The story of my life..

Today

2005-12-16T10:14:00.000+08:00

Today is my last full day in Rouen.

Today is the last time I can spend a full 24hrs in Rouen.

Today is the official end to my exchange since I will no longer have classes or exams.

Today I had to say goodbye to dear friends I have grown so close to over these past 4 months.

I will be leaving Rouen officially on 20th Dec but am only coming back for the night on 18th and 19th so as to save on accommodation cos we will be taking short trips to Reims and Luxemburg on those days. So yes, today is the last day I will get to spend a full 24hrs in Rouen. It is actually quite sad if you really sit down and think about it cos in a mth’s time, it will be the end of traveling, the end of being able to simply take a train and travel to some exciting destination, the end of being totally free and able to do whatever you want without any parental supervision, the end of slacking in sch, the end of easy, almost brainless coursework. Now all I have to “look forward” to is slogging my guts out in my last semester in SMU and getting stressed about finding a good and respectable job. Somehow, the future looks bleak and unexciting. I was certainly much happier and more optimistic 6 months ago when I was planning for my exchange. But well, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I am looking forward to going back to Singapore as well. So the point is, I am also confused as to how I should feel now lah. Haiii..

On a brighter note, Meijun and I went ice-skating yesterday! First time I ice-skated in a real outdoor ice-skating rink and not faux one at Jurong even though its much cheaper. It was quite fun even though I spent like half the time trying to balance myself and holding on to the perimeter of the rink so that I wouldn’t fall. Haha, I must have looked damn unglam cos the guy kept laughing at me and asking me if it was my first time. Duh, of cos lah, if its my 10th time, do you think I would be that lousy? In the end, I used this traffic cone they provided to balance myself. And to think those professional skaters make it look so easy, stylish, effortless and graceful. I just looked like a clumsy duck compared to them. Some of the little kids were so cute. They had those chairs when you could sit on it and be pushed and the chair would just glide smoothly over the ice. Some of the 3-4 yr olds who were bundled up and looked really cute, and fat and chubby were sitting on it and haha I really envied them. I wish that I could be pushed around like that.

We cooked dinner for our HK friends today. It was our last dinner together and yah wanted to give them a trip since they have been so nice and hospitable to us so we bought paella (the frozen kind) and a roast chicken and some desserts. Quite sad since it was our last dinner and we had quite a lot of dinners with some of them. We started off by having dinner with them everyday when we first got to Rouen. Meiting, Meijun, Xiaolu and I are planning to go to HongKong and China for our grad trip in June so hope to meet up with them and have a mini reunion then. =)

Needed to pack and clear our house and try to finish ALL our food these few days. Its no mean feat and I am exhausted. Cannot imagine how I am going to survive my last leg of travel. Its been so long since I slept on a train and ate poorly =(. Its going to be a tiring month ahead. This is my last entry for the year since I will probably only get Internet access when I return to Singapore. That is if I don’t freeze to death in Scandinavia! If you don’t see any entries by end of Jan, pls send out a search rescue team to Scandinavia hehe.

Today is the day I posted my last blog entry for 2005. Cya in Jan 2006!

Oxymoron: Happy to be going home but glum to be leaving Europe

2005-12-10T04:10:00.000+08:00

Phew..it has indeed been a bz and tiring week. Probably the busiest week we have had since we stop traveling.

Mon was spent shopping at Carrefour for party stuff and stayed up till about 4am finishing up a project that was due today cos there was no other day my project mates could meet up. Tues was spent at Bois – the cheapest student residence available for exchange students. Our HK friend Ewin was invited for dinner by some Chinese nationals and we decided to tagged along for free food thinking that we will get a feast of homemade dumplings since he mentioned that this Chinese lady doing her MBA made dumplings from scratch for him that last time they had dinner together and even gave him Dumplings 101 lessons. But in the end we had to settle for tomato and egg, long? French? Beans with diced pork, fried cucumber and egg and seaweed soup. The meal was cooked by 2 Chinese guys who had no cooking experience prior to coming for exchange and the food not only tasted edible but was rather tasty albeit a tad too oily for my liking but who am I to complain, they cooked and washed after a day at school and all I had to do was wait for dinner *grin*.

Wed, the long awaited day of our Christmas party! Bz day cos had to assist in cooking, food preparations, food purchases etc. And had a major cleanup of the house after everyone left even though I was already feeling a little tipsy from the wine and beer we had to drink from playing games-that-I-am-so-bad-at. Hosting parties are tres tiring affairs, I know understand why my mom hates inviting people over to our house. Nevertheless, Wed was a fun time of games, eating and fellowship. And the food was good and hearing the nice comments that people had to say about the party was heartwarming and gratifying as well =). I am such a sucker for compliments heeh. Another late night on Thurs as I was also up till about 4am finishing up another powerpoint presentation. And I had to go to sch today from 1045am – 4pm as well =(. Had a really hard time keeping awake. Will be going for a party downtown later on. Our first and last clubbing experience in Rouen, we were too bz traveling the first 3 mths to go to any party either that or we were never told of any parties cos most of the posters are placed at hostels so we rarely know whats going on which can be quite a pity. But discussing the pros and cons of living in a hostel or downtown is another topic for another day.

So there..my 2nd last week in Rouen simply whizzed by. I am probably one of the few people who are not feeling terribly sad/depressed to be nearing the end of my exchange. Don’t get me wrong, I totally enjoyed my exchange experience (except for the stinge-ing and eating sausages and mushrooms everyday part) and I am really happy that I was given this opportunity to lead an independent life overseas. It has been amazing to be able to travel so many countries in such a short period of time, to see so many different cultures, to visit and do so many things I have always dreamt of doing, to live on my own with no nagging mom, to have the chance to interact with and make international friends (mostly Asian though), to get a taste of how uni classes are conducted overseas etc. But nothing beats home. I miss home and my family, miss the food in Singapore, the weather, the efficient administration and the fast-paced life and I am glad that I will be able to have all this soon. This exchange experience has allowed me to appreciate what I have back home so much more so yah it has been more than a “lets-slack-for-4-mths-and-just-travel-Europe-as-much-as-we-can” experience. I cannot think of any better word to describe this exchange other than life-changing. So haha it is SGD15,000 well spent rite since I got so many intangibles out of it. Let me indulge in a little self-consolation. 15,000 is no paltry sum and my parents worked really hard for it so I would hate to think that I simply squandered the $ away without getting anything back but after much serious consideration, I think I did get a lot out of this exchange so yup it was $ very well spent! =)

Exchange has indeed been a good break from the hectic life back in SMU. 3 years of endless projects and presentations is no joke and I was feeling mentally and intellectually exhausted prior to coming to Europe. I now feel much more recharged for my last sem back in sch and then its time for job-hunting. Got kicked out by BCG so that’s 2 consulting firms down..=( at this rate, I might really have to end up being an auditor at PWC. Pls pray for me that this will not be the case.

Ok, that’s enough ramblings for today. Have to start studying for my exam which is on next Wed. Thank God I only have 1 paper =).

Last week of sch here! And a bz week ahead..

2005-12-05T06:07:00.000+08:00

Went to Paris for the last time on Wed. Managed to see a few more sights that we failed to cover on ouy previous trips to Paris. Went to Napolean's tomb, Jardin de Luxembourg, Musee d'Orsay, Chinatown and Place des Voges. Wanted to try this new Godiva chocolate drink Chocolixir but the guy told us it was sold out cos they ran out of ice! Ridiculous reason and we were very disappointed =(. But at least we got to eat Berthillion ice cream for 1 last time. Its supposed to be the creme de la creme of ice creams in Paris and a must try. We found the original shop but did not patronise cos they had limited flavours that you could buy in scoops. They cater more to people who wanna buy tubs of ice cream home. There are a few "imitation" shops in the area who buys their ice cream from the real store and sells them for a heftier price because they offer more flavours and you can buy them in scoops here without having to buy the whole tub. They are all congregated in this area near the Notre Dame Cathedral. Do try it if you ever go to Paris, its really rich and chocolatey, one of the best ice-creams I have ever tasted. Their Chocolat Noir (Dark Chocolate) and Dark Bitter Cacao Sorbet is good! Also managed to see the Effiel for the last time - still as beautiful and breath-taking as ever. Thats what I like about Paris, there's always so much to see and do. So much culture and history packed into 1 city.

Yet another lazy weekend this week. Went shopping around Rouen yesterday in a desperate attempt to complete my souvenir shopping for friends and relatives back home. Thank God I did not buy anything for myself this time. Managed to buy stuff for my dad. One thing I noticed here is that the French do not believe in customer service especially when it comes to luxury goods like Hugo Boss and LV. Had very bad shopping experiences at these 2 shops and I felt like I owed the salespeople a living when I was being served and not the other way round. The gal at LV was rude and unhelpful and gave a disgruntled look when I tried to asked her to show me more designs. The Hugo Boss shop had only 2 sets of this credit card holder left and both were scratched and there was this really nice belt but the remaining size was like 30 inches! So haii basically they really practice JIT and they refused to call the other stores for me to check if they had sizes and stock! Grrr. So it was a tres frustrating and stressful experience. And Hugo Boss ran out of tax refund forms and will not replenish till like 2 mths later! Win already lor, what kind of lousy shop is this? And their receipt was 1 of those that you can buy in bookshops and they just printed a Hugo chop over lor..I felt like I was buying something from a provision shop and not a branded store! At least LV was reedeeming in the fact that they had nice receipts and tax feedback forms available hah! But LV for some stoopid reason started a really inefficent concierge service whereby they will pack your purchases when its entered into the system and you can browse meanwhile and when you are done, you will get your package. But sad to say, most people end up waiting in front of the concierge desk for their purchases to be packed (which takes about 20-30mins) and there is a 1 in 4 chance that what you get is not what you bought cos they always screw up the packages. I can go on and on about their bad service and lousy attitude but I think thats enough for today. If it was not for the fact that these branded products are much cheaper than in Singapore, I would have like boycotted the place.

Tried to go shopping today since we were told that all the shops in Rouen will be open starting this Sunday because its the Christmas season. But well leave it to the French to screw it up again. Only 20% of the stores were open and well there wasn't much to shop and it was raining so we headed back home early. But we had fries at Quick and 1 cornet of hot churros at the Christmas market today and both were delicious. Meijun and I are really spending alot more on food now compared to when we first came. Seems like we are both giving up on our budgets as the last leg is approaching and there is nothing much to save for anymore. Heeh..so well that was my weekend in not-really a nutshell. Glad that I managed to strike off some gifts from my to-buy list so am feeling less stressed rite now.

Lessons will end next week and it will be our 2nd last week in Rouen before we embark on our last leg of travelling. It will be a bz but probably fun week ahead. Have 2 Marketing presentations next week, 1 French test and 1 Christmas party!! Meijun and I are hosting a Christmas party at our place before we leave. Its way early but the only date we could find since exams are next week and we leave the week after that. Have invited all the HK people to our place and we are going to have a feast. Its going to be tough work preparing all the food since there's only 2 of us and we probably have to wake up at like 5am to chop and prepare all the food. Nevertheless, still looking forward to a time of feasting and fun. Its been a tradition for my family to host a Christmas party every year for our relatives so even though I can't do that this yr hopefully this will be a good replacement. Here's our menu! Sounds good rite?

