.::. Ju's Hen's Night .::.

It was Ju's second last night as a 'single' woman, and we had a mini hen's night for her. We had dinner at Brussel's Sprouts at Robertson Quay, and spent the night talking about things like ageing and how life has evolved throughout our years. It was a really nice and cozy night, nothing happening, though there'll sure be another one before her customary wedding!



J3. Wished Jo was here too, though I'm sure her heart was with us. =)

The funniest thing of the night? The bachelor ditched his bachelor night and asked if he could join us! It's hilarious, because we actually had a hen's night because he had a bachelor's night in the first place. But he has also proven that he's the perfect choice for Ju. Ju says that 'Choose husband, must choose this kind!'.

The mussels there were *yums. So were the frites! It tastes really authentic, totally like the ones I had in Brussels.

It was a great night with drinks and good company. The hen's night ended up with 2 men joining - a 'mystery man', Joey, who joined us after he finished work at midnight (yet again), and the other is none other than the bachelor himself.

With that, another of my best friend is getting hitched tomorrow and I'm really happy that she found someone great. She deserves all the happiness in the world.

Can't wait for the wedding tomorrow!

.::. Great Colleagues .::.

My dear colleague brought me out for lunch for my birthday. Pak even got me a really good mug from Starbucks and this cake!



So cute right? Trust her to think of this 'design' for the cake. It's totally representative of my jobs - graphs, graphs, charts.

I hope that the graphs come true!

The hot-mama of 3, but still has a flat tummy!

At the 2011 Kickoff.

My other colleagues who sits in the same 'lorong'.

I'm blessed to have such nice colleagues. They really make working alot more bearable.

.::. 25 .::.

Today is the first day I'm officially a quarter-of-a-century old. How does it feel? Well, O.L.D..

For some reason, I dread turning 25 and it's the first time I really felt that I was, well, ageing. It's not like anything has changed, it's just that I really feel like I've crossed into yet another (important) stage of my life. I reckon the last time I feel relatively like this was the big 21st - the year I became an adult.

Reflecting upon my life the past 25 years, I guess I do not have many regrets. I do not believe in regrets. I have had a blessed life, despite all the times when I felt really down. Those seem trivial when I look at the big picture.

Honestly, the past year was probably my best year in my entire life. Spending a year studying in Europe and traveling was a dream come true. It was till the second half of my stay in Sweden that I really started to enjoy and appreciate being there. The first half of the year, I was busy feeling homesick and unsettled. Till January came, it suddenly felt like there wasn't enough time to enjoy the lifestyle there. There were so many moments which took my breath away, and I simply admired the sights infront of me. I was totally in awe, and it really felt like if life was measured by the number of moments that take your breath away, my life would have been worth living.

I've been lucky. I've met many great people in my life, no matter where I went. While I'm not a particularly expressive person, especially in-real-life, I really do cherish all those around me.

After taking a year off, it was also another transition back into working life to pay my dues. It wasn't easy, going from a stress-free lifestyle which I got used to, to a hectic lifestyle yet again. For the first time in my life, I recognized what stress felt like.

Going into my mid-twenties, it's seriously time to ponder about what I want my future to look like. If I could do things differently, I might prolly take up something I really enjoy and do mass communications in a Polytechnic instead. Afterall, I love writing and really wouldn't mind going around, covering different stories. It's till recently that I really felt that one can only excel in something one really loves and have passion in. These are things which parents and teachers do not seem to tell you. They would like you to believe that as long as you tried hard enough, anything is possible. But then again, if you didn't have passion in something, it's almost impossible to try hard enough!

I think it's time to follow my heart. I know myself really well, yet there are times which I try to do the 'right' thing and try to please others instead. Being away from home and my comfort zone has really made me understand myself and reflect on things alot more.

Another huge topic when one turns 25 is marriage. When am I tying the knot? Apparently not anytime soon. In all honesty, I am ready mentally. We have dated for 7 years afterall, and I'm as sure as I can be that he's 'the one'. For months after coming back from Sweden, that thought turned me off completely. I couldn't imagine lossing all my freedom and taking up all that responsibilities. All I felt like doing is run away. Yet a few months later, being surrounded by weddings and pregnancies, that joy is contagious. I feel so happy for these people around me that I think everyone should deserve these when they find the right one.

