In my perfect world, I'd have flawless skin, hourglass (fat-free - won't grow fat no matter what I eat) figure, phi symmetrical face & infallible

character + lots of humour... But perfect world exists not. :(

A bunch of girls from work went to the Loreal warehouse sale on Friday and I tagged along just for fun. Not expecting to buy anything. So it was with disbelief as I stood at the cashier, (it was actually just a tiny room with loads of women shoving and pushing to get a better look at the products. Hardly what I'd call a 'warehouse'. I was not really interested in the make-up stuff. I hardly use what I already have. But things were really cheap - about $4 - $5 per lipstick/mascara etc - though you'd have to buy in 4's and 5's. So I watched as my colleagues shopped.) now where was I? oh ya, paying for a packet of masks. (and a bottle of shampoo, only $3. And I kinda liked that one when I used it in Paris.)

One of my colleagues said the masks are quite good and all 4 of them bought at least a pack so I thought, well, I've never tried masks, wouldn't hurt to try. (terrible skin that probably can't get worse than it is already and I might have already given up on. Nothing seems to work long-term in any case. Weather in Singapore compounds other factors to give me bad skin.) That's how I came to buy a pack. Helped that it was 1/2 the original price.

Dunno when I'd ever use it. One day. When I feel like it. Hee. :)

Argh, back to work. Mondays. Hate it. Ugly. Fat. Tired. Lazy. *Meow* Am not in the mood for anything...

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Turn me round, round, round

While waiting for a study to finish up yesterday, I started swirling in my chair. (what do you call chairs which has wheels on them? Roller chairs? I forget.) And it reminded me of merry-go-rounds in the playgrounds (sandy ones) I used to play on when I was young. (People my age, do you remember those?) You can't seem to find them anywhere these days. Apparently they are hazardous...

Anyway, so that was a bit of nostalgia. (Which made me feel old. Seems like such a long time ago!)

Work has been extremely busy. Keeping me on my feet. Everyone wants a piece of me (in the sense I have some work to do for this person, that person and then there's my own work too. don't think otherwise. haha. *chey*). I feel stretched.

Thoughts have been running loose in my head without any sort of direction or much sense to it at all so I think I'll leave it as that.

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Plane: that which brings you here will take you away.

The week flies when one's occupied.

Went to the arts museum last Friday and ran into the Cubist exhibition that was opening then. People were standing around having drinks and when we walked in to see what it was about we were offered drinks too. Hee. I took a glass of wine but didn't finish it cos' my head decided to stage a strong demonstration that afternoon. First time I visited a museum in Singapore... Quite bad eh... Spent all (almost - plus minus a year) my life (so far) here but never did explore stuff like that. Museum is on the small side but had some interesting stuff. :) The only downside to it was a bunch of locals chatting loudly while walking around. Very, extremely irritating! Other than that one hitch, it was nice visiting a museum again.

Caught 'Walk the Line' with Daniel, my sis and 7 colleagues on Sat. Show was good. Touching but not too gooey mushy. :)

Went for a swim Sun late afternoon and caught some sun even though cloud-cover was thick. Sometimes I wonder if I should laugh or cry at the amazing rate I get a tan... Judging from how Asian women try soooo hard to whiten themselves, I don't figure it's such a good thing after all. O_o

I was very excited to watch 'Cache' (Hidden) yesterday. The thriller had looked good. I won't spoil the show for anyone who might be interested to watch. I'll only say it's unexpected. Brillant, in its way and definitely unconventional. Then again, aren't most French shows that? :) Was very pleased with myself that I understood most of the dialogue just by hearing. Tried not to refer to the subtitles. HAVE to pick up where I left off. Else the bits and pieces I know now will be gone. Would really hate that. MUST make time.

Well, should get going. Have to come in to work real early tomorrow morning for study. This is where I wish I could sprout wings (when I want them that is...) and fly (highly improbable. hee. =p), have my own transport (not possible in near future), or a riche boyfriend with a fancy car who's willing to chauffeur me to and from work. (sounds damn near impossible. haha.) *Sound of bubble bursting* Now where was I? Oh ya, gotta go. ^_^

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You'll be gone in an instant.

Pain. is. not. relative. or is it?

Depressed.