Appetizers
Fried Calamari with Tartar Sauce
Smoked Salmon with Crackers
Sliced Ham and Brie Cheese With Crackers
Seafood Salad with Cocktail Sauce

Main Courses
Sautéed Prawns with Butter, Onion and Garlic
Spaghetti with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Mussels Stewed With Tomato and Onion Sauce
Paella with Assorted Seafood
Roast Chicken with Sauce
Whipped Potato with Brown Sauce

Desserts
Mini Pastries and Cakes
Chocolate Cake
Fruit Tart
Chocolate Fondue with Assorted Fruits

Drinks
Coca Cola
Apple Juice
Red Wine
Tea

Can't wait for our party this Wed! =)

5 things I like about you

2005-11-28T05:32:00.000+08:00

Its been yet another slack weekend. Went shopping downtown on Sat and ended up buying stuff for myself again! Argh! Have a thousand gifts to buy back from friends and family and am getting quite stressed about that but everytime I go shopping, I end up buying something for myself instead. Must stop this bad bad habit. Stayed at home all day today since all the shops are closed. Slept late and spent the day chatting and surfing on the net. I better enjoy this slacking and bumming around while I can..never did much of it back in Singapore.

Was just thinking that I have been in Europe for the past 3.5 mths already. Think its about time I did a post on what I like or dislike about the second smallest continent in the world.

5 things I like about Europe
1) The nice cool weather before it got below 5 degrees. Weather is perfect for walking miles and miles cos you dun sweat =)
2) The street performers: I think these people really add to the life and culture of the place. Be it the fire-throwers, musicians, magicians or still life figures. Makes the place more bustling and lively. Singapore should definitely encourage more buskers like these.
3) Weekend markets: The best way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. Browsing through the numerous knick-knacks like antique stuff, accessories etc. and looking for bargains amongst the fresh, juicy produce at the fruits and vegetables section.
4) Student welfare – There are always good discounts if you produce a card to prove that you are a student from tours to transport to tourist attractions admissions to fast food! You save more being a student here than back in Singapore.
5) Friendly people – people usually smile and greet you here. Very different in Singapore where people will think you are weird or mad if you greet them or start talking to them. Europeans have no qualms doing that though. Took a little while to get used to this.

5 things I dislike about Europe
1) There’s dogshit everywhere! Piles and piles of it. Damn disgusting.
2) Their inefficiency. Or perhaps its just the French. Cos the Dutch and the Danish according to Xiaolu and Meiting seem to be fine. Well the French takes ages to get anything done.
3) Supermarkets – We have to pay for plastic bags and the cashiers do not even help to pack our groceries. All they do is sit comfortably and scan the products while we struggle to pay and pack our groceries as efficiently as we can.
4) How EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays.
5) Most shops, banks, offices, admin places close for 2 hour lunch breaks. Which mean you cannot get any admin work or banking done during your lunch hour. Even the police station closes for lunch! I wonder what happens if you get robbed or stabbed during lunch hour.

That’s all I can come up with for now. Hope to add to this list with time. Have to sleep for now. Have a splitting headache that’s going to kill me.

Snow in Rouen!!

2005-11-26T02:50:00.000+08:00

It has been a long time since I blogged. Too many things to do, have to plan for our Scandinavian and London trip which is our last and sobs final leg of travelling, just had a presentation in gasp French..thank God for free online translators, plan for our departure and check out procedures..as many things to do as when we came to Europe so yah thus the reason for my temporal disappearance.

It started snowing in Rouen today! Its my 2nd time seing snow in my life but I was still very happy and excited. Almost cried (out of sheer joy?) on the bus, thank God I did'nt if not the French will think I am mad or something. Dunno why I was so happy to see snow though but it was so pretty seeing the snow fall and seeing a blanket of snow covering the green meadows, the roofs and the cars. The whiteness of the snow was so pure and suddenly the world just seemed so magical. Snow makes everything seem peaceful, tranquil and calm. And this may sound weird, but seeing snow actually gives me a warm feeling. Its like the smell of baked bread and vanilla - reminds one of family, togetherness and best of all Christmas!

Its nice to finally be able to experience a white Christmas having seen and heard all about it on books and in movies. My first Christmas out of Singapore, and in a land where there are more dogs than humans (in Scandinavian), in a place where temperatures will drop till -20 degrees and at a time where one will miss their close and loved ones most. Nevertheless, I am sure that I will still have a wonderful Christmas because I will be spending it with some of my closest friends and it will be amazing to share this new experience with them =). I can't wait!

The past week went by in a blink of an eye, just like how this exchange is whizzing by.

Nothing noteworthy except we got invited to this wonderful couple's house for lunch on Wed. They are missionaries who are now stationed in Rouen, having heeded God's call in many exotic places like the Caribbeans. Meijun met them on the train to Masstricht and struck up a conversation with them. They invited us to their church for bible study a couple of times and this time we got to dine at their house.

They cooked us this nice fish stew in cream sauce and we had it with rice. Delicious. Am hoping to get the recipe from them so we can try it out =).

The Christmas market in Rouen will start tomorrow and there are tiny wooden huts set up to sell Christmas gifts and souvenirs. There is even a mini skating rink outside the cathedral so am hoping to go skating outdoors for the first time in my life. I am sure it will be tons nicer than the rink in Jurong haha.

Hoping for more snow over the weekend!

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white."

Huo4 Bu4 Dan1 Xing2

2005-11-14T05:01:00.000+08:00

English Translation: Trouble never comes alone..

Just came back from Bordeaux and Portugal after skipping yet another week of sch. The week has been an eventful one.

1) Discovered that I misplaced my air ticket just hours before I had to catch my train to Lisbon. Was going to change my flight times when I discovered that I did not know where my ticket was. Panicked as usual and rummaged through my stuff while rushing to pack my bag and have lunch. Meijun helped but we failed to find the ticket. Went to the train station with a heavy heart but decided not to let it affect me if not we will have a lousy week ahead. Heard before from a tour guide that you will probably have to purchase another ticket at an undiscounted price (means the price you see on your air ticket and not those displayed at travel agencies, the amount is usually alot more than what you pay) if you lose your ticket so that kinda freak me out cos cannot imagine what my parents will say if I told them. Decided to call my mum and asked her to call TG to find out the actions I have to take if I lost my ticket. Told her to keep it from my dad cos he is not really good at taking this kinda things and was not in the right frame of mind to be nagged or reprimanded at. Mum came back with a reply the next day saying that all I had to do was to make a police report and said that it was stolen and I can get a replacement ticket at the nearest TG office and all I have to pay is 60 euros. Quite alot of money although not as much as buying a brand new air ticket. Felt better upon hearing this..rummaged through my stuff again when I got back and thank God I found my air ticket amongst this file of travel phamplets and maps that I have amassed during my various trips. So I saved 60 euros..=)

2) Sent a job application to McKinsey before I left, Did the dumbest thing ever. Was also applying to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as well and sent the wrong cover letter in. Stoopid web-based email did not allow me to recall the maill cos it can supposedly be done only on Outlook Express. Wanted to kick myself in the face but decided not to dwell on it since what is done has been done. Then when I returned got a rejection mail..sobs from them saying that my training and experience did not fit their needs blah blah and told me not to reapply in 2 years! Win already lor..haii there goes 1 job down the drain.

3) The worst bomb ever. Meijun and I purchased a 3 mth unlimited Eurail pass to travel. We started in early Aug and our pass would have ended early Nov but we tried erasing the date and changing it so we could travel more places (we know its wrong but we r very poor and we really want to see more of Europe) but well we finally got caught and apprehended on our way back from Bordeaux by this really alert and sharp conductor. We changed the date a mth ago and have passed the scrutiny of many conductors since but this guy is good man. We had to pay a fine and for our ticket from Bordeaux back to Paris and Paris back to Rouen and that causd has a hefty sobs 173 euros!! Our pass got confiscated and we cannot travel till mid Dec when we validate our 2nd pass that will allow us to travel to the Scandinavian countries. Really bad luck on our part but I guess we cannot blame anyone but ourselves. Am trying to out this behind us and not let it spoil our exchange. Haiii but 173 euros is really alot of $. I can buy like half an Ipod with it and the LV organizer that I saw in paris and have lusted after ever since, pay for IceHotel with change. But well what is done cannot be undone so no use crying over spilt milk I guess.

3 bombs in a row. I cannot take any more. Pls let it be a better week ahead even though we r stuck in Rouen with nowhere to go. =(

My travel blog is up and running!

2005-11-04T04:34:00.000+08:00

Have finally got round to setting up my travel blog. It has been a whirlwind of travelling and sight-seeing since I stepped foot on the Europe continent. So I decided to pen down some of my thoughts and experiences of the places I have toured so that I can at least have some semblance of what I saw and visited a few yrs down the road. To read my travel exploits, click on the link on the right sidebar. Have been travelling with Meijun, Meiting and Xiaolu and I guess they are all depending on these entries to remind themselves of what they saw too. Gals, don't kill me if the entries are not accurate k cos most of them are written days after I toured the places.

At the rate I am forgetting stuff, I might be down with Alzheimer's disease or senile dementia so hopefully these travel entries will allow me to relieve some memories and to remind me of the many places that I saw. Pics will be up later if I find the time.

Bonjour! Finally connected to the world once again!

2005-11-03T20:23:00.000+08:00

Its been a long long long long long (you get the idea) time since I blogged. About 2 mths plus already..sorry for being MIA for so long but thanks to the "superb efficiency" of France Telecom (@$^$&*@@%&*&^ enough said), I was only able to get Internet access at home about 2 weeks ago then I had to go to Spain and South France for my mid-term break so yah had no time to blog. Am going to post a short entry to tell everyone that I am alive (if anyone else is still reading this that is) before I rush to catch the bus to sch.

Exchange has been pretty good so far, have settled in pretty well and it is indeed a good break from the hectic life in SMU. All I do now is eat, sleep and travel. Sch is supa dupa slack cos I am enrolled in a special programme only for exchange students where modules are offered in English so the professors do not really expect alot from us seeing that we are exchange students. Most modules do not have exams and some of them are like 100% projects and its group work so its damn shiok. My brain is really rotting, am quite worried that I will have difficulties getting back on track when I return to Singapore. But oh well, thats another worry for another day. Have been doing extensive travelling in Europe. Am quite sick of it already, to the point that I am not excited to travel. Perhaps its becos of our very low budget and our bagpacking style of travelling. Takes the fun out of travelling when you have to eat tuna sandwiches almost everyday and bathe with far-from-perfect shower facilities. It does not help that we spend half of our time travelling on trains which can get really boring cos all you can do is sleep. But yah I think thats enough complaints for now cos dunwan pple to get the wrong idea that I am not happy cos I am happy with the travelling just the the conditions are not up to my expectations. But then again its a choice I made so yah I shld just shut up haha.

Seen alot of churches, monuments, parks, palaces, museums, squares blah blah blah these past 3 mths. Will be posting entries and photos on my trips when I find the time. But just a short update on where I have been.

1st leg Before term started: Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Budapest, Prague
2nd leg for Octokerberfest: Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Ulm (Legoland), Fussen(Nuesch Castle)
3rd leg Mid Term Break: Nice, Monaco, Annecy, Marseille, Madrid and Barcelona

In between these legs, we also travelled to Amsterdam, Brugge, Brussels, Paris on weekends. So yah have seen pretty much of Europe although I would term our travelling style as "touch and go" - more breadth instead of depth. But I am happy with the places we have seen and i think I have seen enough of Europe. Do not mind not coming back in future.