Just a few weeks back, I suddenly felt like 'having a baby'. It's just, a thought, a random feeling and I have no intention of doing it at all. I told they boyfriend, and he went like 'huh, you siao ar?!'

So that very well concludes the topic of marriage - it's a 5 year plan. Financially, we are not ready. He's probably not ready mentally either. It doesn't help that we can't get a HDB and have to get a condo. It's ridiculous, but that is the only way out. I can't accept anything less, and we simply have to work hard for it.

Sometimes, I wonder, is the person more important or the lifestyle after marriage more important. How much are you willing to sacrifice for someone you love? Will you be able to work everything out just because you love that someone? What if you really hate your life and what you have become after marriage? When it comes to weddings, it's not about the 2 of you - so is what you want for your dream wedding more important or what someone else want for your wedding that is more important?

I know that there are things which I can't compromise, and those are choices I made. I will stand by them and bear the consequences regardless of what they might be. In short, I'm not going into a marriage which I am not confident about!

Things I need to focus on going forward?

Being happy. Honestly, nothing else matters more in life than being happy and cherishing everyday. I shall try harder to make better choices, so that I can look back at my life and be satisfied with all I have done. Afterall, nobody's responsible for my own happiness other than myself.

Happy 25th to me.

.::. 25th with the family .::.

We had dinner at Soup Restaurant, a change from the usual Crystal Jade!



CNY is really round the corner.

The little sister who shares the same birthday with me. The little sister who has grown so big - a sign of my own age.

The family.

The boyfriend.

=)

.::. 25th with the boyfriend .::.

The boyfriend brought me out on a date on Saturday, it's my birthday afterall.

It wasn't anything fancy, he has been so busy lately.



We had lunch at Angus Steakhouse. The only picture I had was the soup, because we were too hungry! Didn't take any pictures till dessert, but the steak was pretty good! I think they do need to do some renovations though, pink towels and stained chairs ain't that appealing!

He got tickets for Burlesque, and I really loved it! Christina Aguilera could really sing, and dance! Watching movies like this made me wished that I had that kind of talent to do that sort of things. And the determination and faith!

I chose Chjimes and a soccer match over Timbre and a live band. It's been such a long time since we sat down and watched a match together over beer.

We had ribs at Bobby's. It was better than I remembered it, and they had a change of management. I was somewhat embarassed when they said it happened years ago and changed their name to Bobby's instead of Bobby Rubino's. So it has been quite a few years since we visited this place!

Ribs @ Bobby's.


I think the boyfriend was the one who's celebrating, he had 2 huge pints of beer and witnessed a Liverpool win.

The first birthday he celebrated for me? It was my 19th birthday, 6 years ago! He was the best thing which happened to me then, and he's still the best thing which happened to me now. =)

.::. Kick-starting the 25th .::.

Had dinner with my dear girls (and boys) on Friday night. =)

So, we were celebrating my birthday, the big 25th. It's a huge hurdle for me, even more so than my 18th and 21st. It's the first time I dread celebrating my birthday, wishing instead that time could somehow stand still.



We had German food at Brotzeit, it was pretty good! I liked it, especially the potatoes and sauerkaut.

What are 25 year-olds supposed to feel?

My dear girls, without dear Jo who's far away in Texas.

The boyfriend who has been working so late so often these days.

I don't feel special or happy, just this dull sense of appreciation and satisfaction to have these lovely people to fill my life with love.

You know I love you. =)

.::. Sky Park .::.

The boyfriend is back from Phuket after a 4-day company trip, and I have been looking forward to today since he asked me to dress presentably and bring my camera along.

At first, he asked me to go over to his place, but he ended up going back to NUS to see his juniors' race car and had lunch with his friends. He asked me to meet him at Somerset instead, but ended up late and did not even reply my sms nor answer his phone! Then, he said to go back to City Hall to meet his parents. Obviously, I'm not exactly pleased - I just came from City Hall!. I reckon it's my own expectations which ruined the day for me.

