catch-up from the weekend

So I promised pictures from the past weekend.. here they are...

Went to an ex-colleague's wedding on Saturday evening. Was a very classy wedding.. Brenda, the bride, looked absolutely lovely. Unfortunately my camera was low on battery so didn't get that many shots (and none of the bride.. boo).

We didn't go cycling in the evening as we were supposed to. We came back from lunch with the 'rents, crashed on the couch and didn't wake up till 6pm. We then woke up, had a quick dinner at Funan and then came back and I attempted to hit the books. And that my folks, was pretty much the weekend.

The week of 3 Fridays

The husband has coined this week "the week of 3 Fridays". It's Deepa-Raya this week. A wonderful product of Singapore's multi-cultural society - Deepavali on Tuesday and Hari Raya on Thursday.

So basically we have Tues and Thurs off of work. Every week should be like this!

Kale's going go-karting tomorrow.. but I have to study. Poop. All that procrastinating is finally catching up with me. I'm having horrid memories of my A-levels mugging. Ack. I'd totally forgotten how stressful it can be to study for exams that make up 100% of your grade.

Had a busy weekend. Will blog more tonite. Have some pics too from a wedding dinner I attended... but that'll have to wait till I get home and wrestle with the photos.

Oh yah, Dawn and Vanessa are BACK!!! Woo HOO!!!! Kale was doing a very poor job of substituting Mr Dawn. Hah. I'm so relieved they're back!

through his eyes

Today I caught a glimpse of Singapore thru the hubby's eyes. We went out for a ride this morning but cos I had class, we couldn't join the group ride. Instead, we took a shorter loop around West Coast road.

So this is what he has to go through when he cycles around in Singapore - nasty exhaust fumes, crazy traffic, huge trucks trundling by and totally oblivious drivers... no wonder he yearns for the open space and clean air and most importantly - BIKE LANES of foreign shores.

I was just really really glad to get home. The usual ride out to East Coast is in traffic, but usually it's not that bad, and there aren't the huge trucks. Pasir Panjang is just so busy with the container trucks cos of the ports...and with buses plying the road, it doesn't leave a lot of room for us.

Anyhow, I'm glad I went cos I feel accomplished that I actually got out on my bike. Was so tempted to bail. But it also means that I'm totally zonked now. Sat through class, and then a group of us had a study group going after class. Totally zonked. Still have church and a wedding dinner before I can go to bed.. groan...

bleah.

It's Friday, but oddly enough, I don't feel as psyched about it as I usually do. Part of that has probably to do with the awful day I had at work. It was all "busy" work. Nothing concrete, nothing that you can check off a list, just all the nitty-gritty stuff that has to be done. And it was frustrating.

The most frustrating part? Trying to get info on Japanese companies when the whole website is in Japanese ONLY. Not fun. I could use some help from Celin in this department. Found out that Google has this beta software out that translates websites into English, but since it's a literal translation, it's pretty confusing and most sentences just come out gibberish. I also talked to my counterpart in Japan and felt a total dumass cos I just didn't have it all together. I was tripping over my words, and just basically not making any sense. Not a good way to start a working relationship. Sigh.

Got caught in the office doing last minute things and then bolted home. My mom and grandma are coming to get us for dinner cos my dad's got some dinner thingamajig. I adore my grandma.. she makes me laugh... she's a feisty almost-80 year old woman with a huge appetite, and she's just funny lah. Kale gets along just fine with her even though he speaks little-to-no chinese, and she speaks little-to-no english. And she likes him, so it's all good. They're on their way over so I guess I should end this post soon and get ready to go...

xmas must really be early

My goodness.. the way the weather's been going in Singapore, it's really leading me to believe that Xmas is here early. It usually only rains every day in December-January. That's how you know it's Xmas - it rains EVERY SINGLE DAY.

