Capturing Moments and the Essence of time...

2010-07-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

I fell ill with upset stomach today and ended up taking a MC.. Felt kinda bad as I'm always kinda frustrated to colleagues who report sick on Mon cos they might just be dreading work. But it really feels good to have an extra day of weekend to settle what I don't have time for the last two days.

Like reading the newspapers. Came across the article "Friendship never dies on Facebook"

"...received a shock when she visited Facebook last month. The site was suggesting...coming back from the dead.' Facebook, the world's largest social...some disturbing moments for Facebook users. The company said it..."www.straitstimes.com/World/Story/STIStory_555150.html

Sounds kinda creepy but true, it's yet another flaw of facebook. Began with the infringement of users' privacy, level of profile access issues and now, pronouncing a facebook profile dead. But I appreciate that the ability to leave mourning messages on the profile page of someone who passed away-- think it might offer some kind of condolences to the grieving family.

Truly interesting how facebook will continue to evolve and stay relevant to our lives...

Back for the long haul

2010-07-11T23:39:00.000+08:00

Been away for more than 2 weeks since June 19th in Europe... felt like I'm looking at life with a clearer pair of glasses now that I'm back.. It's amazing how much a break can do for a broken soul. But with greater clarity doesn't always mean my compass in life is now pointing to the right direction. I still need to figure out, anxious to find out what I really want to do. Not gonna be easy...

2010-05-28T20:15:00.001+08:00

Some interesting things my sis wrote on her blog

http://eleventhh.blogspot.com/

lost.. like a fish in the sea

2010-05-03T01:08:00.002+08:00

two weeks since i blogged... my life feels like it needs a good clean up, like the state of my room. what i've been doing to my room has been just throwing the litters away that are in the way, taking up the dirty laundry and wash only when the pile gets unsightly... but nothing constructive gets done and i feel like crap... need a plan but how do i start doing it and not be overwhelmed by the everyday things....

Carpe Diem

2010-04-15T00:12:00.000+08:00

Everyday the seconds would melt into mins, and hours vanish. Suddenly I felt myself being dragged along, by the strong waves of time that so brutally tug in all directions. Where's that anchor? I need to find it soon, before I find myself bobbing endlessly in this ocean of never-ending endeavors.

A long weekend.. gone

2010-04-04T20:51:00.000+08:00

All good things will come to an end... indeed... the 3 days of long hols are over and the horrid-some week is able to begin. Don't ask me how I know, I just know. Need to have a chat with my boss, who even appeared in my dreams haunting me, about the strategies I gonna adopt in the next few months *shudder* plus all the brochures I need to produce... crap... Gonna polish up the Voice of employees slides, which is a nightmare. .But luckily had some divine help from my friend =) who is a some presentation slides god.. amazing...

Some things to look forward to next week? Running tomorrow with friends from company... Half day off on wed to have lunch with Sis and movie (hopefully)... France/ Italy/ Switzerland trip planning with Cat... dinner and dessert at Dampsey on Sat.. But more tuitions on Sunday =(

Guilt and remorse

2010-03-28T12:15:00.001+08:00

In a moment I would never forget, I closed a door in my life. I realize the worst feeling in life isn't about the failures experience at work or in school but when you disappoint someone...

As an avalanche of emotions hit me like a tsunami against the peaceful shore, engulfing me... When will it subside? Or will this make me feel less guilty, that at least it makes me still human, not someone I have changed into that I can't even recognize.

A vital Need to clear sleep debt

2010-03-14T12:10:00.000+08:00

I can't believe how quickly time has passed by... it's almost 3 months since I began working at my second company... But the sleep debt is certainly accumulating, with tuitions and meetups with friends on weekends... now another old student is requesting that I recommence tuition with him. How can I say no? sigh... I need $$ man...

Birthday Wishes!

2010-02-28T12:38:00.000+08:00

Oh no... another year has passed by and me, another year older... No matter what, I'll still try to look at the situation optimistically, and thus my birthday wishes!

1. A new branded bag
2. Sk II Facial
3. A new watch
4. Shopping vouchers!
5. A good facial moisturiser
6. Apple iphone
7. A new nice leather wallet
8. Salsa classes

Yea that's pretty much it... =)

Photos from CNY

2010-02-15T22:34:00.000+08:00

Almost Killed my right hand

2010-02-15T10:10:00.000+08:00

I also paralysed my right forearm during sleep this morning! My brain was giving up some kind of subtle signals, conjuring heart-racing type of nightmares. I dreamt that my sister and I were holidaying at this old house, where there are shuttle buses to her classes. But strange things came happening, like how the clothes will multiply and my blazers got dyed...*brr..* So when I gain consciousness, I realised I had my arm in an awkward position, one where my right arm is wrapped over my torso and underneath my left shoulder. As I freed my arm, I could feel the tingling sense of touch returning, the gush of blood through my fingers. I wonder how long have I slept that way and what if I woke up with a paralyzed right arm. Scary chinese new year second day morning...

First day of Chinese new year

2010-02-14T01:33:00.000+08:00

CNY is here already! So much have happened that I don't know where to start. Trying to stay up late for the longevity of my parents but I guess wrinkles will catch up earlier with me this way... =p
It's a welcome break for me from work anyway, cos it's been crazy.. staying in office till ten then going home to just check my mails and have to sleep and 11h later, back at office again. Well at least it's a fulfilling time for me =)

Having failed in fulfilling any of my resolutions since the start of the year, perhaps I should now review my resolutions for this new chinese new year:

1. Stay focused and productive at work
2. Hit the gym at least twice a week
3. Lose more weight, healthily!
4. read one book per month
5. Be nice to my family =)

more to add, can't think of any now..

4th day since Lasik surgery

2010-01-03T22:45:00.000+08:00

Jan 3 10, Day 4:
Besides occasional dryness, my eyes felt pretty normal. But the rim of glow around the lights never seemed to go away, though as the days go by, the rim is getting thinner and thinner. A good sign..
I was at Amore when my eyes felt as if they were on fire after applying my eyedrops. I nearly panicked, cos no one can actually save me if my corneas are working up.My friend who met me has gone home and the lasik clinic isn't open today... luckily everything was fine after a while...
I went for stretchfit lesson and for the poses that require me to look down, I had to look to my right... the instructor must be wondering why I am so disobedient today..