My first culling since I started work. I won't go into the details. Let's just say, carbon dioxide chamber then cervical dislocation (to make sure they are gone). :( It's not the first time I'm culling, so why do I feel like this? I've mainly sacrificed mice before and that have been hard at times too. I usually try to detach myself and do it robotically. I suppose the bigger the animal, the worse I feel. I had to perform a decapitation on a rat once before and after that it was the men's job. Besides, the rats I used to use were much much more aggressive than the ones I have now, so somehow, (though it's not right to think like this) it was easier to swallow the fact that we had to kill them.

The strain/species of rats I am using now are so docile and nice that they let you pick them up and be cuddled and held. Extremely cute! :) The ones in the past were so fierce you can't pick them up without wearing an extra thick leather glove.

I so have to get over this. There would be tons of culling sessions in the future. :(

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Fifth day of the week and I am drained...

Interesting quiz I got off Ichaya's site. Quite accurate, I must say.

Am having a headache. *Don't wanna work...* O_o

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion.You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party.Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences.But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness.You're generally good at balancing work and play.When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done.But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness.You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly.Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone.You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism.You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic.Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy.Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high.In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas.You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits.A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

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Comfort food

Had a delicious creme brulee (decorated with a pwwetti strawberry & 2 nut-coated chocolate balls - absolutely gorgeous!) at Brewerkz last night. ^o^ Didn't know they did creme brulees. And I got my 15% discount. :) Not a whole lot, but better than nothing mah...

It was wwealli nice (and wwealli sad at the same time, if you know what I mean) to have something that reminded me of Paris/France for that matter.

Anyone who brings me French cuisine will be greatly appreciated. Hee. :D

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You may euphemise me now.

I meant euthanize.

Completed my animal handling course yesterday.

Learnt a new technique to obtain blood from animals, cardiac puncture. Possibly one of the most cruel techniques I know.

We handled mice, rats, rabbits (very cute New Zealand whites!!! Positively HUGE - size of an adult cat!!! So very tame and gentle, they are) and guinea pigs (luckily we didn't have to do anything [horrible] to them). Had to put all of them down after we practised various injections on them. I was feeling quite upset that we had to put down the rabbits. (First time I handled rabbits for experiments, mice and rats I have gotten used to.) I asked the 'lecturer' (by the way, he was quite queer. His voice breaks consistently whenever he addresses the class. I've never known another grown man whose voice breaks as much as this.) if we had to kill (I used the actual k-word.) the rabbits and he said 'Yes, we have to euthanize them.' He kept saying euthanize. I think he refuses to think of it as killing. In my previous company, we referred to it as sacrifice. Isn't euphemism convenient? Helps take some of the guilt away eh? Doesn't do very much for me though. I wish I don't have to kill animals for science, especially not as part of my job. But it's inevitable for in-vivo work. Euphemise me, would you?

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Afterthought

Christian, an Irish colleague of mine (some of you have met him before) got me a packet of nasi lemak (the small packet kind with egg, ikan bilis and chilli) on Valentine's day morning. I think it was a coincidence that he bought it for me that morning. (He had mentioned to me before that he usually has it for breakfast and that it's good and that he'll buy me one one day to try.) Nonetheless it was the sweetest V-day thingy I got. (Also, taking into consideration the fact that it was the only thingy anyone gave me that day. Hee. ;p) And no (Zan, Ichaya) he doesn't like me that way. We're good friends. :)

Yesterday I received a card (a sort of Thank-You card cos' a few of us gerls got him a big V-day card) from a colleague that was wwealli funny and cute - the stuff he wrote in it, that is! :p Am beginning to really like British humour. ;D

As you can see, I am quite free today (3 posts! OMG!). It's been quiet in the office. A lot of people on leave. Am going to the gym soon and then gotta come back for a teleconference at 930pm. O_o

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... happily ever after. The End.

The Prince and Princess rode off into the iridescent sunset.

Can there be an end without a beginning?

I stood and watched your departing, unperturbed silhouette from afar, unable to protest. Should tears flow? No, because I've grown stronger and my wells are empty. Devoid.

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Somewhere over the rainbow...

God sent 3 rainbows my way last Thursday. ^_^ They were resplendent, with an angelic quality. I always get mesmerised by rainbows. Could stare at them for ages... Or however long it is they last.

Have been fully occupied at work recently so haven't been able to post on Friday (and weekends I'm too lazy to turn on the computer) so I'm doing it (posting, that is) with a vengeance today. Hee.