It's only end Oct, but it really feels like Xmas season around here. It's rained everyday so far. And it's pouring out now. It's kinda nice. I don't have the a/c on for a change, and the window's open. I can hear the rain coming down outside and the thunder and it's kinda soothing. I have Dido playing on iTunes, and it's all rather calming. The only reason I can sit here with the windows open is cos the hubby's not home, the heat would drive him up the wall. Well, that and the new cat litter that we have stinks like high hell. Makes me want to barf. And the floor is wet, which leads me to suspect that they peed on the floor again. But I'm not wandering in there to confirm. That's distinctly the husband's territory. He wants the cats, he cleans up after them. And thankfully, he's pretty good about that. Not as good as they are at messing up this place, but still pretty good.

Anyhow, I just wanted to congratulate Carie-Ann and her soon-to-be hubby on finally getting their wedding date and hotel all set up. They'll be having their reception in the same place we did... hopefully theirs will be less stressful!

I love this weather.. especially when I'm indoors.. if only it was this cool everyday...

Singapore Girl - a great way to ... shop and eat??

You can take the girl out of Singapore, but you can't take the Singapore out of the girl. (In this case, the girl in point is still in Singapore, but neh-ber mind lah...)

I was looking through my sister's online photo album of her Fall break trip to Chicago. She has what, some 250 pictures online? And the 2 that catch my attention???
My dad and her at Krispy Kreme (mmm... Hot Donuts NOW!!!) AND her slightly out-of-focus picture of the outside of a Westfield mall.

The fact that I stopped in my tracks and squinted at the photo to make out the letterings, and the fact that my heart skipped a beat as the thought registered in my mind.. "Wah rao, they have a Westfield mall in Chicago!!!" says it all...

NB: for the uninitiated - The great Valley Fair mall in Cali is a Westfield mall chain.. so is the Carousel mall in Perth for that matter. My mall knowledge is extensive. =/

Crazy weather

It looks like it's the end of the world out there. The sky is pitch black, the rain is coming down in torrents, there's lightning snaking across the sky and the rain's pelting against the window.

It looks dark enough to be dusk, but it's only 2:45pm. I just HAD to blog about this. It's insane. I can barely see the building across the street.. that's how low visibility is.

I've never seen anything like this before.

akan datang (coming soon...)

Kale sent an sms during lunch that put a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

It's 8 weeks till we leave for Xmas break!! Woo hoo!!!
Is it too soon to start breaking out "Love Actually" and singing Xmas carols???
hmm...

round 2 - bring it on!!!

Believe it or not, we went out riding again. This time around, it was supposed to be with a bunch of Kale's friends for an "easy" evening ride. Since it's fasting month, most of the riders were supposed to have a "handicap" since they haven't eaten or drank all day, and they couldn't drink on the ride. One of the guy's wife (whom I know pretty well) came along for the ride and she was just getting over a bout of pneumonia. But that didn't stop them from dropping me about 200m from the start. Crap.

Anyhow, Kale rode with me till we met up with them about halfway through the ride. They were really nice and waited up for us, but we decided to turn around and go back the way we came while they took the long route back. Turns out that it was a good decision cos both us and their group arrived back at the shop at the same time. Kale says they probably went another 5-10km more than us.

I'm just happy I got back out on my bike. I am a little bummed I couldn't stay on for longer, but oh well, practice makes perfect. Next time my goal is to stay on longer.

I also found out 2 things today -
1) Kale's wonderful to draft behind. Must be that ample Italian caboose.
2) Your mind can totally play tricks on you. I found out that the easiest way to ride up a hill (ok, slope) is to ride behind someone so you can't see the top of the hill. If you just focus on the wheel in front of you, it's easier to make it up the hill. If I can see the top, I inevitably crack right before the top of the hill, and everything simply shuts down. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Man.

Anyway, I'm really hurting. Oww. My palms hurt from my death grip on my handlebars, and my thighs, well, my thighs ache. As expected. Time to go grab some dinner and then pick the 'rents up from the airport. They're back from Chiang Mai tonight.

wheels go round and round...

