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On to this week...

I bumped into Myztika, her mum and sis on Mon! That was a nice surprise! ^_^ We were at the Punggol clinic to see the 'skin' doctor.

Yesterday was Zain's 6th birthday and Shab invited a few of the girls to BK for dinner. He's so cute!!! And polite. And he says I'm one of his best friends. heehee.

It's been a bit of rough week. Physically unwell, mentally exhausted and a vacuum where my emotions used to be. I had my letter at hand on Tues and was that close to handing it in, without a new job to go to. (The horror!!! O_o) Thank God my boss requested to speak to me (after he received my 'pre-letter' email) and talked me out of it (for the time being). During our chat, (my supervisor was also present) he asked me a question that stunned me for a second. 'Do you think you might be clinically depressed?' (And that was after he asked how I feel socially, outside of work, during weekends etc.) He said he's noticed I've been quite withdrawn for the past 3-4 months and that I was happier before. Anyhow, I told him I don't think I'm quite that bad yet. We're gonna try to do something about my work. Hope it all turns out better.

Am thankful for all the care and concern my friends have been showing me. I'm very touched. ^_^ FK even baked a muffin (peanut butter & snickers) yesterday for me and another colleague, Agnes cos she said the pair of us have been very down. So sweet of her hor??? And the muffin was very very yummy... All the more so when it's homemade with extra love. hee. :D Thanks babe!!!

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Of happier times

Because Claire B was back in Singapore for a holiday over Easter, the girlies managed to meet up last Wed before she went home.
We were in Tangos (Holland Village) for a couple of drinks after work and then headed to the food court to grab some dinner.

And my dinner was a slice of macadamia nut & chocolate chip cheesecake from NYDC doused in ample chocolate sauce. Yums...











It has been a while since we've all been able to get together and catch up. Even though most of us work in the same company, we are all so busy we rarely have time to say more than hi and bye.

Ah, reading of gym (from Myztika's latest post), last Friday I went for a Hot Yoga class. My 2nd and last class [cos' it's in True Yoga/Fitness and my 7-day pass is over :(]. It was amazing... I sweat so much it drips onto the mat. And my bones and muscles feel all liquid-y after. Such a great feeling. After all the stress of the week... Plus (and this is a BIG +) the Indian instructor was cute! (with an adorable accent to boot!) ha. ;p I remember the first lesson I went to, he was coming round to me every other posture to correct me. I felt really embarassed at first cos' I must have looked like a total klutz... Then I figured that's not a bad thing cos' I'm getting attention from a cute instructor! haha. On my second class, he only came round once. Either I must be getting better at it or he knew the last time was my first class so thought I needed more help.
Wish I could go for this class regularly... Cos' the class is good mah, watcha thinking??? *tsk tsk* Sigh, but I'm bonded to California for a long time to come... Anyway True's membership is quite ex. (Though I must say I think it's quite worth it. The gym's very new and big and not crowded at all...)
The Raffles Place California I go to has some classes that I like too. The only thing is that it's always packed to the brim so it's kind of suffocating... I only started trying out the classes sometime after my 2 gym buddies left. So far, I've attempted Spinning (ever since joining the gym, I have been attending a Thurs class where the instructress is very pretty!), Pilates, Yoga (Beginner's, Power), Body Pump and Boxercise. I try to go for some of them on a regular basis.

Speaking of gym makes me feel terribly guilty. Argh, I've not gone at all since last Friday. Sigh. Have not been feeling very good... O_o

Met up with Toby, an attachment student at the company for a coffee (and a chocolate chip muffin. Ah the indulgence... ^_^) at the Starbucks near the Merlion last Sat afternoon. (He took some photos then with his swanky DSLR which I'll get from him soon and upload in Flickr.)