I am currently stationed in Rouen, a mid-size town in France. It was the ancient capital of France and is now the capital of the Normandy region. Its claim to fame is that Jean of Arc was burnt to death here in the Old Town. I quite like it here cos it has a good mix of both city and countryside life. I get shops, supermarkets, restaurants, bars which is the buzzing part of cities but I also get to see green pastures and cows on my way to sch so I think I get the best of both worlds cos I get to escape to a idyllic and serene place but yet I can get connected to the city anytime I want. And the Old Town is a nice place with its cobblestone streets and pretty cottagesn and plus Paris is only 1h10mins away by train so it is quite easy for us to travel to anywhere in Europe since Paris is a major contact point. Thats the upside of living in Rouen. More on the downsides later. Have to go catch the bus now.

More updates later!

I'm leaving on a jetplane..

2005-08-05T23:23:00.000+08:00

Possibly my last entry in Singapore (there's a last to everything I do..seems so final and freaky) for the year. Dun think I will be up to any blogging for the next 2 days before I fly off, am feeling too lazy and unmotivated and am not really in the mood to pen my thoughts down. This is sorta like another update entry on what I have been up to for the past week. For those out that who are still reading and still interested that is haha.

Went for SMUve last weekend. Have been wanting to blog about it, but was too bz packing and running errands and meeting up with people so here's the extremely belated entry on it. My memories of SMUve now are a little hazy so yah do bear with me. It was quite fun cos Meiting, Xiaolu, Meijun and I stayed up till pretty late playing stoppid games like Heart Attack and Meiting's bf was entertaining us with corny jokes and those camping games that require lotsa concentration that i am never good at. But yah it was fun doing silly things..it has been a long time since I went to camp and this sleepover at sch brought back lotsa nice memories. Din really go for Closing Time tho, it was too noisy and too packed and the smell of booze and sweat lingered so yah the library was not a place for non-clubber like me to hang out. The GSRs were much better. The walk from Wisma to the new campus on Sunday was good. I felt like a VIP walking along a cordoned off part of orchard Rd and having passer-bys waved and take photos of us. Cheap thrill lah but it was quite cool.
The new campus is nice and new. And its supa high-tech. have to use the matric card to access every damn room which can be very irritating at times. I fell like I am in an office rather than a sch but I like it nevertheless. Quite sad that I will be spending only 1 sem there cos I think with all its high techie stuff, it will be more fun and fulfilling to learn at this campus than the old one. I have never been active in SMU's student activities and SMUve made me feel much more connected to the student community and when I was walking down that stretch of road with my bunch of ballons and feeling hot, tired and sweaty, I can't help but feel proud to be part of SMU and proud of the way SMU has established itself both academically and socially in the short span of 5 years. Okie I better stop all the "I love SMU" talk here before people from NUS shuts down my blog =).

Saying goodbye to the old Accountancy block.. =(

Harlow to the nice, new pretty campus!

The past week has been hectic. Have been running around like a mad chicken buying stuff for exchange, packing my bags, settling my accomodation at ESC Rouen, printing out our painstakingly-planned travel itineraries, booking museum tics (we r going to see the original Last Supper in Milan!) etc etc. Am soo glad that I am like 95% done with the stuff I have to do. Phew..I can finally sit down and breathe. My bag is like supa supa heavy. Its 11 kg without my laptop and I really have no idea how I am going to lug it across 5 countries for 3 weeks. I am soo going to die...yah that has really put a damper on my spirits cos I am really not cut out for backpacking. Even my optician who does not know me very well commented that she cannot imagine me bagpacking so yah haha looks lime spoilt me is going to have to toughen up and live the rough life for a while. I sincerely hope that I will get to learn some survival or independence skills or whatever so that all this suffering will not be for nothing!

2 days more till I fly..am getting a little more excited with each passing day as the reality of a long long holiday (albeit a very budget one) is finally starting to set in. Mixed feelings lah cos feel quite sad to be leaving my family. Am quite close to them and I am really going to miss them so sure hope they will save up enuff to come visit me and perhaps bring me some sambal and instant noodles? Anyone who is feeling extremely rich, feel free to visit me and Meijun. We can offer you FREE accomodation haha in exchange for food? We r on so tight a budget its not funny. Think I am going to be living on bread and water for the next 5 mths. With my big bag and sad thoughts of lousy food, I feel like I am going for war sometimes. Maybe this trip will allow me to appreciate our guys who have gone for NS more..haha. Am going to pig out on local food for the next 2 days. Have already told my mum that I want to go to Tiong Bahru Market tomorrow for carrot cake and satay and lotsa other unhealthy hawker food (but I dun care cos this is going to be the LAST time i am eating it for the year) and on Sun am going to Purvis St for this Hainanese Chicken Rice thats damn nice and very traditional. Yum Yum, I can't wait. Need to pamper my stomach before I subject it to bread and angmoh food torture for the rest of the year.

Okie..I think I have rambled on long enuff and if you are still reading this. Give yrself a pat on the back! You have survived my extremely long-winded entry! *clap clap* Alrite to whoever who is reading this, take care! Will see you next yr when I return yah? Will try to blog about my travel and exchange experiences but do forgive me if I go MIA for a while yah? I tend to get very lz when I am holidaying but yah I promise to give an update every once a mth? And will try to post photos too..

Au Revoir!

The Update Entry

2005-07-29T15:27:00.000+08:00

Its been quite a while since I blogged, probably cos I have more things to entertain me now that I am at home =). The last few days have been pretty bz and expensive as well. Went to Ang Mo Kio for crab beehoon and chilli crab on Tues. Its the best crab ever..the crabs are huge, juicy and succulent. Just what I needed before I leave for exchange since seafood will probably be damn expensive in Europe. Decided to be a fillial daughter and trated my parents to dinner since I have jot got my pay. But yes the crabs there r really good. You have to try it! Its called MellBen Seafood i think, its at AMK Ave 3. You won't regret it.

Went to Marina's mum restaurant for dinner with Vic, his gf and Meijun on Wed. the food is quite good, you guys should go and try it. Its at Hong Leong Garden and its called Chako and if you know Marina, you might just get a discount. Haha..maybe I should charge Marina for this free ad! But be prepared to wait quite a while for your food since its prepared on the spot! Was told that the arrangment was usually to order before you go so that you can get to eat when you arrive. Marina and Vic bought us presents! Was really sweet of them, now I feel bad for not buying them anything when they went on exchange but I promise to buy u guys souvenirs from Europe k?

Went to church yesterday. It felt good to go back after staying away for so long. Pity that I will be leaving soon and will probably not be attending church for the rest of the yr. Think my New Yr's resolution must include getting myself back on the Christian walk.

Did alot of banking today and went to my Auntie's house to hang around since I now live pretty close to her place. Played with my nephew Clement..gosh that makes me sound really old =(..anyway was teaching my newphew how to draw fishes and seaweed.

Guess I am not cut out to be an Art teacher. He was asking me to teach him how to do his homework..

Clement: Piu Yi (Thats like Cantonese for Auntie), how do I do this?
Ada: Just colour the balls. If the ball has no. 1 in it colour it yellow. If it has no. 2 in it colour it green.
Clement (pointing to the instructions): No, they said you must trace the ball first then colour!
Ada (looking at instructions): Ohhh..ok then. Yes, trace then colour.
Clement (looking very proud of himself): I am a genius!

Kids nowadaes..they are so full of themselves. Dun think there will be any low self-esteem cases around man. At least it is still easy to motivate them to do work. A simple promise of a chocolate ice-cream was enuff to get Clement to start on his homework. If only it was that ez to motivate ourselves.

9 days till I leave for exchange!! Panic Attack!! I need to get motivated to continue with my packing and ice-cream will not work. Not even B&J. Howw??

A trip down memory lane

2005-07-26T15:29:00.000+08:00

This long awaited day has finally come. =) Goodbye to 7:30am days and aimless surfing and Harlow to sleeping in bed all day and lazing at home days!

My boss brought me to Soup Restaurant at Chinatown for lunch today, sorta a farewell lunch for me I guess. Seems like Chinatown is one of his favourite places cos he grew up there and he is very intrigued by all the heritage and history that can be found there. Went into one of those old grandfather stories of life in the past and like my dad, he mentioned how he used to have his rice with tau-hway and soy sauce and how he used to stay in one of those crammed, smelly shop houses. He said that rats would run over his body at night when he sleeps cos the houses were so dirty..eeeee. Despite the long-windedness, I kinda enjoyed the little history lesson he gave me. He even brought me to the Chinatown Heritage Centre so that I could take a look at the shop houses and how the early migrants led their lives. It was pretty interesting looking at the relics and pictures and listening to testimonies of people who braved the harsh seas to reach Nanyang and how Chinatown was like in the past. It was like a primary sch excursion all over again haha.

Supposedly the best and most expensive room in the shop house cos it has windows..

One of the many rooms in which families have to squeeze into.

Samsui women’s room..they were from the same province as my ancestors! I was from a tough clan haha.

Quite an interesting place to visit if you have nothing to do on a lazy afternoon. Its cheap too (4 bucks for admission)!

2 hours to freedooommmm!!! Yipeeee!!

Que Sera Sera..What will I be when I grow up?

Spent my last hour at work doing this..quite fun using different photos and seeing the weird results generated. Definitely worth a try if you are bored..can be quite entertaining =)

Can follow in Rigan's footsteps and become a prof haha..then SoA will have to close down. *LOL*

I think this suits me better..but 100% European? Heeh..I dun mind being an ang moh leh. Well, the results definitely have to be taken with a pinch of salt but good fun nevertheless.

I have a good boss after all

2005-07-25T17:30:00.000+08:00

Its my second last day of work today. I am sooo looking forward to tomorrow cos after that I can finally slack freely, not that I haven’t been slacking for the past 2 weeks but slacking in front of your boss is much more restricted and I sorta feel paiseh being such a slacker in front of him. Hope this does not taint the impression of SMU students that he has, anyway its not my fault that he has no work to give me rite?

Anyway, the aim of this post is to make up for the earlier angsty and bitchy post about my boss. Looking back, I was too hard on him lah. He is in fact a really nice boss cos he is not demanding and has no mood swings. Not a perv either haha even tho he does look like one. He is also quite concerned about my exchange preparations and often asks of the progress of it. He even offered to speak to his brother for me if I had problems dealing with the French embassy and my partner uni in France since his brother studied in france for 6 yrs and can speak French rather fluently. And today when Ying called me saying that she had received the housing confirmations and asked me to go down asap to get them so that I can proceed with my visa application, he allowed me to go without any hesitation. And I am really grateful for that so I guess instead of complaining about the small little things that he does that irk me, I should thank God for giving me such a nice and understanding boss. This slack internship was also a blessing in disguise since I managed to get a lot of my exchange work done while slacking and pretending to be bz at work. Managed to put together a decent traveling itinerary, book hostels online, print put hostel confirmations and bank statements and photocopy my IC and matric card etc. If I was slacking at home, I would probably not have been so motivated and efficient since I would probably be sleeping or watching TV most of the time. So yah, I guess God does work in different ways and He probably knew that I needed time to settle all this stuff if not kan cheong me will panic and worry all day long thus the reason for the understanding boss and the slack internship. So yah think I shall go buy a nice box of chocolates and a card for my boss to thank him. See I am not so mean after all rite?