Day 3:
I forced myself to sleep for 11hrs today, not taking a chance when my eyes hurt so much the day before. I shouldn't have driven at night, the weariness made worse by the difficulty to see well in the dark... thankfully I felt much better today, the pain and exhaustion of my eyes gone. I allowed myself to go bugis to meet my friends for dim sum and some shopping at Sim Lim, a period of 6h before heading back to my nest to rest myself. It's as if someone is watching over me, making sure I have enough rest cos I found a seat on the train when going to bugis and on bus 67 when going home =)

Day 2 and Day 1:
Not supposed to stare at computer for too long and therefore can't blog...
But lasik is really scary... if the doctor said you stay still, you better listen. Don't even try swallowing your saliva...

Changes that took my breath away

2009-12-23T18:18:00.000+08:00

Just a signature above the dotted line, a couple of security clearance... and I'm all set.. to start the new year afresh...

Or maybe it's not that easy... in this fight to find back myself... to put things right, locate the environment that I can see myself grow, learn and succeed... At that juncture of breaking away, tears have flown like a broken string of pearls... a part of me yearning to stop the change that is going to affect not just myself but those have been kind around me... But I must stay strong...

And I survived, that emotional ordeal that I did not expect...
Like a newborn, I open my eyes, startled to find the world outside looking rosier than I dreamt it to be... A new chapter of my life shall now begin... With high hopes, I make my first baby step into this tantalizing world of the unknown challenges and unexpected surprises...

I will survive, yet again...

Merry Christmas and Happy new year my friends!

An Arduous path to Real Run Race

2009-12-11T14:29:00.000+08:00

On the 8 November 2009, my team members of Triathlon and Distance Running (TDR), an interest group of the SMRT Sports & Recreation Club, participated in the New Balance 15km Real Run Corporate Relay, at Changi Aviation Centre. My team emerged victorious, achieving 4th position in the corporate category, ahead of other strong teams from LTA, SAF MP and Temasek Polytechnic.

I was one of the TDR team members who participated in the relay, and was thrilled to achieve my personal best of 1 hour and 19 mins at the competition. It was a relief when I finally crossed the finishing line, as long distance running has never been my forte. Back in the school days, I would usually compete in events that involved five or less kilometres of running.

My trainings for the race began officially ten weeks prior to the race date. With a tight work schedule, it was definitely challenging to stick to the plan, which comprised of one day of long run and two other days of short, fast runs as well as gym sessions. I have adapted the training from the Hal Higdon’s plan that I found online.

However, no matter of training would have aptly prepared me for the race itself. After 5km of smooth sailing running, my hamstrings started to protest. I just couldn’t go as fast as I willed myself to. Other runners were simply passing me by in flocks. Things did not look good then. I told myself that there was no way I could turn back, the only way is to go forward, which I did. After what seemed like eternity, I finally reached the finishing line and it all seemed not so difficult after all. Life’s like a long distance run, you just got to take the pain in your stride when the going gets tough. The finishing line is just in front of you. Don’t give up.

My Xmas wish list!

2009-12-11T09:11:00.000+08:00

For my loved ones who are cracking their heads on what to get me for xmas, here's a help list hehe:

1. A new branded work watch
2. demologica daily microexfoliant
3. A book like 'journey to the east' and 'have a little faith'
4. sports waterbottle 500ml
5. Good earphones
6. Nokia E63 handphone pouch
7. nice and couchy netbook sleeve

Will update the list when I remember what else I want. Merry Xmas everyone!

Sleepless night

2009-11-27T00:08:00.000+08:00

Not insomnia this time.. it's work again

So I risked 6h of my beauty sleep, fighting zee monsters from 1am to 7am on thur morning, watching people go about their work, trying to pick up bits and pieces. secret codes, telling glances... not something easy to pick up in the wee hours of the morning... I just shrugged and sat, then stood and walked around... feeling out of place and unwanted.. when it was time to go, I could tell all heaved a sigh of relief... that all will go back to normal for them.. wat a morning..

I went back to sleep and it was an undisturbed one till noon... ate fruits to fill myself, an act to counter the sinful indulgences that I allowed myself at 7am-- mac sausage muffin... Went to bt panjang, only to get dua and then came home to do misc stuff, before succumbing to sleep again..

perhaps the most meaningful thing I have done today is to drag my lazy feet to amore for an hr of fat blasting workout of kardio sculpt =) had duck rice for dinner(with my darling mum and sis) and I sincerely hope it's not 600 calories as the nutritionist says..

We passed by the neighbourhood shops and realized that a pet shop is opening soon! My sis and I started discussing about the dog we would buy, childhood dreams flooding our minds again? Would I get one? Can I be a good owner? I'm a little afraid of more responsibilities right now... gonna hit the sack!

Sick at Home

2009-11-23T18:38:00.000+08:00

Finally an MC since Sept, I'm so proud of myself. I had it bad this time, sore throat, blocked nose, itchy throat and not to mention fever since Fri, when I had to stand 2 hrs for flag day donations and then another 2hrs for counting people at my company's public event.

After the prize giving ceremony for the Global Entrepreneurship Week, I was deadbeat. Just concussed on the bus whenever my butt hit the seat...dun be fooled by my healthy look in the pic.. Gosh... I almost couldn't get off the bus. It was like I went into hibernation mode.
For the next 2 days, the flu virus just raged on in my body... On Sat, I simply slipped in and out of consciousness. Ate bland porridge for lunch and green healthy yong tau foo for dinner... Sunday's menu was no better, bland fish porridge for dinner... maybe the good thing that comes out of it is that I would have lost weight hahah though I haven't weigh myself lately... should be la...

By Sun night, I dun feel well enuff for work and took an Mc... It turned out to be a restful yet fruitful day. Got the plumber in to fix the washing machine tap.. It turned out that the washing machine is fine, just that the tap is wrong... hehe v happy... and start planning for the new year... 2010 here I come!

French!

2009-11-01T11:53:00.001+08:00

Le 9 Decembre, je vais prendre l'examen de francais donc je vais écrire mon blog en francaise tous les jours. Il y auras une translation de blog en anglais aussi. Alors, premièrement, je absolutement deteste Dimarche parce que je vais travailler demain. Il n'y a pas jamais assez de temps pour les choses que je voudrais faire, comme aller au cinema et faire un promenade à la plage. Peut-etre, la raison pour les sentiments est que je n'aime pas le travail que je fais. Mais si je ne travail pas, je n'ai pas l'argent. C'est la vie.

Je ne sais pas quoi mais hier, je suis tres fatiguee parce que j'ai me couche pendant 11 heures! Quand je se levé, j'ai seulment pris ma petite dejeuner et apres, arrangé la chambre. J'ai une class de yoga à 2:30 apres-midi pour une duree d'une heure et demie. Apres la classe, j'ai une rendez-vous à Somerset à 6:30 pour le diner avec les amis. Nous avons les cuisines Thaï pour le plat principal et les gateux aux fruits pour le dessert. Tous été tres bien!