After coffee, Toby said we should have a BBQ dinner at theirs so we went to the Cold Storage in Holland Village, bought some food and went back to see Freyja and Lewis (the other 2 students). Freyja had a date with some of the girls at Shab's for pizza and cos' I happened to be there, I was invited to join them too. So I went over (Shab's place is in the condo next to the students') to see the girls and had a slice of pizza before going back to my BBQ dinner with the boys. Haha... See how much food I had?!?! We watched a silly film 'Wedding Crashers' while we ate and drank. And when Freyja got back we went for a late-night dip in the pool. It was extremely cool (it was a very humid day I remember) and relaxing. I didn't get home till 3plus in the morning.



And got up early on Sunday morning cos' I had promised I'd meet a friend for breakfast and kayaking in Changi. But for all my efforts in getting up early and dragging myself all the way to the ulu East, we couldn't kayak in the end. Cos' the sea sports club requires people to be certified before they are allowed to rent their kayaks. Damn!!! I was in NJ's (demon) canoeing club for a year! I know how to handle a closed-deck kayak. Gosh, I miss those canoes!!! You don't get those at the usual kayaking places...

So we went to East Point (which I don't think I've ever set foot in) instead where he bought some stuff in preparation for his Mt K climbing trip this week.

After which I went off to Marina Square to meet a couple of friends for one of their birthday lunch. At Carl's Junior, no less. (Such a sinful weekend!!!)

Dinner was in a cafe in Arab Street with a friend and his friend.

Ended Sunday night at Carrefour where I grocery shopped for some stuff for mum. Went home exhausted after being out the whole day.

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Dreaming of...

Her narrow, stone-cobbled streets.
The gentle moonlight reflecting off the wide, ancient river at night.
The breads, cheeses, wines.
Hearing, speaking Her language.
The majestic, bell-tolling churches.
The kind of museums I get lost in.
Reading in the park.
Walks in the gardens.

I want to return... :'(

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White-washed walls, glossy floors, fluorescent lights. Everything's so glaringly bright and un-naturally clean. And not a single soul in sight.

Head throbbing painfully, she tried to press on with her work, struggling hard not to be resentful, not to wish she was snuggled up in her bed instead. It's going to be a long day. Time crawls, deathly slow, when you most hope for it to zoom by.

She blinked away tears from the incessant pounding in her temples that were pricking her eyes. Her nose flashed signs of it threatening to run amok, accumulating fluid that was not supposed to be there. Goosebumps budded all over and in spite of the long-sleeved green surgical gown and maroon scrubs she wore, she shivered. Tried in vain to warm up by wrapping her icy arms around herself for a brief moment. But knowing it wouldn't work, she gave up, bit down on her lips hard and picked up her scalpel in her gloved hand, making a careful, precise incision on the chest of the even colder, slightly bluish body on the steel table before her.

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One day...

... I will be comfortable with myself.
... I will feel I can do anything I set my mind to.
... I will learn that people cannot be trusted.
... my heart will be shatter-resistant.

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Of an empty mind, a full stomach

Wish I could find something to say but my mind's drawing a blank...

It's the start of another week. Sigh.

Read my cousin's blog this morning. He sounds a little down. I hope he feels much happier soon. We've never been very close and it's really funny how since I started reading his blog I sort of feel I've got to know him better.

He's a scholar, extremely smart (duh...), nice person, certainly not lacking in the looks department, bright-as-a-star future. It's not the first time I found myself thinking, if only I was half as good. Then maybe I wouldn't have this stuck-in-the-rut feeling. Going nowhere.

Anyhow, I meant to load some pics I took over the weekend. Of some nice food. :) Lunch with a friend near my place on Sat.