I can breathe a sigh of relief now that I have got my housing confirmations. After nights of worrying and countless emails, I am finally able to go ahead with my visa application. I had given up hope on my host uni, they are really inefficient and slow and something always goes wrong to impede the progress of their course selections or accommodation confirmations..eg. guy in charge of housing was hospitalized, system for course selection and housing confirmation got cocked up, Bastille day so long holiday needed and the last straw the person in charge of the Exchange office decided to go on a long holiday and will not be back till like 3rd Aug! I wanted to cry and faint after reading her mail man..so yah the fact that we finally got our confirmations is indeed a miracle. If not Meijun and me will probably end up as illegal immigrants in France since Meijun is leaving on the 2nd and me on the 7th and the visa takes 5 working days to process, you do the math, we have no time! Anyway, hope that the embassy will accept all our documents come this Wed, if not we will really have no time. And the French are supa supa ngeow and rude. Compared to Meiting and Xiaolu, we need to supply like 10 times more documents.. =( so yah hope that they will be nice to us on that day and do not think we look like criminals if not we have to go to the Police HQ and get some proof of non-criminal record..bleah

Got my new camera yesterday! Had to charge it so could not try it out. But will definitely be playing around with my new toy soon so expect to see lots of pics here soon!

Ta-da!! New blog header!!

2005-07-21T17:42:00.000+08:00

Yay! I like my new blog header, was feeling bored at work again so decided to put my creative juices to the test. Actually it did'nt take much creativity to come up with this lah but yup am still quite happy with this header cos the last one was not very nice and I was getting a little bored of it.

I am in a pretty good mood now =). Told my boss today that I needed like 3 days off next week to get my visa and exchange stuff done and he said fine so this means Tues is my last day of work!!! *screams and jumps excitedly on chair* So glad that its finally going to be over (no more sitting-in-front-of-the-com-&-surfing-aimlessly days!!) and I can finally get down to doing more important things like packing and shopping for stuff to be brought over to France.

And the fact that today is technically the eve of the beginning of a weekend has also contirbuted to my crazy and party-ish mood.

I can't believe that I only have 17 more days left till I fly. There are like a gazillion more things left to be done so seeing the number on my countdown-to-exchange counter decrease everyday is kinda scary and overwhelming. And have been stressing Meijun out as well, and she has even less days left than me in Singapore. Haha..But oh well the excitement is starting to creep back and I cannot help but feel tiny butterflies in my stomach as I eagerly await the day my great Europe Escapade starts.

La la la..Its a happy day and nothing is going to make me blue =).

The Cancerian

2005-07-20T22:16:00.000+08:00

Yours is a strange sign with many paradoxical qualities. On the one hand, you are sensitive and easily hurt. On the other, you are determined, tough and overwhelmingly ambitious. Sometimes you can appear a little too tough, but underneath it all you are as caring and compassionate as ever. Your biggest weakness is your moodiness, but other people should realise it is your powerful feelings that make you such a good companion in the long run.

I am not one of those avid horoscope readers but this one gave me goosebumps. Never have I come acrosss a more accurate assessment of my character and to think this horoscope reading came from 8 days. I am impressed. Perhaps I should start taking 8 days more seriously from now on.

Chocolate fix needed!!

2005-07-20T16:00:00.000+08:00

I am feeling grouchy, moody and irritable. (Read PMS)

I need my B&J Chocolate Fudge Brownie Fix. Betta go get it after work before I explode at someone.

grumbles

2005-07-19T23:55:00.000+08:00

I hate my boss. And the worse thing is that he is not the demanding, strict, picky, moody kinda boss that everyone loves to hate. He can be rather nice and understanding sometimes. And plus he does not pile me with lotsa work but I still hate him and he really is starting to irritate the hell out of me. I hate it when he waits till just before lunch time or just before I finish work to give me work. I mean he has the WHOLE FREAKING day to give me work and I have been sitting there for 8 hrs thinking of ways to while away my time and he comes and give me work at like 5:10. That really makes my blood boil. I think he gets a little scared of me sometimes cos it really shows on my face when I am irritated and I think he gets the idea and he will then come and tell me that the work is not important and I would not have to finish it today. I actually like and yearn to be given work now. I mean there is only so much you can surf in one day right? And I do not mind my boss giving me work but what I cannot stand is him giving me work at a point when my mind is already set on going out and I am not expecting any work. I would not mind him giving work to me at any other time, I would in fact welcome it readily. And because I am someone who can only leave work when I have finished what I have been assigned for the day, I will usually stay on and finish the work before going home so this issue of giving out work just before knock-off time really irks me. Being snatched of the freedom of going home to rest and do whatever you want besides pretending to look bz by surfing the net is indeed painful.

I also hate the fact that he is not sure about the work he assigns me. He keeps changing his mind about things he wanna do and things he wanna add and since he usually makes me do research on potential clients, this usually means that I have to re-visit all the corporate websites AGAIN just to get that 1 additional piece of information that he thinks would be nice to have. It could also be perhaps of his lack of confidence and sureness about what he wants me to do that makes me despise him. He certainly does not act like a VP and the work that he does is not exactly the job scope of a very important person. I hate working aimlessly without a end goal in mind and I often feel that he does not know enough about the end product that he wants to give me directions on how to go about achieving it. Perhaps I am demanding too much..this is after all only an internship. Maybe he does not expect me to do too much.

He has one of the slackest jobs that I know. Comes to work at 9:15 and finishes at 530 to 6. Spends quite a fair bit of time reading newspapers and doing work for his church. Only makes calls to clients and checks emails occasionally. But yet he acts as if he has the weight of the world upon him, as if the job that he is holding demands a hell lot of stress and thinking when in fact it doesn’t. If I have to hear him go Oh dear, Oh dear.. or Dear Dear me as if the world is coming to an end, I swear I will strangle him. I did not hear any of these from the PWC people and they work like a gazillion times harder than him.

Grrr..I am so glad that my internship is ending soon if not the day where I strangle him to death will surely come (as you can see I am easily irritable and violent tendencies are common when I am irritable so a word of advice STAY AWAY from me when I am in a grouchy mood). Am quite disappointed that I did not learn anything at all, at least I know now that I am not cut out for PR. Btw, I asked him about leaving a week earlier and he said we will play by ear and see if I really need to take leave to get my visa done.

Went out with AH gals for dinner. Was quite fun catching up with them. My dear gals always had such exciting and fun lives that I live mine vicariously through theirs. Haha, we must meet up more often and hear more of those drama mama stories from Chits. Its great that we can still meet and chat despite meeting up only once or twice a yeat. Hope that we can have a full reunion with Van and Banu soon. If you are reading this, come back soon. We need to have a REAL class gathering. Its pathetic the way the class gathering attendance never exceeds 4 haha. But yah I am still glad that we are still keeping in touch with each other and getting 6 mths update about each other whenever we meet even tho some of us may be halfway across the world. I love my gal pals, nothing beats chilling up and catching up with a bunch of friends whom you have not met for a long time. So yah the gathering sorta got rid of my moodiness and grouchiness.

Dear God, please give me the patience to deal with my boss and to accept him for who he is. Do not let me kill him before the internship ends. I need to control my anger. Pls help me.

My weekend in a nutshell

2005-07-19T08:56:00.000+08:00

Finally got my Harry Potter..somehow this book doesn’t catch my attention as well as the previous 5 books. Can’t wait to get to the part where a main character dies tho. Bought many books at Borders because cheapskate me redeemed Shell points to get Borders vouchers only to be told at Borders that I could not use them because they were already giving a 10% discount on the Half-Blood Prince . Bah..wasted all my dad’s Shell points but had the vouchers anyway so bought some books anyhow.

Amazing fact of the week: Borders places Sidney Sheldon books under the Literature section. Haha so guess I am enriching myself by reading Sidney Sheldon after all. *grin*

Birthday buffet dinner on Sat went pretty well. Had a very satisfying fill of seafood and chocolate desserts. Housewarming celebration cum birthday lunch was ok. Food was not very good and company was so-so..relatives were gossiping in Hainanese and I could not understand and join in the fun =(. Meijun brightened up my day with her present tho. Got me a pair of jeans, something that I have wanted to buy for a very long time since I reckon that 2 jeans will not be sufficient on exchange. She got me this iPod shuffle skin protector and it was amazing how we read each other’s minds sometimes cos I was just looking at it at the Apple store the other day and contemplating whether I should buy it but left the store cos I was late in meeting her. So yah my best friend really does know me best =).

Thanks gal for your gifts and for celebrating yet another birthday with me!

I was really touched by her efforts..

Thanks Cel for your gift as well. I love the pig..it is soooo cute =). And will definitely be reading the book soon, right after I finish my Harry Potter heh. And dinner was a really nice affair huh? We must do it more often!

Actually told my parents not to get me any gifts this year since they will be paying for my Exchange and all. Unfortunately, my stoopid, lousy camera decided to close its shutter and break down last week and I really need a camera for Exchange so they have generously offered to buy me one. I really have great parents and I am so thankful for them.

This is the camera I’m eyeing, its so slim that I could probably fit it into my jeans pocket.

Eye candy right? Anyone has any other camera recommendations to make?

Here's to friendships and good weekends

2005-07-15T11:48:00.000+08:00

Had a pretty good gathering yesterday. Met up with Debo and Steph to celebrate Steph’s and my birthday. (Will put up photos soon if Steph actually gets round to sending them haha) It is a ritual that we had since Sec sch and we never fail to meet up every year to have a meal, catch up, exchange presents and celebrate each other’s birthdays. Oh and if we are really good that year, we will meet up for Christmas too! Haha, I am quite proud that we are still keeping in touch in a way. Even though we do not SMS or call each other at all, we can still chat about anything under the sun and picked up where we left off from the previous gathering. Its like there’s this chemistry and silent understanding that even though we are not as close as we used to be when we were in Sec sch, we knew deep down that the friendship bond was still there and we would still be there for each other if anything happens. It was indeed amazing how we could still talk about issues close to our heart and share personal problems despite having not met for the past 6 mths.

This affirms my belief that the best friendships of my lives were forged in Sec sch. And the irony is that I have my much-hated CCA Girls’ Brigade (GB) to thank for that. All of us were from GB and we hated it cos well our captain was a real bitch (at least to me and Meijun). She was demanding and biased and well she took every opportunity she had to lecture Meijun and me even though we did not really do anything wrong. And to think we slog so much for GB and gave all our time and effort and went for meetings every Sat without fail (we had 100% attendance 3 years running if you can believe it haha) only to have this stooped woman accuse us of wanting to lead a rebellion to get everyone to quit GB. Gosh..but that’s enough bitching for today..back to my nice GB memories. Yah so amidst the countless camps that we organized and attended, the drill sessions we had and the many captain ball and manhole games that we played, a strong bond of friendship was created and I am glad that it lasted till today. I sincerely hope that the 4 of us can continue to meet up even as our lives get busier. My mum till today still meets up with her 3 of her Sec sch friends to celebrate each other’s birthdays..so nice and sweet rite?

To Meijun, Steph and Debo: Thanks for the wonderful memories and for being such a major footprint in my life. I really enjoyed the sleepovers we had, trips to Sentosa and the zoo, prayer meetings, GB camps, Thailand trips, crazy things we did, pigging out..and I thank God for bringing all of you into my life, without which my Sec sch life would be pretty mundane. Here’s to many more years of gatherings yah?

Things to look forward to this weekend

Harry Potter!!! Its finally coming!! Can’t wait to get my copy. Am pretty worried that it would get sold out fast man. Was reading in the newspapers that orders for it have piled up and are much more than the orders taken for the previous book. Haii..*scolds myself for being such a last minute person and not ordering it at Borders or SingPost* Well hope I can get it tomorrow. As you can see, I am quite the Harry Potter fan. I have read all the books at least 4 times over and watched all the movies too. When the last movie came out, I actually forced my ex to watch the DVDs for the 1st 2 movies with me again before we went to watch for the 3rd one. Heh..but yah I love Harry Potter! I love the way Rowling is able to transport me into this magical and fantasy world…more on this after I read the next book =).

