entire europe trip. i'm so proud of myself because i took 4 out of the 6 photos! clockwise from top left: sunset from andy's doorstep in nuremberg, lunzi and i just outside the vatican, scenic view of somewhere in germany (where the castle which inspired the disney castle is) which is also one of my favourite photos, side view of the river in florence, beautiful flowers in Titisee and bird's eye view of florence (courtesy of lunz)

forgot to put this in the Freiburg section. xueli and i stayed with this guy, daniel for 3 days. his room was quite comfy and nice! thats our (and his) favourite couch! because it was so rainy throughout our stay i freiburg, we spent lots of time reading his books! heng he has a little collection of english fiction. and yes, he's probably the cutest guy we met in Europe.

with that, its probably the last of the europe trip photo series. i'm too lazy to do collages liao..and the best photos (as in, those which i dun look like shit in..) are up..hope you guys like the pics!

Funny pics.

we plan to take over the world everynight.

take photo take photo! click click!

personal grooming session. must pluck eyebrows TOGETHER and cut nails while sticking heads out of the window.

what are these 2 crazies doing? HOLDING ON FOR DEAR LIFE!!! yes, the wind was THAT strong!

Germany - Berlin, part 1

clockwise from left: photo with berlin mascot; trying to do a winter sonata scene; probably the most famous equation in the world;photo with strangers; photo with the sphinx (not sure why its found in germany though..) and finally the berlin wall.

the memorial for the jews who perished in the nazis' genocide and the berlin wall.

the gloomiest place. yet it makes you really think, how evil human beings can become.

i travelled with some very sleepy people. they sleep anywhere and everywhere.

the thickest girl in the world. i daresay, about 1 metre thick.

on friendship...

you know how sometimes and somehow, without you realising, you drift off from your friend(s)?
for no good reason, one day you wake up and realise that you don't know her anymore, you cannot click as well, she doesn't confide in you anymore and you don't know what is going on in her life? the loss is discerning yet there is nothing you can do. attempts to resume the friendship will likely be futile. i am not talking about the loss of a friendship. you are still friends, just that the feeling is different, and you feel distant. it is alarming how absence can cost you, despite the long history of the friendship. however, not all friendships will turn out like that. there are certain friends whom i always want to meet up with and yet have no chance to. but once we meet, we can hit it off immediately as if we see each other daily. this makes me question, if the friendship in question, is real? is it sincere? maybe i do think too much. maybe i am too conscious of such issues, whether they truly exist or not.

Germany - Hamburg

hobby #1: here's our home in hamburg. and no, we don't have THAT many stuff. the mess was already there before we arrived. and everyday, we will have packing rehearsal..so thats what we do when we are FREE. we PACK.

hobby #2: we EAT. at the top left, its food from our fave pu in hamburg, whereby we visited to have lunch twice in a row. the food is pretty good, affordable with BIG portions and interesting menu. the bottom left picture is of falafel, which is turkish or middle eastern cuisine. it is actually fried pea patties served with spicy sauce.

it took the entire can of hair wax to get this hair. either that or very strong and persistent wind.

soccer craze. what else? argentina fans were excited to see asians and asians(us) were excited to see crazy fans. so they asked for a photo. xueli is supposed to be in the photo..but the photographer...hmm..duno..pak jiao? so she's totally not captured though she was grinning from ear to ear.

when there is nothing to do, we visit the park. those who wants a tan, lies in the sun. those who wants porcelain white skin, naps in the shade.

Germany - Heidelberg and Munster

This is the view from the top of the castle in Heidelberg. We took a laborious climb (for xueli and i) and took a long time to catch our breath. however, i think the climb was worth it, coz we can see most part of the town area! the new friends we made in Heidelberg acted as our guide. In the last photo, i had a weird expression cause while the photo was taken, i was being molested.

This is the place we stayed in in heidelberg. The hosts were friendly and we were their first couchsurfers! I think the place is very well decorated! and i would kill to have an attic like that. Though i walked into the ceilings multiple times and the sun will shine into my face at 7am daily, it felt very homely and comfy! And there's xuelun trying to act like a scene from some play.

xueli and i making ourselves VERY confortable on the couch. It was freezing outside, hence our polar bear suits were out in full force.

Top: Xueli and I ejoying a nice COOL glass of alt bier. Its actually dark beer with peaches! Surprisingly, the zest in the beer adds to the flavour of the peaches and vice-versa! Bottom: The lady in the centre is Claudia, whom hosted us in Munster. She's one of my favourites because she's very pleasant to talk to and somehow i feel very confortable with her. She also introduced us to many of her friends and we spent lots of time chatting. According to her, she's one of the shortest among her friends..hmmm...

We had a nice meal at this lady's home. She was wenqi and xuelun's "mama" when they had the emersion programme a few years back. She made Spargel (which is actually white asparagus) for us and it was so delicious, everyone had seconds!

Germany - Munich

This is the room we stayed in in munich. Anna's very very hospitable and generous friends, Ahmad and Christoph gave up one of their rooms for lunz and i! Ahmad picked us up at the bahnhof and because he didn't know how we looked like, he was holding up a sign with our big names on it! It was pretty hilarious. Further, to make us feel at home, they put up the sign with our names and posted pictures of asia all over. The room consists of a mini kitchen, attached toilet and Christoph's special stash of...INSTANT NOODLES TOMYUM FLAVOUR!!!

...and yes, the noodles were THAT delicious!

...and to top it up, we added our homemade wanton out of tissue papers..yes, we missed local food..

we visited a castle which has various rooms spread out all over an entire "forest". To protect the flooring, the guard made us put on these "mickey mouse" shoes! haha it was super slippery and we were pretending to skate in the room.

Back from Penang

I'm back! again..nice to be back in Singapore and it feels great to catch up on SLEEP..this is what we do daily, for the 5 days i spent in Penang with my new colleagues..

7.30am: Breakfast, buffet.
8.30am: Training
10.30am +/-: Tea break, with like 2 or 3 dishes and coffee or tea
1.00pm: Lunch, buffet
2.00pm: Training
3.30pm +/-: Tea break, with like 2 or 3 dishes and coffee or tea
5.30pm +: End of the day. Freshen up then go out for dinner and some shopping

So in all, we have FIVE meals a DAY. felt full all the time. and diedie want to eat all the meals haha..the lessons are combination of lectures and some activities which require you to make creative structures and quizzes where you have to fight to answer and earn points. MY group, consisted of all the hall5 girls and 2 others..in all, it was pretty fun, especially when you are in the same group as people who are funny and love to gossip!!! haha..the entire training was at sheraton hotel, where we also stayed in. learnt alot of things and made some new friends, whom i will be seeing for the duration of my employment. on the last day, we have half the day free before leaving for home, and managed to do some shopping and bought cheaper shoes and handbag..