Carrot cake & otah which we shared








His curry with bread

My oolong tea & tau sa biah

Chocolate mouse cakes

I know it's just a bag of Ruffles... But this one's special cos' I was craving for potato chips and when my mum had to go to the supermarket yesterday evening, I had casually (cos' I know she'd most likely say no) asked if she could buy a packet for me and as I had expected, she said 'No, it's not good for you.' (My mum's really health conscious and never buys junk food.) But when I went to the door to help her bring in the groceries, there it was!! In the plastic bag sitting right beside the 2-litre bottle of Meiji milk!!! I could hardly contain my excitement!!! hahaha... My mum bought me junk food!!! Along with a dire warning that I should drink a lot of water. And also a bit of nagging that I shouldn't be eating stuff like that. hee... Don't worry Mum, I'll ration my crisps. :p

Elaborating on the other food above; The carrot cake was delicious, as usual. (It's just about the only place I'd eat black carrot cake.) The otah was not bad, quite tender. Curry was rather good, though a bit oily. (I tried some of it with a piece of the bread.) Pokka oolong tea I like... :) The Chinese biscuits were ok, nothing fantastic. (They looked better than they tasted.) The mouse cakes looked cute but were nothing to talk about. (All from the same bakery near my place. This bakery's goods seem to be only good in appearance, nothing else.)

Watched 'Sunshine' with my movie pal on Sat evening. Not extremely good, but not too bad. (Speaking of movies, I had wanted to mention I caught 'Shooter' on Good Friday and that it was great! There was a twist in the story that I didn't expect. And Mark Wahlberg was extremely cool in the film. ^_^)

And on Sunday, I hid under the covers of my bed with books the whole day.

Gotta get back to my numbers and tabulation... :(

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Baby talk

Came across a cute little book (quotes from children) in Borders last Friday. I quickly typed and saved some of the quotes that made me smile into my phone. Here they are:

'When you love someone, your eyelashes go up and down quickly and little stars come out of you.'

'If you want someone to fall in love with you, tell them you own lots of candy stores.'

'If falling in love is like learning how to spell, I don't want to do it. It takes too long.'

'When you fall in love, I think you're supposed to get shot with an arrow or something... I hope it's not too sore.'

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.'

'Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

'I was shopping with my Dad and saw a sign called menswear. I don't see what men swearing has to do with shopping or even why they swear in the first place.'

'Have I got it right that Dad is Mom's husband and Mom is Dad's life?'

'Mom sometimes tells me I put my shoes on the wrong feet but they're the only feet I have.'

'I saw one of Mommy's magazines yesterday and asked her what it was for. She said it tells girls how to make themselves look pretty. This is silly cos' it's obvious all they have to do is smile.' - Isn't this one sweet? If only it really works this way... :)

'Mommy, which one is my sweet tooth?'

'My Grandma told me that she can't remember what age she'll be this year... I told her to look in her underwear. Mine says I'm 4.'

'My teacher told me mushrooms grow in damp places. Is that why they look like umbrellas?'

'Never be too full for dessert.' - Now this one we all know. ^_^

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Finding joy in the small things

Tuesday morning, I took the luxury of having my first cup of coffee from the newly purchased (read: expensive, costed over 1K) coffee machine in the pantry of the office. (It grinds coffee beans fresh for each cup. Makes expresso, cappuccino, latte etc. No need to go to the café anymore!) And it gave me a nice caffeine buzz all morning. ^_^


Met up with a friend, Dan for dinner at Vivo City on Mon evening. We went to Fren(s)h, a little French cafe owned by a French young couple. Only the guy was there that night though. Got to practise a little of my French. :) And had a great time catching up on each other's lives (hmm, not much has changed in mine since we last met actually. haha). Food was refreshingly appetising. (Considering what I eat over the weekend, I can't afford to be sinful on weekdays too...)

My rocket salad (I love rocket leaves!) & lime juice. His salmon & avoccado tartine & French onion soup


Then we shared a crème brûlée. Ah, the indulgence always comes in the dessert! hee.

It's Good Friday weekend. Am reminded of this same time last year. With A and M. *blinks* Feels like that was eons ago...

Plucked up courage to do an in-body analysis at the gym yesterday. And it made me smile for a while cos' my results have shown baby improvements since the last time (June last year). :D To be honest though, I don't really trust the machine. But my logic is, if I'm comparing using the same machine, it should function as a rough guide.