Wireless surf I can finally have Internet at home after a 1.5 week fast. And the best thing is that can now surf anywhere I want! Hooray to technology!

Birthday Dinner Going for a seafood buffet with Meijun and my family on Sat. Going on to 22..sigh..I feel like an old fart especially when I see 16-18 yrs olds hanging around Orchard in their school uniforms. I feel like I have wasted a part of my life without achieving anything. Blah. Somehow I am not as excited for my birthday anymore. Used to really look forward to it but looks like this yr my birthday will just be another passing day for me.. =( On the bright side, at least I get to go out for a good meal with the people I love. Haha as you can see eating is my solution to depression.

House Warming Will be having a house warming party for my mum’s side of the family on Sunday. Looking forward to a nice family gathering and lots of good, spicy Indonesian food. I like having people over at my house and playing host =). But the cleaning up before and after can be quite a chore tho.

Another bz and packed weekend for me =). Hope everything will go well. If all goes well, I may only have 1 more week of work left! Am planning to ask my boss if I can finish work 1 week earlier since I am not doing anything anyway and I have lots of other stuff to do for my coming exchange. Hope that he will say yes. *Keeping my fingers crossed*

Race for 1000th visitor!

2005-07-15T09:55:00.000+08:00

Haha..this seems a little childish and cheap trill-ish but well its my turn to ask the 1000th visitor to save the screen image for me. Being the IT idiot that I am. I dunno how to give instructions to do it haha so hopefully this 1000th person will be smart enough to know how to =). Meanwhile, thank you to all those out there who actually take time off to read my boring blog..hopefully I will be able to continue the momentum when I am on exchange.

Ada's Ultimate Wish List

2005-07-13T17:25:00.000+08:00

Am getting really bored at work, have actually ran out of things to surf for! I am also getting quite sian researching and planning for exchange so decided to take a break from that today. So here is my 2nd post of the day. Have been inspired by Darrr after reading about the things he would get if he is rich so here's the list of all the things I want to buy if I had all the money in the world (non-exhaustive) =).

1) The famous Barcelona chair. Was really tempted to get my parents to buy it for my new house but it was too expensive and impractical cos it can only seat 1 person. Love the design and the clean, sleek look. My office has a couple of them so I am currently devising a series of plans to take 1 away without anyone noticing *grin*.

2) The original Hermes Birkin bag. I think the design is classic, heard that there is actually a waiting list to buy one eve though it costs about $5000. Samantha in SATC was actually desperate enough to lie so as to get her hands on one.

3) Lime green Volkswagen beetle. Its cute, its funky, its cool. What more can I say?

4) BMW Z4. A car designed for the yuppies. Love the curves. The guy at the showroom refused to let me test drive. Wait till I strike it rich and go back and buy the car from another salesman a la Pretty Woman style.

5) Love the design and diamonds on this Tiffany and Co. ring.

6) The Westin Bed: you can actually buy it for your own home! Here is the description Westin penned for the bed:

Sensuous doesn't even begin to describe it. Stylish just hints at its handsome tailoring.

Experience the Heavenly Bed in all its extraordinary glory with a custom-designed box spring and mattress set by Simmons with 900 individual coils, a bed skirt, a cozy down blanket, three 100% Egyptian cotton sheets, a comforter, a duvet with cover, five goosedown/goose pillows, and five pillow cases.

The craftsmanship and care with which the Heavenly Bed was created is simply unmistakable. This is the standard by which all others are measured. This is the Heavenly Bed at home.

Need I say more?

7) Harman and Kardon speakers: Am not exactly a music or sound fanatic but these speakers look really cool and futuristic.

8) A round the world SIA Raffles Class ticket so I can travel in style and comfort. The Space Bed is supposedly some revolutionary invention leh.

Will continue to expand this list..haha I am one materialistc gal.

Wake up NKF!

2005-07-13T10:16:00.000+08:00

Dear NKF,

The reports ran by Straits Times for the past 2 days have left me peeved and highly disturbed. I have been a supporter of your worthy cause and often encouraged my parents to make calls during all the heart-wrenching, tear-jerking (by showcasing all the kidney and cancer patients and their sad state of lives) and nail-biting (by forcing poor celebrities to do dangerous and rather aimless stunts) charity shows that you put up in a bid to raise money. I have also foolishly signed up for an NKF-GIRO arrangement which allows NKF to deduct $3 from my account every month that you purportedly claim will help countless of sick and needy kids. The ST reports suggested otherwise. Your CEO is paid almost $600,000 a year , he has an office car as well as his own private car (read car = Mercs) and a chauffeur to boot. On top of that, furnishings in his office include an exorbitant $900 golden tap. I now question the credibility of your organization for I fear that the money that I have donated was used to fund the lavish lifestyle of your senior executives instead of being channeled to help the many kidney and cancer patients in Singapore who are hoping for a new lease of life.

To Mr T T Durai, CEO of NKF: How can you sleep well at night on your luxurious Sealy / Simmons or whatever prestigious mattress brand knowing that you are rich at the expense of many poor and ailing patients who lie awake at night not knowing if they will wake up the next day or whether they will have 3 full meals a day to sustain themselves or whether they have enough money to go for their next dialysis session? How can you sleep well knowing that the average Joe living in a 3-room HDB flat is digging deep into his pockets to donate to your organization thinking that people less privileged than him are getting help while in fact the money is used so that you can literally bathe in gold?

The deception does not stop there. You blatantly lied to Singaporeans that NKF’s reserves can only last for 3 years while independent studies have instead shown that these reserves are enough to last up to over 5 years even if all of your patients stop paying for their medical treatments and even if NKF continues with its awareness and education programme. You also falsely misled Singaporeans into thinking that more than 3,000 patients are given a helping hand each year whilst correct patient numbers hover around 2,000. You said in court that you did not correct these misstatements as you felt them to be immaterial. I may not be a good accountant but I have learnt enough to know that a 33% error is definitely material and deserves re-statement. You defended yourself saying that Singaporeans donated based on the trust they have in their organization and patient numbers and reserves amounts are secondary factors influencing their decision to donate. I find this highly amusing considering that your NKF shows are always produced based on emotional appeal by saying that thousands of patients need our help and we should donate generously to ease their burden, this will always be followed by local celebrities commenting while shedding a few tears that the pain suffered by them during those few minutes of performing the stunts are nothing compared to the paint suffered by the cancer and kidney patients. Come on, this ruse worked for the first 2 times but after 8 or 10 NKF shows, the crying is getting routine and superficial. However, Singaporeans always seem to lap all this in and you would often meet your ridiculous targets of 6 million every year despite weak economy reports, SARS, 9/11 and so forth. So how can you say that Singaporeans donate with their minds and not their hearts and figures like patient numbers and reserves were not significant to donors?

Not only are you deceiving the countless kind-hearted Singaporeans who have donated generously to your cause but you are also tarnishing the reputation of all charitable organizations. Henceforth, Singaporeans will be more hesitant and apprehensive about donating money because NKF, one of the most trusted and credible charitable organizations has destroyed the trust and faith that we have and we shall not longer donate because we fear that the money will fall into the wrong uses. And those poor suffering kidney patients have only NKF to thank. Ironically, the hand that once fed them is the very hand that will harm them now. As you can see, the consequences of your greed and dishonesty are far-reaching. Patients will be denied their medical treatments, mindsets of Singaporeans on charity will be changed, health education and awareness progammes will have to stop due to a lack of funding, and it is a slippery slope from then on.

I hope that you will stop and re-consider your actions thus far and perhaps think about settling for a stainless steel tap instead. A 10 to 12 months bonus is also ridiculous considering that you are after all working for a charitable organization. Have a heart, there are people out there who need the money more than you. You may defend yourself by saying that CEOs of top companies are paid as much and you likened yourself to them. But wait they are in business after all, it is ok for them to be ruthless and mercenary and to earn an obscene amount of money because that is what they have been tasked to do- to being the company to greater heights and give shareholders as much value as possible. Your task however, as CEO of a charitable organization is to ensure that the welfare of cancer and kidney patients are taken care off and yes to generate sufficient funds for that. But since you are effectively not earning any money (in tax terms this probably means you are not engaging in any income-generating activity), you should not be entitled to such a comprehensive pay package.

I sincerely hope that you will find it in your conscience to stop making excuses for yourself and your organization and put a halt to your lavish lifestyle and start focusing on the true mission of your organization. Meanwhile, I will discontinue my $3 a month NKF-GIRO arrangement and will no longer make any calls to the NKF hotline unless I can be assured that the funds are used to purchased dialysis and CAT machines instead of golden taps and Mercs.

Regards,
A highly disappointed NKF supporter

Dream Blogs and Dream Jobs..

2005-07-12T17:50:00.000+08:00

Yay!! Managed to move most of the stuff from my old template over to this one and got a new header as well. Its not very clear tho..but it was the best I could do. Am quite pleased with my new blog look so far =).

As you can see, I am extremely free at work. Have been doing nothing, absolutely nothing since last Thurs. So I am actually being paid to surf the net and run errands online such as planning for exchange, settling visa and insurance stuff etc. Many people would envy my position and wish they were in my shoes but well I am actually quite unhappy at work. My main reason for applying for this internship and foregoing 2 glorious months of holidays was so that I could get a glimpse of the public relations world and see if I would enjoy working in this industry. My last internship at PWC opened my eyes to Audit and frankly I really do not want to be an auditor so was hoping that this internship would be sort of like a stepping stone to job opportunities in more varied industries other than Accounting. Sad to say, I have learnt almost nothing at all and have not got a better understanding of the PR industry. The little that I saw of the industry, I did not like so I would probably be closing the doors to the PR world. Quite sad considering that I am dismissing this industry despite knowing so little about it but since this is my last internship and I will be starting work next yr and being the safe, conservative and risk-adverse person that I am – the audit world beckons. Hopefully after 5 years and armed with a CPA, I would be able to overcome my job inertia and move on to greener and more interesting pastures…

My dream job:
- Ice cream flavor inventor
- Food taster / reviewer
- Strategic Business Consultant (sounds impressive huh)
- Wedding Planner
- Interior Designer
- Something to do with advertising at Ogilvy
- Host of a travel show so that I can travel to all parts of the world and be paid for it
- To work in some world renowned hotel (managerial post would be preferable if not I could probably apply now as like a porter or chambermaid heh)

Hopefully one day I will be able to stop going with the flow and take the plunge to pursue one of these dream jobs. Meijun and Victor have already commissioned me as their wedding planners =) Anyone else interested in helping me land my dream job?

The Ultimate Blog Makeover!!

2005-07-11T18:05:00.000+08:00

Ok I admit..the title is exaggerating. The blog does not look all that different, all I did was to change the template cos it was too common and I wanted something a little more special. Then again, this new template does not seem to be anymore special since it is rather plain. Will put in a nice pic as my heading tho, when I finally figured out how to that is =). Have been fiddling with the template for the whole afternoon before I could transfer my archives and posts over and to make the margins and fonts the way I wanted them to be. It is tres tiring, especially on my eyes..*blinks and rubs tired eyes* but I still feel a sense of achievement cos I did it all on my own! Of cos people like tangoh who have their own templates will scoff at my feeble attempt and will probably be thinking chey..that’s all you did? but well I am still proud of myself for figuring out some of the html gibberish that I still find highly frustrating and incomprehensible. Huizhen if you are reading this: I salute you for getting so far in your computer science degree, I would have given up like maybe after 1 day of looking at all the <$BlogHeader$><$Title>..I mean Harlow can’t they just use simple English as commands, what’s with all the <> and / s?