So we went out for a ride again this morning. I realise I don't mind being up early in the morning. I just hate the getting out of bed part. That part really blows. I also realise that my stomach doesn't wake up till about 8:30 at the earliest. I can't stomach food in the morning. *groan*

There was only 1 other person on the ride this morning, so we got to ride at my pace. Which was good, cos it was nice and comfortable, but it wasn't good cos I had no way of benchmarking myself to the typical saturday ride. Hmm. Even going at a slower pace, the 2 last "hills" at orchard totally kicked my arse. I realise I can keep up just fine on flats, but I start going backwards once there's any form of gradient. And to think I actually like the steep(er) hills on a MTB cos of the challenge. I think the difference is I don't have the endurance to make it up tedious, long, slow uphills.. short bursts are far more my thing.

There was a corporate triathlon going on in East Coast Park so we met a bunch of people that we knew as we were cycling past there.. saw a lady that did the ride last weekend, and Andrea (my LJ friend) and her boyfriend, Hans, who was doing the race. (Sorry dear about missing ur call, I left the phone at home cos I hv no pockets on my jersey!).

Anyhow, Kale precariously took a bunch of pictures *while* riding. My expression in these pics is pretty much consistent - "what on earth are you doing, hon???" and "be careful.... aiyaaaahhhh". I also don't think my "stance" on a bike is anywhere near efficient (or graceful for that matter) so no laughing allowed.



Busy day ahead.. plenty of errands to run. *Groan*. And I guess I need to start studying at some point. *double groan*

Xmas came early

Heh, Xmas came early this year. My dad came back with goodies..and I received an early Xmas pressie - a lovely leather handbag! Sweeeet!!! Perfect size for work too.

And Selene came through too.. I wanted a new watch for work. I've had my existing one since my junior year, and I can't find a replacement for the strap so it's getting really really yucky. She picked out a whole bunch of watches, and 2 of them were awesome.. exactly right for work. So I'm psyched. I'm so glad I didn't cave in and blow mullah on a watch here before this.

Anyhow, presenting the loot...

The bag, watches and a pocahontas-ish top that I really quite like. Now to figure out where to wear it too and what to wear it with. hmm...

guilty pleasures

My latest guilty pleasure? "Laguna Beach - the real O.C." on MTV.
It's filling the void left behind when season 2 of The O.C. ended last month. Question I have is, why is it the real O.C. when it isn't much different from the drama serial version? Granted, the parents aren't so cool looking, but other than that, the houses are still as huge, the kids are still as bratty, and everybody looks far too cool and too old to be in high school! What's up with that?

Anyhow, yes, my evenings now revolve around the tv line-up that has picked up recently. But nothing quite relaxes me like the mind-numbing "what on earth??" tv that is Laguna Beach.. where high school kids drive huge SUVs and get acrylics every episode. Yes, my guilty pleasure. Ranked right up there with TRL. It's a good thing that Real World/Road Rules Challenge is over, otherwise we'd really be in trouble.

I can just see the father-in-law going into denial as he reads this thinking "she's really part of this family??" Heh heh. =)

You found me

Pls excuse this moment of mush... just some lyrics that suit my mood right now..

Is this a dream?
If it is
Please don't wake me from this high
I've become comfortably numb
Until you opened up my eyes
To what it's like
When everything's right
I can't believe

You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know just where I would be?
Yeah, you broke through
All of my confusion
The ups and the downs
And you still didn't leave
I guess that you saw what nobody could see
You found me
You found me

So, here we are
That's pretty far
When you think of where we've been
No going back
I'm fading out
All that has faded me within
You're by my side
Now everything's fine
I can't believe

And I was hiding
'Til you came along
And showed me where I belong
You found me
You found me
When no one else was lookin'
How did you know?
How did you know?


abbreviated lyrics to "You found me" by Kelly Clarkson

saved by the rain

so today was a really do-nothing day. and it was GREAT!