Had a drink at Paulaner Brauhaus Friday night and they had a guitarist and a couple of singers who were very good. All the songs played were ones I liked. Fantastic. :)

Caught a very good movie Saturday night. Constant Gardener. Incidentally, I watched it with 2 colleagues and the main theme of the movie was big pharmas. I suppose that was one of the reasons why we picked that show. The direction was good and so was the cinematography. Ralph Fiennes was great in his role! Speaking of movies, recently there seems to have been a spate of good movies showing and coming out. Some I would like to catch are: Brokeback Mountain, Walk the line, Casanova, Munich, Fearless (I think) and a few French movies, Cache etc.

Sunday was as usual my 'do nothing' day. Been sleeping, eating and reading. I can't stay home the whole day for more than a day a week else I'd just burst at the seams. Staying at home means I go to the kitchen hourly (or more frequent than that) to look for food/munchies. No good at all... Haha.

Okie, gotta get back to work.

Going for animal handling lectures this afternoon. Heard it'll be very dull... :(

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Kick me so I feel better

Realised last Friday that I made a stupid careless mistake with my work that wasted probably a few thousand dollars. Sigh. O_o I went to Boss (with heart in pit of stomach) to tell him and apologised profusely. He probably saw I was genuinely disturbed and told me not to worry about it. He even joked (I sure hope he is) that he'll take it out of my salary. And that he won't fire me yet cos' there's still a long time till the end of my probation. Thankfully, Boss is very kind. Phew!

Note to self: Do not make dumb mistake again. Else have to prepare to find another job...

Am still feeling guilty. Hope I can find a way to salvage this today as much as possible.

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You're it.

Since the lovely Anantya tagged me, I shall do this now. (Else she don't friend me, how? O_o)

If any of the following statements apply to you, highlight/bold/italize it. Then, post.

I have a cell phone.
I have friends that use me. [Let's say favours, k?]
I am an only child.
I love dangly earrings. [Am trying to pluck up courage to wear the bigger ones.]
I love cold weather.

I'm obsessed with the computer internet. [I think I can do without it for a while.]
I have shot a gun before. [A real pistol, mind you. Of cos' not in Singapore lah.]
I can't live without music. [Handy thing to have around, don't you think?]
I have no tolerance of ignorant people. [Well, I try not to be. But people who act like they are smarter than everyone else and then asks the world's stupidest questions piss me off!]
I have ridden on a motorcycle before. [Only as a pillion.]

I'll be in this town forever. [NOOOOooo!!!]
I've been to 5 other countries. [And hopefully that number will increase.]
I get annoyed easily. [My fuse is short. But then I start feeling bad that I got annoyed.]
I eventually want kids. [ehm, if I find a guy with the right genes, yeah, I think so.]
I have neat handwriting.

I have more than a few horrible memories. [Let's not talk about this.]
I am addicted to chocolate. [I lOoove chocolate but addiction... might be too strong a word.]
I am an atheist.
I love airplane rides. [Especially taking off and landing!]
I love taking pictures. [My camera's my baby!]

I hate people who are fake.
I can be mean when I want to. [You don't want to see this happening, trust me.]
My parents care about my grades. [They never gave me unnecessary pressure.]
One of my best friends is a girl. [Definitely!!!]
I have way too many wallets.

I'm obsessed with lip gloss.
I am easy to talk to.
I would never eat raw fish. [Boy, do I love sashimi!!!]
I cry easily.
I hate when people are late. [Heehee... no cos' I'm usually late. But I swear I'm better now!]

I procrastinate. [Oh yeah...]
I love winter. [Getting bundled up in those lovely jackets, trench-coats, scarfs, caps, gloves to play in the snow!!! ^_^]
I have too many clothes for my closet/dresser. [If only...]
I love to sleep.
I wish I were smarter. [A 100 times]

I'm afraid of flying.
I hate drama.
I bite my nails. [Only when I'm really really nervous.]
I have been on an 8 hour drive. [I once took a 24-hour greyhound bus ride from Missouri to New York. Don't ask me how I survived that, I don't remember.]
I never fight with my parents. [Do kids who don't talk back to their parents exist?]

I love the beach. [Ahh, sun, sand, water.]
I have never had the chicken pox.
I have gone out in public in my pajamas.
I can't control my emotions.
I have a best friend.

I have moved more than once. [Around the same area. I like my part of Singapore.]
I truly love my friends.
I have (had) braces.
I have never broken a bone.
I hate my computer. [Let's just say it's a love-hate situation.]

I like boys who play the drums. [No particular preference, really. Any musical instrument is nice.]
I state the obvious. [Subtley is the key.]
I'm a happy person. [Most of the time.]
I love to dance.
I love to sing.