I shall continue in my quest for the perfect blog tomorrow. I am soo glad that I have gotten through work today, was so sleepy during work that I could hardly keep my eyes open. Even drinking tea and splashing cold water on my face didn’t help. It has been an exhausting weekend, I have finally moved into my new house! Its so pretty and nice and I absolutely love it! Will post pics of it soon if I get round to taking them. More on my new house another day, am too tired to think now.

My blog is not pwetty enuff =(

2005-07-08T17:11:00.000+08:00

After reading blogs for the early part of the morning, I am now inspired to change my blog skin. Have been scouting for nice skins all day (am too IT idiot to create my own..dunwan to be too ambitious for now) but realised my IT literacy is too low even to adopt downloaded skins. *sigh* I feel like such a failure.. =(.

Won't have Internat access for the weekend since I won't be at work and my wireless surf thingy is not here yet. Looks like I have to be stuck with this I-once-thought-it-looks-nice-but-now-I-think-is-ugly blog all weekend. Hopefully will have developed the brains and will have the time to change this blog look by next week.

Gonna be a bz weekend as I say goodbye to my home of 18 years and hallo to my new home. Just one of the many changes in my life this year. 2005 is definitely going to be one of the landmark years in my life.

Form over substance

2005-07-07T09:50:00.000+08:00

London has won the bid!! Was quite shocked cos after listening to the radio commentary on my way home, I thought Paris had it in the bag. After all, this was their 3rd bid in 20 years and according to sources, no bid city has ever lost a back-to-back bid. When I saw the video they had put up for their presentation just before the results were announced, I was even surer that Paris would win. Their video was fun, colorful and it exuded youth, vibrancy and immense public support. It was evident that they pulled all stops to make this video- there were fireworks and even airplanes flying across the city leaving a blazing trail of red, blue and white smoke. I thought their video was the best amongst the 5 bid cities.

So why on earth did Paris lose? They were the front runners right from the start and even when the mayor of London was interviewed, he thought that Paris had much higher chances of winning. He told reporters that only 3 reporters and cameras were in front of the London delegation before the results were announced whilst the rest were in front of the Paris delegation, clearly everyone was expecting Paris to win. They were sleek, confident and they had the most experience being a bid city.

Here’s my theory on why they lost. The Paris delegation was pretty low key and only held one press conference throughout their entire stay in Singapore whilst the London delegation talked to the press at every opportunity. I heard that they had up to 6 press conferences in one day! Tony Blair was the earliest government official to arrive to rally for votes and he spoke to IOC members at every opportunity whilst Jacques Chirac only came the day before the announcement of the results. London has the charisma and charm of Sebastian Coe, Tony Blair and Beckham who wooed the IOC members, Paris seemed to be sorely lacking in this aspect. Paris had the substance and a detailed plan but London’s edge was its people and the chemistry and rapport they tried to built with the IOC. In the end, it boils down to friendship and camaraderie. If you had 2 candidates vying for the same job with equal qualifications, obviously you would choose the one you are more acquainted with and who is friendlier right? Paris mayor said that he thought all it took to win was a clear and detailed plan. That was probably why the Paris delegation sorta rested on the laurels and ignored the people and emotional aspect of the bid.

Substance is not everything. Form should be of equal if not more importance than substance. That was why London won.

My vote goes to London

2005-07-06T10:12:00.000+08:00

I ain’t exactly a sports fan but it is rather difficult for one to ignore the hoo-ha that has been created in the press and media for the past few days over the IOC session. Today will certainly be a day in history as IOC members all over the world will gather to vote to choose the city that will host the 2012 Olympics. This will certainly be an iconic event since it is probably one of the closest Olympic fights in history. All the cities are playing on fairly even ground (ok maybe except Moscow) and all are established, modern cities in their own right and whom are all equally capable of running the Games successfully. Also the last two bids for the Athens and Beijing games were fairly skewed due to historical and political reasons so the results were probably anticipated and less exciting. Since today will probably be a historical moment in history, I thought I would give my 2 cents worth on it. My personal favourite to win the bid is London. Here’s why:

1) London is an English speaking country. This will certainly facilitate communications and co-ordination required to run the Games successfully. Language is a terrible barrier and trust me I am speaking from experience =).

2) The French and New Yorkers are rather proud and rude at times. Heard from many friends who had travel experiences to these places that they are unfriendly and unwliling to help, these cities clearly do not make good hosts.

3) London plans to use the Olympics to develop the East End area which is an underdeveloped area housing many underprivileged people. Winning the bid would definitely raise the standard of living in the East End and charity is always good rite?

4) London has the best and probably the cheapest connections to other parts of Europe. Planning for exchange has proved this. Most of the budget flights fly to various destinations in Europe from London and nowhere else. This would be good for tourists who want to do abit of traveling in the midst of catching the Games.

5) London seems to have the least terrorism threats. Having it in New York may risk another 9/11 scenario. The terrorists would have a field day man. Madrid just had another bombing and frankly Moscow seems so unknown that it is probably not safe. I would not even want to travel there now what more have an international event there.

6) The last time London hosted the Games was in 1948. Compared to the other bid cities, it has the longest gap since the last Olympics was held in the city.

7) London has fairly strong government and people support. President Tony Blair came to support the bid in spite of his busy schedule and top stars like Beckham are also in town to pull votes. Am a little curious why the Queen did not come tho haha.

8) London has a melting pot of cultures. Anyone would feel at home in London. It is like a mini-world. Probably only New York can rival London in this aspect.

9) Love the British accent. Can be quite sexy.

10) Inspiring architecture, luxury hotels, world class tourist attractions, rich history all in one city.

So what do you think? Would love to hear your take on who should win. Here is a table summarizing the bid cities. Go to Around the Rings if you are interested. Provides rather informative reads on the Olympics.

Can’t wait to rush home after work today to catch the live announcement of the results =).

A very disgruntled SingTel customer

2005-07-05T18:19:00.000+08:00

Had a terrible experience with SingTel this morning. They are so inflexible. Those who read my blog would know that I will be moving house soon, this Sat to be exact. One fo the million things I have to do include having to relocate my telephone as well as my broadband line. Relocating the phone and broadband lines was a rather simple and painless process, 1 phone call to SingTel was all it took. Upgrading my broadband plan and converting it to a wireless system was a different story.

Grouse #1: A fixed way of doing things, does not offer customers flexibility
First of all, I was not allowed to apply for the broadband upgrade over the phone, I had to go online to do it. Then when I finally went online to do it, I found to my horror that my phone relocation date had not been updated. I initially set the relocation date to be this Sat but changed it later to today instead. My dad specially took time off work today to be at the new house so that the SingTel people could come and relocate the line so I was afraid that the operator screwed up and did not update the date change properly and my poor dad was waiting aimlessly in the house as the technicians were not notified of the date change.

Grouse #2: Does not update system with customers’ request, customers have to waste time to repeat their situation
Had to call SingTel and listen to a lengthy voice message before someone came to my help. Had to explain the whole long story about the relocation and changing the date, the operator went to checked and said the change had not been updated and my relocation date was still the 9th.

Grouse #3: No database to link their SingNet and SingTel services, what’s the point of proclaiming yourself to be a one stop telecommunications service provider?
I pressed on and told him to check again, he told me to hang on cos he had to call the residential line 1609 to check on that. I had called 1610 cos my questions were initially broadband-related. After what seemed like hours later, he got back to me and said that the relocation date change has been updated but just that the residential line did not inform the broadband line. He apologized and said they will update the broadband activation date to today instead of the 9th so I could proceed with the upgrading of my plan. I hung up feeling a little more appeased. This was short-lived when I went to the SingNet page 15 minutes later to re-do my upgrade application only to find that the date change had not been made. (You must understand that I was at work while I was doing this and I did not have the luxury of taking my time to slowly complete the application, I wanted to get it over and done with) I gave SingTel the benefit of the doubt and thought perhaps they needed time to make and process the date change. But 1 hr later and the date was still not changed! Furious, I called again and they were finally able to give me an acceptable answer-the activation requires 5 working days and the date stated was the service activation date. Why couldn’t they told me this from the start? Then I would have understood and gone off with my application. Grrrr..

Grouse #4: Yet another example of inflexibility and pure stupidity
The broadband upgrade came with a free iPod Shuffle but the online application prompted me to set a date for the delivery of the free gift. The available delivery times were only in the days and each timeslot was a 4hr block. I could not take time off just to collect this gift so I called to ask if the technicians who were setting up the wireless surf for me could bring it along with them. “Nooo..I am sorry but the delivery of the iPod Shuffle is handled by SingPost and we cannot get the technicians to do it cos they are from separate departments”. Duh I knew that but won’t it be simpler and cheaper to just get the technicians to bring it with them when they come to install the wireless system? I then volunteered to collect the iPod shuffle on my own but no that was turned down as well. I was fast losing whatever was left of my patience so I just decided to hang up and not talk to those SingTel people anymore lest I get a heart attack in the process. Thank God I got my dad to be present for the delivery of the iPod shuffle but what a waste of his time man. SingNet was wasting time as well as $ but arranging for a separate delivery. So much for efficiency and saving costs. No wonder they have to charge us so much for their services, they need loads of $ to pay these redundant delivermen.

What I have learnt after this experience
This experience has left doubts as to whether SingTel can compete effectively in the new economy. Their hard-set ways and inflexibility would only incur more expenses (spoken like a true accountant yah haha!) and this will drive prices up which will directly affect us consumers! In the worst case scenario, it may jeopardize Singapore’s chances of being a digital hub. Front page of Straits Time today ran an article on how Singapore was falling behind countries like South Korea, Hong Kong, China and even Malaysia in terms of broadband usage. Companies would rather set up their IT operations there than here. Quite sad huh seeing that I always thought that Singapore was the most technological advanced countries in the region (outside Japan that is). Hope that SingTel would do something to buck up.

Meanwhile, one last word of advice to people out there: Sell your SingTel shares man.

Closing a chapter of my life...

2005-07-03T23:05:00.000+08:00

Meijun came over on Friday night to help me pack. She was damn good at it man. Really helped to maximize space and forced me to throw away a lot of things that I was still hanging on to. I am a sentimental person and I would keep whatever that my friends gave me, as a result I had boxes and boxes of letters, cards and wrappers and some of them were from people whom I cannot even remember (no offense but I have been keeping these stuff since I was in Sec 1!) or whom cannot even spell my name properly. Threw away many stuff and managed to pack about 90% of the stuff in my room so that was really 1 helluva fruitful packing session. It was also on Friday that I closed an important chapter of my life. 4 years of a relationship resulted in a rather large exchange of cards and letters. Somehow I wasn't ready to let go off the memories yet as these 4 years meant a lot to me. They brought a lot of pain, sadness, anger and frustration but I do not deny the fact that the relationship did bring some happy moments to my life and he was after all my first love which explains the resistance and reluctance to throw away the boxes containing letters and cards from him as they were after all the only reminder of what we once had. But thank God for best friends - I dunno what I would do without mine. She pushed and prodded me into getting rid of the letters and cards saying that I would never be able to move on if I didn't do it and I should close that chapter in my life and start a new one. She gave me time to say a final goodbye to those memories and helped me to tear them up and trash them whilst scolding and cursing the guy for causing me so much pain and sorrow.