Anyway, have got tentative (A lot depends on the weather.) plans for the next few days. Hope some of it will work out. If I don't see you before Mon, have a Happy Easter! :)

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Eat, drink and be merry

The last weekend was filled with good stuff. Mostly.

After conscientiously dragging my ass to the gym Friday evening, I met up with a university mate for coffee at Clarke Quay.


Then we went to meet a pretty friend of his at Jewel Box up on Mount Faber where the 3 of us were fed alcohol by his bartender friend who's working there. The view from the bar was picturesque! There weren't too many people so it was nice and peaceful. (Total opposite of Clarke Quay) Too bad I didn't have my tripod with me, can't take any night shots without it. The bar closed at 3 and we didn't leave till 330.
















In less than 2 hours I was to be up and about to go out with mum. With eyes half-opened, I made us sandwiches for breakfast. Mum prepared some sweet potatoes for our snack. And off we went at 630 to get the chartered bus. Mum and I chit-chatted on the journey. The sky gradually got lighter. We arrived at Botanic Gardens in no time. On one of the open fields, the class got into formation and started their qigong. With nothing to do, I plugged in my nano and started wandering around. Scattered about the greenery were small groups of people practising various forms of 'gong'. Joggers running along the paths. Dogwalkers. Parents with little children, in prams or wobbling around on their cute, little, barely stable, legs. :) Guys with big cameras. The sun felt nice and warm on my face. I snapped a few pictures and was soon back at my starting place.



The class finished and we were given free time to stroll before meeting up to head to the next destination. The pair of us marched along companionably. We stopped now and then to admire the birds, flowers. I even got my mum to take a couple of photos with me! Now that's rare! :D (Though I look terrible in both of them! O_o)

Then it was lunch!!! At Tiong Bahru market! yummy yummy... We each had a cup of soya bean milk and shared chee cheong fun. Christian joined me soon after and mum went off to the wet market with her friends.

Next stop was the vegetable farm in Choa Chu Kang. There's a small market on the premises of the (similarly small) farm and the aunties were enuthsiastically bargaining. Mum didn't buy anything cos' our fridge couldn't fit any more vegetables. I bought a big piece of aloe vera freshly peeled. (Good for the skin leh. It's lying in a container in the fridge now. I only had a small part of it with honey the other day.)

The last destination was the goat farm so people could purchase bottled goat's milk. Once again, the Singaporean (kiasu) spirit manifests itself. People couldn't get off the buses fast enough to get their hands on the milk. haha. My mum and I weren't very interested in the milk. So she went to sit down and chat with her friends while I went off to have a peek at the goats.

Almost as soon as I sat down in my seat for the journey back, I fell right asleep. All the way home... :)

In the evening, I met an American acquaintance to watch the Liverpool vs Arsenal match (where Liverpool beat Arsenal's ass. Hee. I'm not a fan of either, but since acquaintance is an Arsenal fan so I supported Liverpool. Just for the fun of it. :D) in Dubliner, an Irish pub. We had pub food (oh so unhealthy!!! O_o); a Caprese pizza (which really should have been called a Margarita. Anyway it wasn't very good), some Italian sausages (Delicious!) and a beef and Guinness stew (pastry not cripsy enough). I had half a pint of Guinness. Oh that first mouthful of creaminess!!! And the glass was so cute I was so tempted to bring it home!

Lunched with a friend on Sunday at a coffeeshop near where we live. Dumpling noodles. Very nice. :) (Didn't take pictures this time. Next time I'll take one.) And had the rojak I mentioned before again. All peanut-y and crispy, sweet, sour (lime zest) and spicy (a bit of chilli) and the fragance of tiny pieces of flower petals they sprinkle in.

Haha. Food makes me a happy (& fat) girl. "'(^_^)

P.S. If you're interested there're more photos on my Flickr. (I got tired of uploading photos on Blogger.)

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