I love cleaning my room. [I think I hear my mum laughing at this one...]
I tend to get jealous very easily.
I love cute underwear.
I love night better than day. [They both have their beauty. :)]
I don't like to study for tests. [Who does?]

I have been on the phone for over 5 hours.
I am too forgiving. [Me has a soft heart.]
I have horrible sense of direction. [I can read maps quite well now! *beams*]
I miss elementary school.
I'm a daddy's boy/girl. [My dad has always pampered his daughters.]

I love the color pink.
I love to sew.
My eye color changes. [I wish!]
I should see a therapist.
I played on a girls sports team.

I become stressed easily.
I hate/detest liars.
I love the smell of rain. [Especially the smell in the air after rain]
I love my family. [Very muchly!!!]
I hate needles.

I am a perfectionist. [Kind of inhibiting sometimes, don't you think?]
I always wanted to learn to play the guitar.
I hate the feeling of failure.
I have friends in other countries. [And I want to visit them all!]
I know how to cook.

I can be quite selfish. [Depends on who with.]
At times, I still act like a little kid. [The whining has gone down though.]
I have food allergies.
I love to read.
I wish I were more motivated for school. [I wish I had better grades.]

I love getting stuff in the mail. [Especially snail mail. Since people don't use that much anymore.]
I have problems with letting go of old feelings. [Sometimes.]
I hate being alone.
I love summer.
I love the weekends.

I love black eyeliner.
I think I'm a looker. [Maybe if I get plastic surgery. Beh.]
I type with one hand.
I live in a one storey house.
I wear make-up. [Only when I feel like dressing up. And that's quite rare.]

I have never rode on an underground subway.
I can't swim.
I have bad memories. [They are there, somewhere in the back of my head.]
I go to church.
I sing in the shower.

I hate cheerleaders.
I usually get what I want. [Hey why doesn't that happen to me?!?!]
I have been on stage before. [That was eons ago!]
I love roller coasters.
No one knows the full story of my life.
I am close to my parents. [We are getting there.]
I don't have a curfew. [Curfew?? What's that? Hee. Never had one.]

I'm tagging:
Michael
Carlo
Xinru

I'd see it on your sites sometime eh?

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Need to be insouciant.

Didn't have any time to write yesterday cos' was stuck in lab. And I read Zan's blog where she mentioned 'cyberloafing'. But since my work's piling up faster than I can say 'Finanzausgleichgesetz', I don't think I'd have to worry about that now. Anyways, I'm using the internet off-work hours now so it should be fine.

The weekend went well.

Had dinner gathering at a church friend's apartment in Novena. Very big! Great view. Good food - mudpie and ice-cream for dessert! :D So was company. Met a couple of colleagues for a drink at boat quay afterwards and that was very relaxing... Chatting about expats and related issues.

Big Boss's engagement party was very fun!!! I was the last Asian left at the end of the night (about 3.30am). And that's cos' I was slightly wasted to go off earlier on my own. I had only a few glasses of stuff (namely, a bit of the Italian thingy I brought - my head was safe! They liked it!, a glass of white, half a glass of red and a very watered-down rum coke - little rum, lots of coke). See how bad I am? My body just doesn't agree with alcohol! Had to do a 'Merlion' in the toilet. (I told a colleague about this analogy which he thinks was very apt and now can't stop laughing and 'suan'-ing me about it.)
Big Boss's fiancee was pretty and nice. She thanked me for getting the 'champagne' and I got to speak to her and the Big Boss for a bit.

Sunday was spent sleeping and reading. Lazing at home. I didn't have a hangover if that's what you are wandering. :)

Yesterday and today have been quite productive days. Lots of stuff to sort out. Had thought yesterday started on a bad note cos' some equipment I ordered were not what I had expected them to be. But things got sorted out afterwards. And I wasted at least 130pounds on some stuff that turned out to be unnecessary (which my colleague and I only discovered yesterday). Boss brushed it off with, 'Well, we're not broke'. Guess that's what an MNC's about. ^_^

Time to leave the office! Going for a nice coffee somewhere. :D

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Endorphins

Was unusually happy yesterday after work with no obvious reason... Very suspicious... Ha.

Anyways, weekend's almost here! I can smell it... :)

Am meeting up some old friends for lunch tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing them. :)
Big Boss holding an engagement party at his place tomorrow evening. I am in charge of getting for the party. As boyfriend of good friend does not carry French champagne (the best, I assure you!), he suggested an Italian vintage sparkling thingy (it's not considered champagne unless it's from France). That had better be good! Else my head's gonna be the rugby ball tomorrow... Boss has said my head's on it! Argh...