“Thanks dear for helping me pack and for standing by me those 4 years of my life even though you never approved of our relationship. Thank you for your unwavering loyalty to me during those 4 years whenever we fought and had our disagreements. He always said that your loyalty was 100% and you were always on my side and I salute you for that. And last of all, thank you for giving me that shoulder to cry on when the relationship ended for and for helping me move on with my life.”

And with that, that chapter of my life was closed and I hope that the closure that I have been waiting for will finally come. I look forward to starting a new chapter of my life when I go for exchange. Maybe some hunky European guy would come and sweep me off my feet and I can live happily ever after in the land of museums and castles. I can always day-dream, can't I? *grin*

T.G.I.F

2005-07-01T18:06:00.000+08:00

And I really meant it. I had to drag myself through the week. Really do not like work. I think I probably chose the wrong company to do my internship in. Thought that this internship would be able to give me sneak preview into the world of PR and Corp Comms but haven’t really got the exposure that I was expecting. I did experience my first big major event though. Attended this IOC-Atos Origin press conference where man of the moment IOC President Jacques Rogge was there to sign some IT extension contract. There was a lot of anxiety and headaches for this event as Bill Gates is also in Singapore having some IT conference at the very same timeslot. So basically it was a war to see who emerged as media darlings in Singapore. Judging from the turnout today, I think Bill Gates won. Haha but overall I think something good came out of the press conference today. Got a feel of the logistics, security and people needed to put together this IOC summit and I must say that I was impressed by the level of efficiency and co-ordination displayed by the Singaporeans involved. Everything ran like clockwork. It was the first event that I have ever attended that the guest-of-honour was on the dot. I guess that was how tight Jacques Rogge’s schedule was, everything had to be precise so that he can be in as many places as possible. The poor man had no time even to rest. I heard that he had a press conference at 6:30 am this morning the moment his plane landed. I sure won’t wanna be in his shoes. Imagine having to speak to a whole bunch of eager, over-enthusiastic journalists and facing countless blinding cameras when you are suffering from jetlag and your hair is all messy.

Spent a lot of time this week planning for exchange and all. Am getting very overwhelmed with all the things I have to do. But at least we have settled the hostels we wanna book and confirmed our air tickets. Can’t wait for all this to be done soon so that I can finally rest and relax after work. I finally understand why people flock to travel agents, I really appreciate their hard work now =). All this planning will hopefully make the trip more enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoyed my Australia trip the last time I planned it but this exchange project beats it hands down in terms of planning and logistics.

Attention: It is highly likely that future posts will be filled with whining and bitching about exchange planning and logistics. Viewers’ discretion is suggested.

Okie its time to finish work! Words cannot describe my relief and happiness. My tired eyes and brain (from all the sitting around and finding things to occupy my time haha) need a well-deserved rest.

A fruitful weekend =)

2005-06-27T10:25:00.000+08:00

Had a pretty good weekend.

Fri: Had a Sec 4 class gathering at Marina Sq. It was really great to meet people whom I have not seen for a long long time (some I have not see since I finished my O levels). Most have not changed in terms of their appearance and I daresay that some of the guys have not changed in terms of their character haha. They were still the same carefree jokers who enjoyed nothing better than talking nonsense and saying stooped things. No offense here but seems like army did not do such a great job of making men out of boys. Nevertheless, it was fun reminiscing about the old times and all the stoopid, fun and childish things that we did 4-5 years back. It was also refreshing to hang around with people who did not go on and on about work, internships and their career prospects. I am glad that everyone is doing well in their respective universities and am proud that our class have gone such a long way. After all, we were never one of the top classes and we were always scolded for being lazy. We didn’t turn out so bad after all huh. Oh yah we had dinner at Swensens and they had this amazing offer, at least it was amazing to me). When you order any main course or pasta, just pay an additional $1 and you get unlimited scoops of ice-cream. Haha..cheapo ice-cream lovers out there..go to Swensens now!

4C 1999 people who may be reading this: It was great meeting up with you guys. We should definitely do this more often =).

Sat: Went furniture shopping. I love shopping for furniture but its kinda stressful when you have to move in 2 weeks times and you are desperately looking furniture to complete your house. A word of advice to future home-owners: Plan well before you move ad if intend to purchase imported furniture (read anything that is not made in Singapore), do go furniture shopping 6 weeks before you move cos everything (even those made in Malaysia and Indonesia) needs to be indented for a minimum of 4-6 weeks before it gets delivered. So it was really frustrating finding a piece of furniture that you love only to discover that you cannot buy it because you cannot wait 6 weeks for it to be delivered. My parents are insistent that the major furniture is in place before we put in which explains the shopping predicament I was put in. But thank God that I was able to find a dining and a coffee table. Yay! Still need a TV console tho..the shopping continues

Sun: Went furniture shopping again for the last remaining item that needs to be bought. Still could not find a suitable one after a hard day’s search. Anyone has any suggestions? I am at my wits’ end. Blah. Did some winter wear shopping tho. Bought a nice bright pink beanie and a pair of gloves. I just need a pair of nice comfy boots and I will be done with my winter wear shopping.

Yup that’s my weekend in a nutshell. Am quite exhausted..the next few weeks are going to be hectic as I prepare for the big move. Thank God my boss is not in town today so I have the day to slack and write this post and do the other million things that I gotta do. *Grin*

Confessions of a retired shopaholic

2005-06-23T23:15:00.000+08:00

Went for a bout of retail therapy today. Today was the first day of the MNG sale and boy it seemed like MNG was having a "we are giving everything away for free" session instead. There were gals cramped in every corner of the shop, clothes on racks, clothes on tables, clothes strewn all over the floor. There were queues to dig clothes from messy bins, queues to try on clothes and queues to make payment. It was utter madness and haha I was part of it. But my stamina for shopping and tolerance for crowds seem to have diminished exponentially. I was tired after just 1 hr and paid for my purchases without even trying them. Somehow shopping does not seem to be that fun anymore. Maybe I was just tired after yet another boring day at work.

I cannot believe that I used to be one of those people who would go to every MNG sale and wait outside the shops at like 9 in the morning just to grab the best deals in the right sizes. I even went to the extent of visiting almost all the MNG shops around Singapore in the same day. Those were the days..I was a marathon shopper. I really am getting on in years =(. I cannot imagine how life would be when I start work. Work seems to drain the life out of me. Every day, I just wanna go home and sit on the couch and watch tv or read a book. Blah, I am going to turn into boring old hag. A few days ago, my boss even told me to go home and to get a life. Haha, it certainly is ironic that I am taking advice from a 50 yr old man on getting a life. He told me about how Wharton has introduced modules that teaches its students on how to relax and enjoy life and how to lead a fruitful and meaningful life.

Here's the link for those who are interested in the article:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,90369,00.html

Maybe SMU will adopt that into its curriculum soon yah? Sounds like a fun course to take. Perhaps Darren could take it on exchange hah. Last day of the week tmr! 2 weeks down and 6 more to go. I can't wait.

Tis hard to forget..

2005-06-22T22:08:00.000+08:00

I struggled for a while before I could pen these thoughts down. This post seems too personal to be shared with so many people. But on second thoughts, what the hell, if a blog is not for writing what's on my mind, then what good is it for.

I had a bad night last nite, was not able to sleep well because I subconsciously re-visited memories that I thought I had relegated to the back of my head. I was angry and frustrated with myself, why was I not able to forget about the past and move on with my life? He has already wasted 4 years of my life, is it going to continue like this for the rest of my life? Why should I be the one suffering while he is enjoying himself Downunder with another gal? I thought I was strong. I buried myself in work when it happened and I went on with my projects and assignments. I thought that as long as I occupied myself and kept my mind busy, I would soon get over it in no time. It has already been 8 months but it seems that the nagging memories in my head would not go away. Things I see, things I do, things I hear all remind me of him and as much as I want to forget, I can't. It suxs having to feel like that and I simply hate and am disgusted with myself for not being to completely forget the past and move on with my life. People used to tell me that it is better to have love lost than to never have been loved. I beg to differ, if I get to choose now I would rather those 4 years of my life never happened. I wish that I could just erase it from my memory. Hah, come to think of it, this is where one of those cool MIB gizmos would come in handy. 1 click and all the memories would be zapped away. How easy, how simple, how painless.

I need closure but I have no idea how to get it. I have cried enough, written enough letters and shouted enough. Perhaps only time will erase those memories. I just wish that it will be sooner rather than later.

Ok, I just needed to get the frustration off my chest. Back to putting on a strong front. Life goes on. My world will NOT come crashing down because of 1 guy.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!

2005-06-19T13:19:00.000+08:00

We celebrate Father's Day today, a day less celebrated by families worldwide perhaps because songs, books and movies often glorify a mother's love but fail to recognise that a father's love is of equal importance as well. Here's a tribute to my daddy- the silent pillar of my family:

Thank you Daddy for making me who I am today,
For loving me unconditionally in spite of my imperfection, my willful ways and my spoilt behaviour,
For bearing with all times I get irritated and impatient with you over the small little things,
For working so hard to make sure that Mummy and I have a good and comfortable life,
For always thinking of us first and giving the best to us,
For being the planner, chauffeur, treasurer in the family.
Thank you Daddy for all the things that you have done and given me.

I love you and Happy Father's Day!

Will be giving my dad a treat at Crystal Jade later this evening. Can't think of anything to buy for him anymore, its the same old socks, shirts, Celine Dion CDs year after year so I took the easy way out and decided to treat him to a nice dinner instead. Nothing compared to the dinners that he brought us to but well considering my measly intern pay, I think that is probably all I can afford =).

Hope you will like it Daddy!

Care to be a professional blogger anyone?

2005-06-15T23:28:00.000+08:00

Learnt another interesting piece of information today. Was informed that companies in the US are actually hiring what they termed "corporate bloggers" to help maintain company blogs that seek to provide a form of informative as well as viral advertising. Blogging has become a very powerful tool in marketing and corporate communications as it is a new form of medium in which consumers can voice their opinions. Corporate blogs apparently offers companies a cheaper and more effective way of promoting their brand and products than advertising as an increasing amount of people have caught the blogging bug and more people actually surf the net than watch TV. A corporate blogger in US earns about $40,000 / annum. Not much but at least its still a job. At least sometime good is coming out of all these blogging - it might be a lifesaver if I ever get retrenched or have difficulties in finding a job hah.

I am into my 3rd day of work and well..my optimism is running out. The work is rather mundane and tedious. Had to convert an 8 page English media info kit into Chinese today. Gosh it was hard and a real test of my Chinese skills. I had long given everything back to my Chinese teacher and haha I bet those Chinese journalists will be laughing their heads off at the info kit. Damn paiseh man..I swear I will never tease or make fun of people with poor English again. Or at least I will try not to. Hah. Am down with a rather nasty sore throat yet had to bear with the pain and go to work. Worst still, 60% of my job scope is to call people and to invite them to press conferences, that certainly didn't help. I need to get well soon..I hate havingg sore throats grrr. Oh well at least its mid-week now, 2 more days to the weekend!

Cheap thrill. But with a work life like that, I need as many cheap thrills I can find. Lets pray that tomorrow will be a better and less boring day.

1st Day at Work..

2005-06-13T23:46:00.000+08:00

I am back in my internship phase again. I swear I am a sucker for torture man. There is absolutely no need for me to take on another internship since I have already fulfilled my required 10 weeks at PWC but nooo.. being the kiasu person that I am, I still wanted to work so that I would have 1 more company to put on my internship (albeit an unknown and unheard of one) and also so that I would have more $ to spend on exchange. Having to wake up at 7:30 every morning and wear a suit to work, sharing dirty tables with hot stinky executives in the sweltering heat, cramming with more hot stinky executives in the MRT and buses after work and all for a measly sum of $700..ewww people who didn't knew me better would think I am into S&M. Well well, the things people do in hope of securing a good job before graduation. I have even heard of someone who is working for an even more pathetic sum of $250!! And he tells me that this is so because there is a Wharton undergrad who has offered to work for this same company for FREE. Stoopid angmoh educated people - 2 words "spoil market" man. Okie enough complaining for 1 blog entry..time to talk about my job.