On the 9th of Dec, I'm going to take my french exam so I will always be writing my blog in french from now on. There will also be a translation in english, like what I am doing for this entry. So firstly, I hate Sunday, cos tmr I need to go work! There is never enough time for doing the things that I like, such as going to the cinema and strolling on the beach. Perhaps, the reasons for the feelings that I am having is that I simply don't like the work I am doing... But if I don't work, I don't have the money! That's life.

I also dunno why but I was just so tired yesterday that I slept for 11 h! When I woke up, I only had time to take my breakfast and tidy up my room. After that, I have a yoga class at 2:30 pm for a duration of one and a half hours. After class, I have an appointment in Somerset at 6:30 pm for dinner with my supper club friends. We had Thai cuisine for the main course and fruit tarts for dessert. All were very good!

Love is...

2009-10-25T23:55:00.000+08:00

Got inspired over the weekend...

Love is...
Knowing that someone will always look after you
Fetch you from where you are when it rains
Naturally thinking in your shoes
Waiting for you no matter how late it is into the night
tells you that you smell great though you last showered hours ago

I just watched Gossip Girl and I crossed my fingers... that I will never betray love for it's never worth it..

2009-10-14T23:51:00.000+08:00

Just came back from a dinner with my best sports pals, Aileen and Charlene. it's Charlene's 23rd birthday today and it's amazing how long we have known each other! 7 yrs! I'm feel blessed by the special friendship we share =) I was so hungry after my 3.5km run at Amore that I just gobbled down dinner at Noodle House without taking photos with them =( haha but we enjoyed the
1. Special Congee, huge and favored just right
2. Wonton noodles,the noodles is alright but the fried wantons are gigantic and the steamed ones are succulent with juicy prawns
3. Beef Horfun is not so good though cos the horfun were stuck together. Nevertheless, the prawns and all were good =)
yummy dinner... we went shopping around Centrepoint, absorbed in our world, as the passerbys flowed from different directions, all around us. There is nothing more lovely or precious as friendship.

I had a more sinful round of dinner yesterday, with my darling, for passing his driving test on the first try! Hear this, he only got 8 demerit points! super zai la... We went to celebrate at Intercontinental, Olive tree cos they are having promotion right now. 1 for 1 and we only paid about 55 in all... the spread was superb, to say the least. We swallowed down:

1. about 10 oysters each, fresh and juicy
2. 5 fresh tasting salmon sushi
3. crispy salmon pizza
4. fried tempura prawns, done golden and delightful
5. sausage in small cute dishes
6. creamy cod fish, smooth and good
7. dhal and chicken curry, these dishes are a bit dry
8. fragrant butter rice
9. strawberries with chocolate fondue
10. oozing chocolat fondant, tiramisu, chocolate alcohol cake, sorbet...
11. everything else that I can't name or recall but it's a truly unforgettable dinner buffet =)

catch the promotion before it ends oct 31!

Cyst woes

2009-09-29T22:17:00.000+08:00

No that this topic is really important but I must declare my battle with cysts these few years. Not sure if it has been a result of my obsession with eye cream earlier, using Mac eye recovery cream and Estee Lauder rich eye repair too near the eyes, thus causing overactive oil glands. But come to think of it, it could be true... to make the eye area more moist, it will make sense to make the oil glands secrete more oil right? sheesh... major mistake

right now, I have undergone 4 eyelids surgery before, 2 on left and 2 on right. each time the swell was huge and the pus was imaginably overflowing... I wonder if I can finally say goodbye to cysts!
a few changes I am introducing to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself

1. eat more fruits and drink more water
2. avoid fried foods! some forum writers said that oil from those stuff can accumulate in the lids.. yuck
3. clean my eyelids with eyelid products daily
4. avoid eye makeup (so sad, no more mascara...)
5. sleep early ( really hard to accomplish)

wish me luck!

Updates updates!

2009-09-21T21:07:00.000+08:00

Just sent my sister back to her hostel... it's funny being on the other end now, no longer the one going back to hall n facing the books... Now I finally taste what it is like to send someone away, to make time for her/him out of my busy schedule-- much like a parent.. There was an article about parents suing their children for not supplementing their retirement and to issues like this, I always wonder, "what happened to filial Piety?" Sure everyone for his own, it's one's responsibility to provide and fend for himself. But someone who is mature, and particularly someone who has experienced adulthood and parenthood will realize, how difficult it is to care for someone, to bring up him/her to maturity. If I were to be just responsible for myself, I certainly wouldn't demand so much of myself. But I want to not just give myself, but also my parents a better life, one that they have never been able to experience.

Work has been going along quite well but I certainly welcome more challenges, as long as they are not concerning overzealous perfection and insane meticulousness. The best thing that has come from work would be the triathlon team which I have recently become a part of. We got 6th in the corporate relay, I ran 5km, while the other two guys swim 750m and biked 20 km! wheee... here's some photos

2nd of work at new posting!

2009-09-01T22:17:00.000+08:00

The last two days have been pretty 'thrilling' notice the inverted commas... afterall it's a new environment now, down to KPI, tasks, deadlines and all...stress and eyerings creeping back to my life... but I'll be ready to take on the challenges as they come

been meeting lots of friends recently and it's a joy to see all well and happy at their jobs. Sometimes it hit me that our worries were unfounded after all, not being able to find our calling in life, not finding a job that pays decently... But I must constantly remind myself not to slip into an employee life pattern, I want to be a biz owner one day. back to reading the book "never eat alone' =)

The most nerve wrecking lunch

2009-08-24T22:42:00.000+08:00

With a sigh of relief, I'm glad to have survived my first ever self introduction in front of the big shots at work.. had to talk about my D I S C profile, my greatest achievement and my future aspirations. what is seemingly easy to accomplish face to face with another person has become ten times harder with successful individuals scrutinizing you the entire 3 mins, breathing down your neck, trying to dissert your personality.

I'm glad to be a survivor and my mentor rox! He's formerly from the SAF but has made a huge transition into the corporate world now... hope to interact more with him in the future.

Something wrong

2009-08-07T23:56:00.000+08:00

There is something wrong with my blog... can't view it correctly.. damn weird...

Deja vu

2009-07-31T06:53:00.000+08:00

Shagged, braindead and smelly from a two shifts work day, I suddenly shuddered at a fleeting thought that went through my mind. This job is like an army one! with the exception of assisting an operation where the outcome that matters a lot more, the rest seems the same for both jobs. In terms of the level of discomfort, requirement to work over time AND overnight, use of jargons like (mess, officer, book in/out etc) I am going to go crazy at this rate soon...