Going to a church friend's place for dinner later and then maybe going somewhere to chill out after that.

Haven't had such a busy weekend planned for ages. My social life is usually naught...

Colleagues might be going to Pulau Ubin on Sunday but I don't know if I'll go along cos I'm not a very good cyclist. Must see how first. Whether I feel like being mosquito food on Sunday. O_o

It's 5! A lundi!

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Pseudo-French, am i? :)

Got a couple of emails from my ex-colleagues and that makes me a happy girl. :) I love to hear from them. Miss working, lunching with them...

I was falling asleep at my desk (while reading papers. Papers are the best way to induce sleep for me. No need for sleeping pills or sheep counting!) when a few colleagues invited me to take a coffee break with them. Superb timing! As we (5 women) sat together chatting, I gained some energy. Absorbed from them, I suppose. :p

Big Boss then came along and we somehow got onto the topic of wine. They were talking about Australian wine and I adamantly mentioned I'm for French wine! :) That's when Big Boss (who's an American) referred to me as a pseudo-French. Haha... :D Seeing as I am the sole supporter of the French in an English company, I've prepared myself for tough battles. Bring it on, guys! Je ne peur pas! Hee.

Gotta get back to my papers. Need to prepare for that presentation. Have a good day people! ^_^

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Singapore's very own forest!

Pried myself out of bed this morning to go to work. Holiday's over... Boohoo...

Chinese New Year has been the same as all the years before. Eating, eating, eating, eating... ;p oh ya and of cos' visiting. The younger cousins that I see once-a-year are changing at an alarming rate that makes me feel extremely old. O_o And the new addition to the extended family - an adorable month-old cousin! :) - no doubt adds to that effect. Sigh... One can't escape that fact when it's in one's face eh?

Boss just told me to prepare a presentation of the progress, in the last twenty years, of the procedure that I would be responsible for. *_* I'm putting off starting on it till this afternoon.

The office is still quite quiet, with several people still on leave. So thankfully not a whole lot of work yet.

A thought just occured to me. I don't think I've been properly grateful for my new job yet!!! My work's coming along fine (so far) and my colleagues couldn't have been a better bunch -comparable to my French colleagues! ^_^)!!! Thank God for that! :D

Went for a walk in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve yesterday. Undoubtly, it was a sweat-inspiring (I was so gooey afterwards I could have swore anything that lands on me will stick!), leg-muscle-intense work-out. :) Very good fun! I've been wanting to do something like this, with the right company, for the longest time... Gives a welcome respite from all the concrete, and noises from the city. (which was the case until his mobile started ringing.) Both of us had a laugh afterwards when we realised we thought the same thing. It must have been ages since I last went there! *Searching hard drives...* I can't remember when.

There were monkeys near the entrance of the Reserve who either looked nonchalantly at you as you walk by or ignore you completely. :p

A small (relatively-speaking) monitor lizard brillantly camoflaged by the side of some steps had us jumping out of our skins when it decided to move. We thought it was just a piece of log.

A very tiny (oh-so-cute!) squirrel was spotted among the trees. Along the way, we also saw several other normal-sized ones.

Vividly-coloured butterflies effortlessly fluttering around as we laboured up steps.

Ants with coloured bodice and ferocious-looking claws on leaves.

I had to look hard to see the salamander-like lizard he pointed out in the browned patch of grass. It was so well-blended into its surroundings.

The cicadas made up the main symphony in our little rainforest. We stopped in our tracks for a couple of minutes to hear them play their mate-attracting tunes.

My suggestion to go off the beaten track close to the stream gave him a soaked trainer and a cut on the heel of his palm. Sorry... :(

Somewhere along the up-down, windy footpaths, there was a little view of the dense side of the forest we had just emerged from. There was a small breeze as we stood there admiring the view and catching our breaths.

That was a genial way to spend an afternoon, in my opinion.

I can't believe I went to the gym in the evening afterwards. Ha. See lah, the consequences for pigging out...

Dropped by River Ang Bao near the esplanade (the last I remember, it was still near Marina) and I was very thrilled to know that the fireworks are still on every night till the 15th day of CNY. It was magnificant, though short. Do try to catch it, if you can. 930pm.

He tried shark fin's soup and muah chee for the first time. You are almost fully integrated into the Singapore culture, I say. ^_^

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