I started work for Coltrin & Associates (never heard of rite?) - it's a wholly foreign-owned company that does public relations and corporate communications work. I had low expectations of my job scope seeing that this was a small company (Singapore is their regional HQ but it's a 1 man show..imagine that!) but I got a pleasant surprise when I got to work. The clients that we were handling were not small indeed, we are currently working on major projects for 3 companies. Just some boring facts about them (minimal disclosure here lest I get sued for not maintaining my confidentiality and professionalism..see I actually learnt something from AMA =) :

1) Atos Origins - a IT systems solutions provider that has been selected to integrate and maintain the IT system for the Olympics games. Reminds me of all those Advanced Audit seminars..Joanne Tay will have a ball coming up with all the IT audit risks involved here haha.

2) Burger King - As much as it is a household name in Singapore, BK has yet to enter the China market. (a new fact that I learnt today)

3) 3 Com - Competitors include Cisco, Avaya etc. Competitor analysis is important to 3 Com.

Am quite excited to be working on these big projects and am happy that I would get a chance to help organize big events. This definitely beats an audit internship where filing, photocopying, casting and referencing makes up 80% of your job scope. I am fairly optimistic that I will learn something from this internship.

Note to self: Remain positive at all times, even when you are being dragged out of bed at ungodly hours.

Just realized today that I will be moving in 2 weeks and leaving for exchange in less than 2 mths and I have not done anything! My do-list is getting longer and longer each day, I am so dead man. I really must stop procrastinating and to think I still have time to blog.

Haha. I have screwed up priorities. Damn.

I am back!!

2005-06-12T14:32:00.000+08:00

I am back in hot and humid Singapore..blah the weather is terrible. A far cry from the cool and nice weather I immensely enjoyed in Hokkaido. The trip was ok I guess, not really my kinda trip since it was rather relaxing and slow-moving and well all I saw was scenery and more scenerey.

IMG_2839
Originally uploaded by Adaline.

The flowers I saw were really pretty tho, Hokkaido was full of flowers, went to this hill where the whole hill was just covered with flowers in different shades of pink and purple. It was breathtaking and amazing. Visited volcanic craters, flower places, chocolate factory and beer factory..yah thats about it haha. It was a rather informative trip, learnt alot of new stuff I neva knew about Japan. Tried a few new things as well on this trip:

1) Visited hot springs
2) Slept in tatami styled rooms (= sleeping on floor)
3) Ate sashimi that I normally will not eat in Singapore (prawn as well as crab sashimi, i still prefer cooked ones thank you)
4) Drank all kinds of Japanese beer (Corona is still my favourite, Asahi tastes like Tiger Beer to me hah)

But don't think I will go back to Hokkaido again, it is a rather slow-moving place not exactly appealing to a city gal like me. It was also rather frustrating as nobody and I really mean nobody there speaks English, not even simple English. It amazes me as to how a country like Japan could advance so far ahead without having the slightest knowledge about the univseral language. Perhaps only the people in Tokyo could speak English. But yah shopping there was tough as they couldn't understand any of your questions and one has to resort to ridiculous hand gestures to try and get them to understand what you are asking but haha more often than not, we were not able to get any answers. But I must still applaud their efforts in trying to understand and trying their best to help you even when they do not know what you are saying at all. They are really nice, polite and hospitable. I remember we went to some hill to see some flowers and when we descended the hill, this lady just invited us into her home and even offered us drinks when she saw us waiting in the sun for the bus. I was really touched by her hospitality. So i guess their willingness to help and serve more than makes up for their in ability to speak English.

Bought lots of food back..seems to be the only thing I could buy around there, everything was way too expensive. But one good thing about Hokkaido was that it was famous for its seafood and I love seafood so food there suited me just fine. Never had so much Japanese food in 1 shot, I am going off Japanese food for a long long time. I was eating rice for like 3 meals a day cos some of the places were traditional Japanese hotels ans only served rice and miso soup for breakfast, no eggs no ham no bread. Note to self: Need to lose weight and stop eating carbo

Well I guess that is probably my 7 day trip in a nutshell =). Click on the photo if you are interested in seeing a few more photos from my trip!

The perfect man - an oxymoron?

2005-06-05T13:20:00.000+08:00

Those around me for the past 2 weeks would probably have been the victims of my repeated gushings about a TV chracter who in my view is the perfect man. He is nice, not bad-looking, sweet, generous, rich, self-sacrificing, gentemanly..the list could go on and on but sad to say he is NON-EXISTENT. Sigh..where have all the nice men went to? Could it be that God in his haste to complete the world in a week forgot to insert the "nice" gene into the male gender? Men that I come cross these days are well..they just fall short of expectations. Am I expecting too much? I don't think so and after my last relationship, I definetely think that I deserve better. I had given up hope on finding the perfect man..or rather the perfect man for me. But haha this show (Love@dolphin bay..sappy romantics out there, you have to watch it! I was actually rushing home during the study week to catch 3 episodes of it a night. That is why I have screwed up my exams this sem haha) somehow allowed me to believe in this stoopid thing called "love" once again. I mean if the script writer could create a character like that, it probably means that he has an inkling of how a man should treat a girl and how the qualities a perfect man should possess rite? Unless "he" is actually a she..

Oh well, gals out there should watch the show to know what you are missing out on and guys should watch the show so you can improve and strive towards being that perfect man. Haha..this is like free advertising for the show man. But yah it is a seriously good show and it was very touching. I have the VCD if anyone is interested =).

So back to my title.."perfect" and "man", can they ever be placed together in the same sentence? For now, it seems to be an impossible feat but I hope that 1 day I would be able to find this man who can prove me wrong.

Singapore doesn't seem to have a population problem

2005-06-04T23:54:00.000+08:00

My 3rd consecutive day to Orchard proved to be a nerve-wrecking and not very enjoyable one. The people to Orchard on a weekend is appaling. There were people everywhere. I swear Orchard is turning to like a Bangkok or an India where the streets are just packed with people and everywhere you turn, you can only see people, people and more people. Somehow, going to Orchard has became a rather claustrophobic experience and whenever I see the endless stream of people, I get this overwhelming urge to like throw a bomb and kill everyone so that the streets will be cleared for me to walk. Haha, somehow this thought seems to be rather in line with my violent nature rite? But I am sure I am not the only one who has this thought rite?

Met up with a friend whom I haven't seen in a long time today. It was nice to just sit and talk and gossip. Especially since the person is not part of my usual circle of friends, it was well refreshing to see someone whois not from Accountancy (no offence to all my Accountancy friends, I love you guys but its nice to see people from other schools sometimes). Horros of horrors- heard that Devandran gave someone a C for his NPD class. So whatever he said about not giving less than a B+ is definitely not true! Arghh..I am so going to fail my TWC. People reading this: Pls DO NOT ever take anything under Devandran Singh. As brilliant as his resume may sound, he cannot teach for nuts!! TWC is like THE worst course I have ever taken in SMU.

Tried something interesting today. Went to this place called Mushroom Hot Pot which serves like steamboat in mushroom soup stock. Most of the food on the menu are mushroom-based so it was rather interesting. I never ate so many varities of mushrooms in my life. Had more than 6-7 kinds of mushrooms and I have to admit that the mushroom stock was rather tasty. I love steamboat! It is so nice to eat and chat over a steaming pot of food. The amazing thing about the restaurant was the steambpat gadget that they had. The steamer was amazingly powerful and it could get the soup boiling in like less than 1 min. For those who like boiling hot soup and a new place to eat, I would recoomend this place. It located at the OG building, the price is rather steep though ($25 per pax) but it is a nice change from the usual NYDC, Pasta Mania, Coffee Club, Pizza Hut =).

Alrite..enough blogging for today. Time to go and continue packing my bag..bleah..

Missing the old campus already..

2005-06-04T14:29:00.000+08:00

IMG_2701
Originally uploaded by Adaline.

As I was uploading the photos that Meiting, Meijun and I took at SMU yesterday (thanks to our great photographer Victor), I started to feel a little sad about leaving our nice, green, serene campus. Yes, I have complained many a times about how tiring and hot it is to walk up the hill and our campus is too small to fill the ever-growing SMU population. I still remember those times where we would rush to the library just to "chope" a power point and to get a table, how noisy and crowded the library was during the study week and how it was impossible to find an empty GSR. But having said all that, I know that I will still miss this beautiful campus of ours. Where else can you find such lush, nice greenery and such nice, old colonial buildings. I am not a nature lover but I still think that it is nice to be studying in such a picturesque environment. I mean which other students can boast about being to study in the Botanics Gardens when one gets tired of mugging in the hell-hole like GSRs and the freezing library?

IMG_2703
Originally uploaded by Adaline.

Not really looking forward to moving to the city campus even though it will really be much more accessible and so much closer to town. Humans are after all creatures of habit and I am an absoulte stickler for familiar things and surroundings. Besides, I will be so lost at the new campus after exchange. Hopefully, my dear kind friends will guide this lost blind sheep here. Boohoo..I don't wanna move! I don't want NUS to take over our beautiful scholl and defile it. Can't stand how they are gloating over the fact that they got the campus back. Advertising all over the place..makes my blood boil man.

Whatever it is..Here's to the SMU Bt Timah Campus. Thanks for so many beautiful and fun memories.

My very first post!!

2005-06-03T23:39:00.000+08:00

Haha..seems like I have finally submitted to peer pressure and jumped on the blogging bandwagon. It took me FOREVER before I could even start on this first post because this blogspot thingy seems to be quite user-unfriendly and it took me ages before I could figure it out. Am really quite ashamed of myself since I have never thought of myself as IT-incompetant but starting on this blog has really frustrated me man.

It seems like a good time to start this blog because I will be leaving for exchange to France in about 2 months time and this seems to be a good avenue for friends and family to keep in touch with whatever is going on in my life while I have the time of my life at the other end of the world =). Also, those who know me well should know that I like to talk talk talk, bitch bitch bitch and whine whine whine. This blog will probably provide me a good avenue to do just that since people aroudn me are probably getting tired of hearing me talk. Haha, so perhaps this blog serves as an outlet for me to say all the things that I wanna say that noone wants to listen to. Hopefully this will not be those 1 time thing where I will get tired after the first few blogs and just give up on blogging. Exams just ended 2 days ago..much as I am relieved, I somehow feel a deep sense of meaninglessness..if you get what I mean. Its like you mug mug mug for the past 1-2 weeks, then suddenly you have nothing to do anymore and tons of free time. And there's only so much you can shop and do in boring ol' Singapore. Am really starting to get tired of the life here, there is NOTHING to do! Blah, this is one of the reasons why I can't wait to go for exchange.

Will be leaving for Japan on Sun for a 1 week vacation with my family. Somehow, I am not as excited as I should be. Perhaps its because I have to start my internship immediately or perhaps I really am getting old and losing that child-like attitude that gets you excited over every small little thing in your life. Sigh..I am really starting to feel old. Can't say I have accomplished much at the grand age of 22, feels like I have just wasted my youth away. Hah...this is turning out to a depressing first post man. Okie I better stop the whining..before people start to aviod my blog as well haha.