Updates on my work life!

2009-07-26T22:22:00.002+08:00

Time sure passes by quickly... one time I was slogging away for FYP and now I've entered a new phase of my life-- working life! it's scary to realize that fact at times-- after all the 16 years of studying... responsibilities have changed and my attitude has to changed too... new people in my life... what a great deal to handle each day...

Other than my close friends, I feel that the bonds between my Uni friends are fading... trying hard to hold on to them, I tried to meet up whenever I'm free but it seems so tiring at times... my eyerings get darker and the situation seemed nonetheless better. maybe I need to accept the fact that things have changed, people have moved on and so must I.

sound quite pessimistic isn't it? But all is not lost.. somehow Zj and I had more time to meet than ever and the situation might even improve if I work at the HQ =) but nothing is confirmed as of now =(

It's only 2 weeks into my work and my colleagues and i are performing at the LSA talentine competition tomorrow! The girls will be dancing the HOT wondergirls and I hope I wun make any mistake as I did today during the rehearsal.. it's tough catching up with them after missing the first session. ANd why did I miss it? Cos of my Hong Kong trip.. and it is sure memorable, the first trip Zj and I made tog... It was very eventful for sure and we certainly shopped till we dropped... my bank is super wiped out now =( hahaha but we've memories that will now last for life... will post up the photos on my facebook soon hehe

i couldnt help but realize that I am making more time for my friends than my family... it's like when I'm home, they ain't and when I reached home, my sis will be at her computer, my dad at work and my mum sleeping... even weekends are not spared. hope to improve this part of my life soon, gonna spend more time with my family, my beloved ones =)

A day before work life begins

2009-07-05T10:47:00.003+08:00

The last entry was so outdated! In these 2 months since my last entry, I had another exam, in which I also did not score well and had scoreless of interviews. Maybe the consolation is that the dust has settled and I have landed myself in an OK job. =) But I'm quite sad that I'm leaving my friend's start up... learnt quite a lot there. here're my colleagues =) Pretty fun loving crowd...

Tomorrow will be a significant day, where the 'practicals' end and the real test begins. After 16 years of education, my work life is going to begin. It feels strange and I have this constant feeling of denial. Yet, that wouldn't come as a surprise for someone who has yet to graduate, with the final year project report and presentation in the toll, due for submission less than 2 weeks later. I hope it will start off well tomorrow and by the time I depart for Hong Kong on 16 Jul, a few hours after my last school presentation, I'll be leaving with a contented smile.

Friends would question: why do you start work so early? Not taking a break? It's not a matter of choice to me, though the inertia in me would happily assume status quo in my life. But I'm too eager and impatient, to join the working world outside, to be viewed as an adult, someone capable of putting food on the table. It has been a torture for too long to see my parents toil and struggle to make ends meet. I'm too, tired of holding 3 or 4 part time job all while juggling my studies to support myself. Anyway, since this management trainee program longs only 15 months, it'll be great if I realise that it is where I want to be and continue on the fast track. Else, hopefully, I would have gained enough skills and experience that makes me more marketable for my next career. By then, I should have found out for myself the direction I should head into.

last day of exam!

2009-05-04T01:13:00.001+08:00

as usual, I lie here, eyes wide open, unable to go to lalaland no matter how hard I try :( something that excites me is sleeping me up- the last exam that's chemical engine related for my entire life is tmr! I really can't wait. The tortuous 3 yrs, it's been so long. at least now I know how to appreciate chem engine and even understand my notes. Hope that's enough for tmr. Wish me luck!

Disturbing news these days

2009-04-23T03:08:00.002+08:00

I can't help but grinch in dismay as I flip the papers these days... Red shirts chaos in Thailand, countless people dying cos of Tamil Tigers, the ever gloomy economy, deaths from food poisoning, monk cheating money, even suicide rates on the high... I wonder if these are all bad signs for the world but maybe these kinda news have always been exaggerated and sensitised by the media... I shall just take one piece of news to comment or share my ideas... good for detering my brain from becoming senile i guess haha

Same Name, different lives

2009-04-21T23:37:00.001+08:00

Was googling on my name cos i was so bored and I found this... Go read it!
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20071029-32858.html

Finally readjusted my body clock

2009-04-20T07:51:00.003+08:00

I feel a sense of euphoria, as I awoke to see glistening rays of the morning sun streaming through the window this morning at 7am. I made it! Finally readjusted my body clock to what I would call normal... Mum has cooked a fab breakfast and I simply gobbled them down, hungry from the 7h of 'fasting'...

Just so coincidentally, on the zen habits blog, there is a post about being a late riser. The blogger talked about, how like me, he equated rising early to being productive-- exactly how I thought! But he realized that it's not really relevant, the link between rising early and being productive, cos you can wake up late and sleep late rite? But I just like the smell and coolness of the morning air, cos it's really uplifting to my spirits... and I have to stop all the sleeping at 4am routine, which is taking a toll on my eyebags( they're bad enough)

And being going to bed and rising early, I am going to blog either online or in my book regularly, all through my summer term... It'll be great to reflect daily and hopefully I'll come out as a better person! To think I used to submit a weekly report to my boss last year, I should be more disciplined now! It really helped in thinking through what I have done for the week, allowing myself to quickly rein in on the 'bad habits' and congratulate myself for the new breakthrough I have made in life.

And you might ask, isn't this your reading week? Time to study! Why are you blogging... But I only have 2 exams to mug for, both 3 MCs, so it's like just a 1.5 regular module. Yup, I still prefer to do things last min to keep my productivity high haha... oh I remembered that I dreamt that I was late in handing in a report... gosh... all the reports writing must be getting to me haha

I realize that my blog has been pictureless so far... let me add some recent photos like those my friends and i took at the Pump Room, clarke Quay-- it's certainly a night of harvoc!

New resoltutions

2009-04-11T19:01:00.000+08:00

I need to...

Stop caring about things that don’t matter. This advice seems so simple, but it bears repeating. It’s easy to get caught up in obsessing about little tasks and trivialities that aren’t really important. The best way to overcome this habit is to start thinking in terms of long term impact. Every time you start obsessing over the little details, ask yourself how long the results of those tasks will last. If you’re always spending the majority of your time doing tasks that will have little impact after a week or month, you’re always going to be stuck in the same position. Be ruthless about not caring about all the stuff that’s not important. Your life depends on it.

from http://zenhabits.net/2009/04/seven-productivity-tips-for-people-that-hate-gtd/#more-2999

Ready to close a chapter in life

2009-03-28T21:53:00.002+08:00

In a few months' time, I will be closing an important chapter in life -- my education and embarking on a new journey of adulthood. No more concessions, no more forgiveness for mistakes, no more fun! But I won't go for further studies at the moment, I need a breather from my 16 years of studying...