We ended up going to Marina Bay Sands with his family. We were supposed to visit the Sky park since his mum knows someone who could bring us up for free.

We ended up waiting for more than an hour. Then, I realized that it was one of those sale gimmicks. They make it sound like they can bring you up for free but expects you to attend their 'sharing session'. His mum actually reserved 10 tickets and asked him to reserve 4 more.

I hate such sales gimmicks and sales people. They try to package their marketing tools in such a way that they offer you something for free with 'no strings attached'. There will always be people who take the bait from things like free dinners to free whatever-you-can think-of. Sometimes, they make it sound like you're so dumb to not take it. Then, they make it sound like you're special to be offered such a privellege when all they did was to book a room or two, just to get the guest card to bring all their guests up for free. Those who got these 'free' tickets and are able to bring their friends along to enjoy it and obviously feel good about themselves and would willingly listen to their talks. They seriously go up and down the lifts, bringing so many guests up from different lifts and entry points so as to reduce any suspicion. And they actually claim that this is for 'security reasons', that's why they can't bring too many people at one entry point at any one time!?

I hate these people as much as those who preach to me and invite me to church as if they're trying to save my soul!

It might be the way my dad brought me up. I'll never believe that there are things such as 'free lunches'. When can people ever learn? And to me, if something is that good, you wouldn't need to promote it in this way. Your product will gain popularity from 'word-of-mouth' and forums in which people share their experiences with no hidden agenda.

Perhaps it's just me. There must be many people who does not mind taking such free stuff and going for such 'sharing sessions' in exchange for it. Afterall, our 'free' visit to the skypark this evening has 'saved' us $20x14=$280.

But having to wait there for more than an hour and listening to those crap? Personally, thanks but no thanks! I don't even want to be part of such (in my opinion) underhand tactics. I totally feel cheated and helpless, and still having to pretend like we really appreciated the 'free' visit provided.

So here goes - pictures from the 'free' visit of skypark at MBS. Perhaps MBS should review their guests policy to close such glaring loopholes which these sales people take advantage of.



The weather was horrible, drizzling and grey. But the infinity pool was really pretty. I want to swim there someday!

Maybe it's me, but I can't help being pissed at such stuff. And maybe that's why, I really refuse to do any sales-related jobs despite the seemingly uncapped income. I simply can't put myself down there, for fear of being like one of them someday.

It hasn't been such a great weekend.

Why do I feel like 2011 is not going to be a great year for me? I feel so unsettled.

.::. Resolutions .::.

I have been wanting to reflect on 2010 and write down my resoultions for 2011, yet there's too much to write about 2010. I shall leave that long reflection till another day and start with the resolutions instead.

- Keep Active and Stay healthy
Despite exercising a minimum of once a week and random crunches cum weights sessions at home, I've put on a record number of inches since I got back from Sweden. It's depressing but true. It must be a combination of not exercising 4 times a week, not eating boring boiled/stir-fry food every meal and sitting in the office 8 hours a day. All the muscles I gained in Sweden has turned into flab and I seem to have meat growing from nowhere. The dress which I wore barely 6 months ago, I can barely zip it up. It's so darn difficult since I'm so tired after work, but I really need to be disciplined and continue exercising!

- Save and invest
I won't pretend that I like working nor that I enjoy my job. But a job gives me financial freedom and enables me to be independent enough to make certain choices in life. I don't want to slog all my life and have to worry about money. Since I'm starting to teach tuiion to bring in extra income again, hopefully I can save more. Being a finance person, one knows the power of compounded interest and the right investments. I want to make enough money to fulfill my dream of having my own apartment soon!

- Good Skin
I'm totally anal about skincare now that I'm reaching a quarter of a century old. I've gotten myself pots of magic since I started work. I'm happy with my complexion, but what I really would like to cure is the eczema on my leg. I haven't been showing my legs for years and it itches when I exercise. There are nights when I wake up in pain and itch. I hate it. I need to do something about it and makes sure that it gets cured. Then again, I don't trust doctors, because I've been to so many who gave me steroid creams which losses their effects after some time, making things worse than before, and medicne which makes me really hungry or drowsy. Some even gave me injections, but it never really helped. I simply lose control of myself, affecting my daily life and it makes me depressed. Honestly, I've no idea what to do, but I can try not to scratch for a start. No scratching!