i had a heavy brekky with dawn, and then we came home to lounge around with kale. it started raining so plans to go swimming were called off. the weather was so so nice that all we could think about was sleeping. so to prevent us from sleeping and totally wasting the afternoon, we hauled our butts off to CPK for lunch.

dropped dawn off and then the inevitable happened. we succumbed to the nice rainy weather and took a short nap. a short nap that grew into a 2 hour snooze. woke up only in time for dinner with mom, grandma and my aunt, cousins and niece. wow. definitely wasn't planned. managed to catch my sis on the phone too while i was over there. my cousin's baby is getting cuter each time we see her. she now has a personality. very cute. prior to this, she was just a lump, a cute lump nonetheless, but still just a little baby. now, she's a little person, with a personality. much more fun.

and now, we're back at home, and all i can think about is sleeping again. man. i'm totally knackered even after the nap earlier today. man. my shoulders are so, so sore. kale says it's cos my bike stem is too long. i sure hope so, cos that means it can be fixed and my next bike ride won't leave me in such pain. was supposed to go ride with kale's friends this evening but it started raining this afternoon so i had the perfect excuse not to ride!! woo hoo. i honestly don't think it would have been too good a showing even if i had dragged my arse there.

on another note, we're considering moving this blog to a password-protected site. but that's kind of a pain in the neck so we're not so sure. i don't think this site gets that much traffic, but one can never be too sure who's surfing by. anyone know of a good sitemeter/tracking software?

the other option is to censor more of what i put up here and just leave it with pics instead. but that would kinda be a bummer, so i'd rather avoid that option if possible. well, we'll see. to share or not to share, that is the question. hah.

dolce's a hit!!

finally took my new bike out for a spin this morning. kale convinced me to join a beginner's ride that's on every saturday. was kinda nervous on the way there, cos it was the first time i'd been on my road bike on an open road.

the ride itself was ok. i was feeling good on the way out to our turn around point, but it really really sucked coming back. next time around, i will eat before i attempt to ride. i bonked big time. i also think it's just general lack of fitness and nerves, but well, i made it back to the finishing point. i just felt bad holding the rest of the group up. oh well, guess everyone has to start somewhere.

the other ladies on the ride loved the color of my bike!! one of them even mentioned she had the perfect shoes to go with the bike. i told the hubby he's created a monster - i can now go out and accessorise - purple helmet, socks, etc.. yeeha!!!

i'm aching so much right now. my thighs are so sore. kale owes me a massage... we're going to try another ride tomorrow evening with a bunch of his friends, so i need to get my thighs semi-relaxed again.

so yeah, my bike's a hit with the ladies. =) and i'm a hit with the hubby for riding this morning. all in all, a good day. now just to make sure that i can actually get back on my bike tomorrow.. *groan*

Hyperventilate!!!

EEPS!!!!!

I was in the process of applying for study leave when I realised that MY FIRST EXAM IS ONLY A MONTH AWAY!!! Oh boy.....

Time to start studying.. *groan*.
Just to give you an idea of how much reading I need to catch up on - for the section on copyrights, there are 65 case studies!!! 65!!!! And that's only for 1 of the 4 papers I have to take.

I've been shocked into submission.. time to hit the books....

the middle ground

compromise is such a big word.

most times, it's easy to do. because the issue isn't too close to either's heart. sometimes it's hard. and that's when you have to remember that the relationship is what's important. and not the issue at hand. easier said than done.

think i'm going to visit good shepherd tomorrow. i'm in need of some guidance. that and i need to pray for patience. in more ways than one.

amen.

Pictures that make you go hmm...