I feel like a spinning compass sometimes, its needle has found its true north. Hope I will be shown the way soon before I get lost for good...

Back in Sunny Singapore!

2009-01-05T01:09:00.002+08:00

Finally I could confess that I am back in Singapore, after my friend's birthday celebration, as my friend and I are supposed to give her a surprise by coming back earlier than she expected.

So besides the horribly hot and humid weather and the reverse cultural shock, I am adapting well back in Singapore. Not too well I hope, as I don't hope to lose what I have learnt in the States. Will explain about it more in another post. In fact, I will probably put some photos up here as picture speaks a thousand words. And update my new year resolutions =)

67 days to departure...

2008-10-23T20:52:00.002+08:00

It's almost just 2 months to the end of NOC and my time in USA... I dunno how many times I had said this but times flies. I remembered myself wondering if I will make it to the USA at all about 2 years ago, when I first received the offer from NOC as I had to wait till the next semester then to obtain enough modular credits before I could leave for NOC. And the next semester came and passed by yet I was still in Singapore as I decided to postpone the departure to the following semester due to changes in the Chem engineering modules. Suddenly, I'm here and ten months had passed me by... *shudder*

Besides being able to immerse myself in an entrepreneurial environment, one of the other key takeaways I had was the realization of my weaknesses. I think I subconsciously knew I had those weaknesses but it is only when I am here that I started making an effort to do something about them. It also helped that friends are there to support this personal development that I would like to see in myself.

In the next two months, I would concentrate on putting my best foot forward (yes nothing but the best), build up more networks of contacts, travel more (should be the west coast) and improve the structure of my online 'business'. Support me by linking http://us-shopaholic.livejournal.com to your website (blogs etc)... Thanks in advance!

Inspiration

2008-10-14T12:08:00.001+08:00

I was really inspired by what Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm once said (some thing like this) 'Imagine a world with this problem and then work backwards to find out the actions to take to achieve that...' Entrepreneurship is really about changing things for the better, can I?

What's wrong?

2008-09-28T12:37:00.002+08:00

I dunno if fate is trying to make fun or me but recently there have been lots of things missing from my possessions:

1. pork chops from the fridge

2. one of my socks so now I have a misjoined pair

3. My sweater from Forever21

4. My pinker spaghetti strap from Forever21

5. My sports bra paddings!

please let me know if you know where they are!

Focus on solutions not on problems

2008-09-15T08:58:00.001+08:00

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (Ink won't flow down to the writing surface). In order to solve this problem, they hired

Andersen Consulting (Accenture today). It took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.

And what did Russians do.......................................??

The Russians used a Pencil !!!

So, learn to focus on solutions not on problems. "If you look at what you do not have in life, you don't have anything." "If you look at what you have in life, you have everything." Yet someone said "Focus on problem leads to inventions! and Focus on solution leads to discoveries."

My Facebook rankings :)

2008-09-12T05:58:00.002+08:00

I'm amazed by some of the rankings that I saw on my profile..

My chicago photos!

2008-09-08T10:15:00.001+08:00

The cheesecakes I made last week!

2008-09-08T09:43:00.003+08:00

Cranberry cheesecake!

Peach Cheesecake with Sour cream

Here's the recipe:

9x13 pan, 350 degrees, 25-30 minutes.

1 1/4 c. graham crumbs
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Mix and pat into pan.
8 oz. soft cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sour cream
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat with mixer until creamy and pour over crust. Bake until light brown around edges only. Cool and top with pie filling. Keep refrigerated.

A unexpected ending to a blissful day

2008-09-08T09:21:00.002+08:00

I was so totally thrilled to have the whole sunday to myself, after what seemed like weeks of travelling and having fun... here's my schedule for the day:

8.30 am wake up and ate breakfast... my last serving of Post Chocolate honey roasted conflakes
9.10am go to Wharton to do my work... determined to finish the book Getting to yes today!!
11.45am gym! Burn away the cookie i ate just now =p

1pm buy groceries from Freshgrocer then go home to put things down before heading off to the fruit truck where you can get 4 apples/nectarines for just $1!

2pm shower and wash clothes
3pm continue working, cooking pasta at the same time

5pm wash more clothes

6pm baked bread crumbed chicken! yum!

7pm continue working

9pm chatted with my dad and my bf =) but that's when the unexpected ending happened... go figure out... haiz

May tomorrow be a better day!

It's amazing!

2008-09-04T21:45:00.001+08:00

I was checking out facebook horoscope application and here what it says about my strengths and weaknesses which I think is freakingly true:

Your greatest strength is:

Your ability to gain respect

Your greatest weakness is:

Caring too much what others think

Gosh, I didn't know that I have been running with the wrong posture

2008-08-28T03:48:00.002+08:00

The most common mistake runners make when climbing hills is to look down, taking the hefty weight of the head (the average weighing approximately 7-10 lbs) forward and throwing the spine out of alignment. Leaning forward also reduces the involvement of the hamstrings, giving you less propulsion.

Instead, look ahead, shorten your stride a little and use your arms to help propel you upwards. Don’t try to maintain the same pace you had on flat ground, the golden rule is ‘even effort, not even pace’.

Running downhill might sound a lot easier than running uphill, but the knees and quads can take a real pounding, not just because of the increased impact but because the thigh muscles are contracting eccentrically (to decelerate you), which causes more microscopic damage in the muscle.

To descend less painfully, relax, particularly in the thighs and at the front of the ankles, and don’t ‘brake’ or lean backwards. Take your arms wider for balance, but ensure you don’t inadvertently take legs wider, too.

Don’t look down – it’s tempting to do so if you are running on rough trail but try to pick your route a few metres ahead and then keep your eyes focused on the next bit of trail instead of on your feet. If the path is wide enough, try zigzagging down the slope, rather than running straight down – this enables you to maintain more control.

Breathe easy

There are lots of ‘theories’ on the best way to breathe during running. I believe the best way to breathe when you’re running is the way that comes most naturally. I am not a proponent of all these ‘breathe in for two strides, out for two strides’ patterns, or of advising runners to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth (although you won’t swallow quite so many flies).

In fact, a study from Liverpool John Moores University, England showed that once exercise is just moderately hard, the most efficient way of breathing in and out is through the mouth, not the nose.