- Remove clutter and pack my room
Being in Sweden for a year, and practically living out of a suitcase worth of things made me realize that one really does not need so many things. Having a clutter-free room and clearing out unused junk really makes one feel great about your surroundings. Although the junk in my house does drive me crazy since my parents seem to love keeping old and spoilt items which may be useful someday, there's nothing I could do about it. I can start from my own room though, corner by corner, I'll start.

- Be a better person
I want to be a better person, a better daughter, a better friend, a better girlfriend, a better sister, a better tutor and perhaps a better employee. It's always a work-in-progress. There are times when I'm upset with myself for being weak, for feeling certain emotions, for letting other people affect me or saying things I don't mean. Putting this down, being conscious about it and reflecting upon it might probably empower me to achieve more for myself. Less anger, no jealousy, more calm, more forgiving, more generous, more tolerance and more consideration.

May 2011 be a great year ahead. I'll be good.

.::. Short? .::.



I have had the same hairstyle for a long time. It was for practical reasons the past year or two as I can trim my own fringe and go long periods without trimming my hair. It was too expensive to visit the Salon in Sweden.

Maybe short hair?

P.S. I think hardwork pays off. I love my 'bottles of magic'. I even bought a nice box to house them.

.::. Love .::.



He spent the last minutes of 2010 finishing writing his responses on this book. It's so like him to wait till the last minute to keep his promise.

Even after 6 years, you still realize that you learn more about each other all the time. He thought that I am someone who is very independent. And I taught him how to think for himself and what he wants.

Sometimes, one's strength might be one's weakness at the same time.

I'm so independent, yet I depend on him. It makes me somewhat insecure - what happens when you depend on someone who lets everyone's needs come before his own? And what if everyone wants a piece of him?

Love is a very strange thing.

Don't try to fight it, fight for it instead.

.::. NYE .::.

What did you do to welcome 2011?



We went cycling. After a half day at work, we had Beach Road prawn noodles for lunch and napped before we went cycling in the evening.

We used to cycle almost every weekend...erm...5 years back. =_=" It's been such a very long time since we went cycling in ECP together. I think I cycled too much in Sweden and didn't like cycling too much after.

Us.

I'm such a dodo sometimes. I only brought my wrislet and iPhone along with some money and ATM cards. It was till we almost reached that we realized that we couldn't rent bikes without IDs! We managed to rent bikes with a $100 deposit in the end. The bikes were pretty good though - alot better than my Swedish bike which gave me so much grief when everyone was whizzing past me. Cycling in Sweden was never so relaxing since it's a mode of transporation and there's cobbler stone roads and strong headwinds.

Beautiful sunset @ Bedok Jetty. It's where we always stop to rest and enjoy the sunsets.

I think both of us has become more lazy and cycle alot less quickly as we aged. He used to love cycling but it was him who wanted to return the bikes after an hour!

We had dinner at East Coast Lagoon, the usual hawkee food. We even had a beer to celebrate the new year since I kept complaining that he does not go drinking with me!

I remember last year's countdown - I came back from Sweden for a few weeks and he was still working on his FSAE racing car. I waited at home till late evening at home, and almost thought that I would have to spend NYE alone. He finally came and brought me out for dinner. Although he offered to watch fireworks with me in town, he looked totally tired. We ended up at his place, and he fell asleep right after a bath! I was watching the Taiwanese countdown concerts and counting down myself as he was soundly asleep beside me. Despite nudging him and wishing him 'Happy New Year', he didn't remember a thing about it.

This year wasn't too far from last. We were watching Taiwanese concerts and he was trying hard not to fall asleep.

Gone were those days when we had dinner in town and waited hours at a good spot just to see the fireworks. It simply seem to take up too much effort and we seem to prefer the comfort of the home as years went by, not that I mind though.

Hello 2011. Be good to us!