These 2 kinda stand out in Chinatown
At da club...
Full and happy at Lau Pa Sat
Kale kicking Tyson's ass

All in all, a good time....

melting pot of emotions

man, there's a mish-mash of feelings swirling around inside me. feelings of anxiety, inadequacy, frustration, impatience, despair, etc. nothing good really.

i have to say that i haven't been in the most charitable of moods this past weekend, and i've not been the person i would like myself to be. i need an attitude readjustment. either that or some hormonal readjustment. haha. but seriously, i'm not proud of the way i've been acting.

the husband says that i need to "relak lah". i tell him he needs to buy me the t-shirt that says that.

i think having liv and tyson here triggered some emotions that i've managed to bury for a long time. feelings of yearning for cali, feelings of claustrophobia, feelings of not fitting in, feelings of just simply wanting something different. BUT, i also know that a large part of it is the whole "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. i know that once i get there, i'll probably be disappointed cos it's not everything that i remember it being. the hubby does have a point when he says that the mind is good at blocking out the bad memories, and only allowing you to remember the good about the past.

suddenly, i don't feel so content with what i have. to be honest, this past year has really been a pretty good year, and i've been pretty content. sure, i'm not saying that it was all hunk-dory, but generally, i have it good, and i can't complain. but somehow, right now, something just feels like it's missing. and i can't really place my finger on it. people tend to say that i'm an over-achiever... maybe that's what this is. maybe i'm just not capable of being satisfied. where's some good old psychoanalysis when i need it??

Weekend is over....

Back to work tomorrow dude.
We just dropped Liv and Tyson off at the airport. They're on the way to the land down under to carry on their worldly adventures. While they're snorkelling in the great barrier reef, we're going to be stuck at work. Yeay. Not.

Am drained. While I'm glad that things are back to normal (the staying up late was really beginning to get to me...) I know I'm going to miss having them around. Hopefully they'll come back this way on their way back to the US. Maybe.

Today was just a slow day.. had steamboat for lunch (yum...) and then went to Orchard to get some shopping done. It's been so long since I've been in Orchard on a weekend. I've forgotten how crowded it can get.

Time to go shower now... get some rest, and then get ready for work tomorrow..

2 late nites in a row...

The past couple of days have gone by in a blur. That's what happens when you have friends staying over with you. Every day feels like college again - staying up yakking, watching tv, eating. Only problem is, there's this little thing called "work" that gets in the way of totally vegging out. Sigh.

Anyhow, we had a fun-filled friday evening to herald in the weekend. I have never been so happy to see a weekend. Even tho I only worked 3 days this week. Man. I'm such a slacker.

This transition at work has been harder than I expected. It's really taking quite a bit out of me. It's difficult to accept that you don't know stuff anymore. I used to be the one with the answers (or at least some answers). Now I'm just the one with a gazillion questions.

Anyhow, last nite was filled with food, alcohol and dancing. Good clean fun. Joined my colleagues at a local club for some grooving. We even managed to get Kale and Olivia to get on the floor for a bit. That was an achievement, I tell you... I will now have fond memories of Tyson singing "I like to move it, move it ... physically fit, physically fit" and grooving along to that. Hah.

Today was a slow, cultured day. We crawled out of bed around 11ish.. had tim sum at the dad-in-law's fave restaurant near the port, and then spent an afternoon wandering around the Chinese Heritage Center. Good job, Dawn.. they were very impressed. =)

Had dinner at Lau Pa Sat.. So much food, so little time.. sigh.

Ok, it's late. The guys are watching "3 Amigos".. I'm going to bed. Had a rough day emotionally. Think the hormones are kicking in again. *Groan*. It's that time of the month when all logic goes out the window and all bets are off... crap. The poor husband... =(

Goodnite y'all. Pictures tomorrow if I can get around to it..

Pictures from the past few days

Finally got around to putting pics up. Of course, now it's close to midnight and I have to get up early tomorrow, but such is life. The lovely husband didn't help by accidentally closing the window with the uploaded pics so excuse the short write-up. I find that writing the post again after I've deleted it accidentally or something just isn't quite the same. So yeah, I'll leave you to enjoy the pics. Will write more tomorrow if I can find the time...
Busy lah..
Sc-c-cared on the canopy walk
Me on a beeg bridge
View of tree tops from the tree-top walk. Who would've guessed?
Kale and Mr Gatekeeper Monkey
Artistic shot by Kale
The pic speaks for itself
liv and tyson on the canopy walk

oink oink!!
prata for breakfast at jln kayu

Is green my color?
sushi... mmm..