Upping the pace

Surprisingly, one of the best ways of improving your running technique is to practice running faster. Just occasionally. When you speed up, your arm and leg movements are bigger, improving your range of motion. But don’t try to get faster simply by taking bigger strides. Research shows that getting a runner to increase or decrease their instinctive stride length forces them to work harder and use more oxygen.

Rather than striving for giant steps, focus on keeping your feet ‘fast and light’. You will find that speeding up your arm movement will help quicken the legs. It’s also a great idea to practice some ‘strides’ or ‘pickups’. Strides are a slightly slower version of a sprint, and will help improve your running form. The greater ‘drive’ required by the supporting leg as it pushes off also puts more emphasis on the hamstrings, while the forefoot landing strengthens the calves eccentrically (while lengthening). From a standing start, start to run and gradually speed up to a pace just below your sprint speed. Go for 5x20 metres.

Fund raising

2008-08-28T01:53:00.002+08:00

I'm doing fund raising! Please order the magazines from me =)

http://www.magfundraising.com/Shopaholic

Poconos!

2008-08-25T08:47:00.000+08:00

I admit that I have been really lazy but my days have been really packed lately…somehow I just don’t have the motivation to blog anymore. But realizing the need to note down somewhere what I have been doing, for the benefit and reliving the wonderful memories later, I shall start blogging after each vacation trip or any life’s lesson that I experience for the rest of my 5 months in the US. So for this weekend, I went to Poconos with my batch and the junior batch. It is especially meaningful, as it was after a week of relentless and hectic days at work. It’ time to let down our hair and have fun!

I had a mad rush on Friday, when we were supposed to meet at the Towne building of Upenn at 630pm. I was still at the Coach store at Center city (10mins away from where I live by subway) at 6pm, exchanging some items for ZJ. After it was all settled, I was practically flying to the subway. Luckily I caught the train just as I reached the platform. I rushed home to stuff all the stuff into my bagpack then frantically tried to close the window which was stuck for two min before realizing that it’s impossible. I was in such a haste that I forgot my sweater. Imagine how profusely I was perspiring by the time I arrived at the meeting point.

But everything went smoothly and we finally reached the Split Rock resort after a two hour and a half journey. As most of us were already starving when we reached there, we’re expecting a full course buffet as we were provided with the previous time when we came here to ski. But the unexpected happened when we realized all we had for the night was pizzas and cookies! We then had an hour long session introducing ourselves and listening to Joe Sun before making our way back to the resort rooms, where our beds beckoned us. Everything was wonderful, the bathrooms were clean and welcoming while the beds were washed and comfortable. Ah, this is life. I had a good uninterrupted sleep till morning.

We went down promptly at 830 am, not hoping for much after last night’s nightmare but we were pleasantly surprised by the sumptuous spread, consisting of bacon, sausage, potatoes, house fries, fruits like strawberries, cereal, buns etc! It is to no doubt that our favorite dishes were the made to order omelette and waffle =)

After a hearty breakfast, we were ushered into the Harmony room where we had a 2h long session on Business ettique. I was pretty sleepy then because of the plates of stuff that I gorged on but on the whole it was really benefial as we had found the answers to some of the common questions we face when it comes to networking sessions and interacting with our American counterparts in the workplace.

We adjorned for lunch at 12noon but I found no appetite except for the desserts. The buffet was great but the highlight of the day was the paint ball game! Excitedly, we marched to the Galleria where we boarded the classic yellow school bus towards Skirmish where the paint ball center is located. However, I was greeted with an unpleasant sight, we have to wear the army uniform as part of the protection gear for the game! It just set forth a rush of memories from my army times. But it didn’t bother me much when the game started as we began to realize how fun it was to strategize. The scariest thing I found about the game was that we had to start shooting our friends.and it is not our concern now if the bullet we fire would hurt them. To each of us, our friends have merely become target boards and I found myself happily firing at their exposed heads when they hid behind those fences. That is creepy. No wonder in war, it is so easy to just send a spray of bullets, even at helpful victims, as now it is about self survival. There was this particular instance when I sneaked up on my friend and I was pretty close. I simply shot at him even though it was so close before he discovered and shot at me. Luckily I still had the rationality of shooting at his butt and not anywhere else that could have resulted in major injury. There were in fact two cases of injury in our group as one got a gash from the close rang shot in the neck and the other had a huge blue black on her thigh. I shuddered at how cruel one can become even in a game like this.

After the 4hours of firing and being shot, we went back, starving this time. We had a beachside bbq buffet, where we had sweet bbq ribs and chicken. It was just awesome. Crispina and I went to the pool after our hasty dinner, as I was feeling so guilty from the stuffing sessions I had over the past two days. In the end, we didn’t swim much too as we’re smply too full, just soaked in the Jacuzzi and chatted in the sauna room. Now that’s life!

At 9pm we had the usual NCBV drinking session at one of the guys room. This time I was fortunately not the target and poor lionel was taking shots after shots till he vomited in the toilet. The guys refused to let him off even after that and forced him to keep drinking till he was totally wasted. Poor Lionel! The rest of us continued playing and it was evident that everyone was getting quite high after just half an hour. I cooked up an excuse to go back and remove my contacts so as to avoid the drinking incident that I still regretted till today.

I had again a deep restful sleep till 830am in the morning. Showered then headed for breakfast. But it was a rushed one for me as I had to settle the UO order before I proceeded to the dining room. My sister was mad at me for not ordering the items earlier as her item had gone out of stock. Sighz.. it is hard to please people sometimes.

After lunch, the feelings of remorse and unhappiness started to engulf me as I realized that I had lost the hotel room key. It’s $100 for this mistake! But thinking back I really shouldn’t have let it got to me too much as it sort of ruined my bowling session and the rest of my day. I played really badly at bowling, scoring only 28 for the entire game! At least there was horse riding to distract me. It’s the first time that I’m trying it! Like a fairy tale come true =) but still everything was just less fun than it should be and all I wanted is to bury my head till the housekeeping tells me that the key is found. Fortunately, I managed to push those thoughts aside and enjoy the rest of my time after horseriding. Crispina and I went to the beachside to find the other people and then walked around the resort area to take photos and stuff. It was very therapeutic in a way.

Dinner was good enough to make up for the lunch that we missed in the afternoon after our bowling game. I finally had salmon, after what seemed like ages. I had not one but two servings of it as it was just so delicious =) after dinner, my room mate Fiona told me that the receptionist would most likely waived the charges and I felt like a fool, to have worried so much in the day. Anyway, it was a good getaway trip on the whole and I’m absolutely looking forward to the Chicago trip next weekend!

Disruptive technology

2008-07-29T00:50:00.002+08:00

From Dennis McDonald's blog,
'My first vote goes for social networking technologies and the ability they give people to communicate and collaborate across many of the traditional boundaries around organizations, neighborhoods, professions, associations, countries, and other traditional ways of organizing work and relationships. It will be interesting to see, for example, if the Chinese government can continue its current level of political control over its population without also increasing control over how people form relationships and interact with each other both socially and professionally.'

Social networking is already revolutionizing the way we think, communicate, shop and even sleep. When you buy a bedsheet, mattress, or pillow, would you feel better if your friend has assured you on facebook that Brand X is the brand to buy as it gave him a good night sleep? When you shop, do you first consult your friends on where are the good places to hit? Never underestimate the power of collective knowledge... Many companies are jumping on this bandwagon now to harness the power of social networking but the question is how. What does this disruptive technology mean to you?

Orbius

2008-07-28T21:54:00.002+08:00

An extract from my Colleague, Andy's blog and more insights about my internship company...
We're proud to be in Orbius!

Here are a few reasons why Orbius stands out:

Orbius is different from other players in the market because it is specifically designed to support not just individuals but groups - companies, brand marketers, clubs, and organizations. We call these community sites Orbs. It's really easy to create an Orb, apply themes, configure security and start communicating with groups of people.

Orbius is designed to support multiple Profiles. For instance, I have a public profile that everyone can see. I also have a Family Profile, a Friends Profile, and a Professional profile. I can decide who get's to see any of my personal information. For instance, in my Professional Profile I have my resume, links to technology sites and blogs that I like, etc. In my Family profile I can keep family photos and a calendar that keeps track of where we'll be for different holidays, etc. In my Friends profile I share pictures with Friends and I have a comment wall so we can joke around. But these Profiles would be useless if I couldn't control who had access to each of them. With Orbius it is really easy to organize my connections into various groups and then allow them access to whichever profiles I want!

Orbius offers a unique way to join communities and "hide" your identity through Personas. While this may not be useful in all situations, in many communities members share sensitive information about themselves (medical information for example). In these Orbs, members can safely discuss important issues because the other community members will never know their real identity.

Orbius provides a simple dashboard view of changes and updates to all of the communities you belong to. In addition, all messages among Orbius users come through a central inbox, even if the communication is from different Orbs.

By the way, Orbius is free to use. Anyone can set up Orbs and/or Profiles. However, companies who wish to take advantage of extra features including advanced themes, removal of advertising, custom applications and more can do so with a Premium, Corporate, or Enterprise Level Edition of Orbius.

West Coast travel part 1

2008-07-22T13:45:00.000+08:00

This is no doubt my longest trip ever, 6 states, 9 cities in 2 weeks. My traveling companions? My university beties =) it seemed just a while ago that Huiling and I were planning the trip and it’s the trip has already ended. But the memories are really here to stay.

Gwen arrived in NY to meet Huiling on 9 july and for the next 2 days, they did lots of shopping and sightseeing. Having been to New York and is limited by the number of leave I am entitled to, I only joined them on 11july. The Pacific Hotel at Chinatown is simply amazingly value for money. For just $67 per night, we get a queen sized bed in a 2m by 2m room. But a small hotel in NY would fetch usually $200 a night. We departed at 7am the next day to catch the Niagara Falls bus and the hilarious error we committed was to take taxi to go down 5 streets. It is different here compared to Philly, when the streets run in sequence. As the hotel is at 100 something street, one would expect 60 streets in between the position of the tour bus which is at 42rd street but apparently, we’re wrong.

Soon we embarked on our journey to Buffalo, Niagara. After sitting on the bus for 3hours. It seemed that the bus would never arrive at the destination. It was already evening time by the time we arrived. A light drizzle began to fall but nothing could restrain our excitement to see the much awaited Niagara fall. The falls were actually noticeable from a distance, as there were some mysteriously large clouds of mist. Niagara got its name from its thundering sound of the falling water and no other name could have more aptly described it. We wore our poncho and stepped onto the maiden of the mists and almost as soon as it began to sail, the majestic view of the falls came into view. The falls are nothing like those I have ever seen in my life. The sight of the pure glistening water pouring down from heights was simply incredible. It looked so beautiful, like a painting, so surreal. We were soon drenched by the drizzle and the gushing sprays of water from the shore but even if it means risking our camera to take photos of the falls, it was worth it.
The rest of the trip didn’t occur as smoothly but it was a unique experience together. While I returned to Philly to work, Huiling and Gwen stayed on to go Woodbury to shop the next day.
For the next 2 days, I could hardly concentrate on my work, as there were so many things to settle for the west coast trip. The juniors had also just arrived on Mon and all the memories what I experienced in the first few weeks in Philly came rushing back to me again. All too quickly, 6 months had gone by and we’re seniors already.

Before I knew it, Wednesday arrived. At 4pm, gwen and I practically raced to the 30th street with our luggages and all. In retrospect, maybe it was an omen that we’d always be rushing for our flights and to meet deadlines for our trip. I was sweating profusely by the time we boarded the regional rail to the Philadelphia airport. It was in the nick of time that we reached the platform actually. Phew…
Everything else very much occurred smoothly after that. At the Las Vegas airport, we rented a Toyota Prius, which is supposed to run on only one gallon per 45 miles, which is simply amazing. As we drove down the strip, the sights around us were amazing. Even from the airplane, we could see the dazzling lights of vegas, the city that never sleeps. We recognized the hotels as our car crawled along the road, as there were so many cars on the narrow road. The famous pyramidal Luxor hotel, the grand Bellagio hotel that hosts fountain shows, the Paris hotel with its Eiffel tower lookalike. Circus circus was the conventional kind of hotel but it was nevertheless an enjoyable experience staying there. The room was clean and spacious, just what we needed after a horrible experience at the Fallside inn at Niagara Falls.
Our regret is that we could only stay one night there and a short one for that, as we had to set off at 7am for grand canyon the next day. If I am given the chance to change our itinerary, maybe we would have missed going to LA altogether.
There would be no argument for which why Grand Canyon is recognized as one of the 7 wonders of the world. It took a gruesome 5 hours to drive there, passing over 3 different terrains along the way, the desert, the savanna areas and the green hilly regions. But as we set our eyes upon the place, all our fatigue just melted away. The scene was just so breathtaking. The canyon looks different at every angle and nothing can certainly battle this piece of natural avante garde in front of us. We could only spend hour there but it would take a lifetime to forget the wonderful sight of Grand Canyon.

Own something from Coach! You can afford it now =)

2008-07-07T07:02:00.004+08:00

Getting a present for yourself or your friend? Get Coach!