FWAH!!!

Man, I'm so so so pooped. I'm so pooped that I'm turning down a chance to head out for supper. That is unprecedented, I tell you! haha.

We've been EVERYWHERE in the past 2 days. Tyson and Olivia showed up on Sunday evening.. we got changed and headed out to a local club to meet Dawn, Van and Carrie-Ann. It was PACKED. So packed that I ended up sitting on the gross disco floor to watch the performance. Liv, Tyson and Kale stood in the back hanging onto the bar so that they could see. The performance was okaayyy... but the previous show was way mo' betta. Thanks Dawn for setting up the whole thing, and sorry gals that we didn't stay longer...

Got home, and while we were pooped, we just yakked and yakked till almost 1am. Got up the next morning, headed out to Funan, the Digitalife mall for sushi and to tempt Tyson with the 6 floors of electronic gadgets. We then walked, and walked and walked.. went to the Asian Civilisations Museum for the first time.. then traipsed down Orchard Road... in and out of stores. Came home, rested our feet and then headed out to Riverwalk for some good Indian buffet.. Mmmm... Rolled ourselves into the car and then.... *drumroll*...

Stop #1 on the standard "Buonerba Tour of Singapore" package - The Night Safari
Kale and I have been there umpteen times. Every time someone comes to visit, we go to the Night Safari. I think the only time we didn't do that was when Elaine and Ray were here. I think they did that on their own. But each time that we've been, we've seen something cool and different. Some other animal is always coming closer, doing something cool, and we're not really tired of going.

This trip was awesome. We finally caught the "creatures of the night" show. Very cute little critters. We then got to see bats battling it out (Kale and Tyson got a first-hand experience of bats hitting each other on the head). We also saw the flying squirrels donig some mad flying. 2 even scurried by us on the ground. Very neat.

Woke up early this morning to drop my mom off for golf. Had some prata at Jln Kayu and then decided to brave the heat and hike thru MacRitchie for the tree-top walk. Ended up hiking some 7km, but it was cool... we saw a monkey up close, traversed the tree tops, and it was a good experience. I don't think it's something I would ever do on my own. Rounded off the day with a dip in the pool at my parents' place and then class. *groan*

Will put pics up tomorrow. So so pooped though. Time for a shower and then sleeep..... the rest of the week is going to be insane cos I have sooo much work to do (see earlier post on how swamped I'm going to be).

Bleah. Haven't felt this way in a long time. I haven't dreaded going to work in a while. Sigh..

1 year and counting

So we celebrated our 1st anniversay in style. Actually, I should say "we're CELEBRATING our anniversary in style" cos it's not even half over yet!

We checked into the Ritz last nite. It's always been a dream of mine to stay at the Ritz in Singapore just once, cos all of my friends who've done it have ranted and raved about it. To be honest, it wasn't all that.. the room was kinda run down but the view was all that they promised and more. We had a good time. Don't think it was worth the price, there are better hotels for less in Singapore, but at least I've now experienced it for myself..

Had a simple dinner, followed by dessert at Bakerzin, and then a huge brekky this morning. The hubby says he's stuffed from eating the whole time. Obviously he doesn't spend enough time with his wife, cos that's pretty much all I do - eat.

Here are some pics from the yesterday and this morn. Today's going to be a fun one. Tyson and Olivia show up this evening, and then we're all meeting Dawn, Van, Carrie-Ann and Van's colleague Stacey to go to a party at a local club. It's a dress-up, themed party so I'll be sure to take pics.

View out of the Ritz
Me in the bathroom
While watching the rain come in this morning...
The must-have in any good hotel - bedroom slippers! These ones were extra cushy!