NWT Black Coach Signature stripe wristlet going for only S$80!

NWT Brown Coach Mini Skinny going for only S$65!

NWT Brown Coach Signature Stripe Skinny going for only S$70!

Email me at shopaholic@singapore.com

Interested buyers only.

Payment through atm or internet banking

Thank you!

Can't believe I stayed home on a long weekend

2008-07-07T06:45:00.002+08:00

Gosh... Can't believe I stayed home for 2 days, another weekend of the precious 50 weekends I have here. Which means I wasted 2% of my time in USA. Hahah maybe wasted is a strong word... At least I saved money from travelling, $200 if I went to Orlando/ Chicago, $100 if I went to Cape May. And I vacuumed and mopped my apartment's filthy floor. Yea and blogged twice in a week (which is so rare), blogged on my business website, sent out the mass mailers to customers, updated the sprees, tidied up the documents for my business, shopped online!
Planned to go Cape May with my friends on Sat and Sun but Friday night I went to bed in a ruined mood as my eyelid was swollen again. Woke up with cold the next morning so I basically slept all the way till 10am. Woke up when hunger struck me but soon went back to slumber at noon... Could hardly do much yesterday but to plan for the Las vegas trip and cook dinner. Fried rice again =(
Yup and as I wrote earlier, I went to Woodbury and burnt my pockets on Friday so at least I went somewhere. Trying to sound optimistic here...

Today was much more productive as I woke up hungry at 7am. Settled breakfast and some business stuff before hitting the gym. I'm so going to miss the Upenn gym come Aug 31 as my membership would expire. Really like the facilities there, the towel service and the proximity of the gym to home. I'm going to the gym everyday till Fri, when I'm heading off to NY to meet Huiling and Gwen. We're going to Niagara falls together! Hope I can borrow Amin's camera so that i can capture that gorgeous maid of the mists... They then return to Philly with me on Sunday but Huiling is flying back to San Francisco again on Mon. Gwen gonna stay here till Wed before we head off to Las Vegas! West Coast, here we come =)

End of summer school... a new start

2008-07-05T23:09:00.002+08:00

The feeling of the seniors leaving us so soon kinda makes me quite emo nowadays. It's like just yesterday when Peihiang and joshua met us at the airport and herded us to Philly but now, it's their turn to leave. The nostalgic memories of the time that batch 11 spent with us, just gushed back to my mind, as I enter this post. Someone said farewells are part and parcel of life, and make one more mature... I have to agree with that.. And it is not going to be the same anymore when I go back to office next Monday, alone and having no one around to look up to, having to stand on my own feet from now on. No more fooling around as someone else gonna look up to me, as a role model.

Summer school has ended but I felt as if it never begun. For one thing is that Prof Babin is right, it's a difficult class, not because of the course requirements, but cos no one can really focus and give off their best. The power of context which was a concept emphasized in class is so ironically true as the students influence each other, resulting in a less 'competitive' environment. Nevertheless, as much I would like to focus on energy and time on it, I know I have at least remembered most of the concepts taught in class. Like the power of stickiness and power of the few, from the book, The Tipping Point. It takes just such a little something to create a storm.
The part part of the course is where I could relate the concepts taught to the social networking industry, where my company resides.

Yesterday was US' independence day but I spent in a rather unconventional way. Went to the Woodbury premium outlets with Nadia and her Club SG friends. It was a gruesome 3hours away and by the time we reached, we exited the car like a bunch of kids that had been forced to sit for too long. Shopping was quite relaxing, as I mostly shopped for my customers, so it is kinda of guiltless. But I did get a 17usd white skirt from Armani(my fav brand!) and a 15usd top for my mummy from Espirit. Everything is so ridiculously affordable here. My friend, Cynthia, got a Fendi bag for $140! wow...

We returned to Philly at 1230 and headed to Target where I went to redeem my $10 gift card from Ebates.com. Bought my sunscreen (finally), cereal, bath towel (finally) and stuff... hahah the mart is so humongous! It's easy to get lost here.

The day trip ended with a bang when we went to eat dinner at an Indonesian cafe. We wolfed down fried chicken, curry, veg curry, satay and iced coffee... Yum!!

To commensurate Independence day, Nadia and I went to the Arts Museum. It was quite unexpectedly unentertaining as the artists performing are unknown to us, even John Legends. We left because of the rain, and ironically before the fireworks started, when it was the main reason that brought us here. Sigh hahah.... wat a tiring day!

Trail run at Fairmount!

2008-06-29T07:36:00.003+08:00

I wished I joined the Fairmount runners on their Sat morning trail runs earlier! But my Fridays nights are usually filled with those stuff that resulted in a late sleep-in on Saturdays... Anyway, I will make it a point to go for Saturday trainings from now on.

At 8.20am (ungodly hour right?) Nadia and I met to take the septa subway to city hall, where we had to change to bus 33 to 20th Fairmount ave. I wasn't sure of the bus stop at first and approached the bus 32 conductor. But before I could speak to him, I stared in amazement when the lady in front of me planted a kiss on his skin. The thing I couldn't figure out is that she had paid for her bus fare so the kiss is definitely not for the sake of hitching a free ride. Anyway, the friendly driver gave me proper directions to the bus stop and within 5 mins from reaching the stop, bus 33 came along, much to our delight. The inconvenient problem with Philly is that 20th and Fairmount is actually rather close to where we live, in fact, we can run up to the place in 30 mins at a comfortable pace, but there are just no direct public transport route to the place.

Soon, we found ourselves near the Eastern State Pennetary, waiting for Bennett, my club president to arrive and fetch us to the hills at Fairmount to run. Accompanying us was Steve, the first club member I really got to know, since the time when we walked together to the pub for happy hour. He's working at the Upenn Alumni house so Nadia and I had quite a few topics to chat with him about. Sometimes, I think he's really kind-hearted and innocent compared to the other Americans I have come to know here. I wonder if he ever loses his temper before but I doubt. This kind of people are really suited for a job in the education and service industry I realize.

As we whizzed past the green scenery in Benett's car, I just stared in awe out of the window. There were many stone bridges which towered over us, hills that dwarfed those along the roadside of Macritchie reservoirs and the neverending stretch of the Schuylkill river. When we alighted, the sight of the entrance to the trail just reminded me so much of Macritchie Reservoir and the gush of memories to my head left me dizzy with nostalgia. We just started our stopwatch and lost ourselves among the greenaries.

But Macritchie can never be as hilly as where we ran. During the annual cross country race, there will be this steep slope before the route opens into the main road that everyone dreads. But here, there are an uncountable number of them. I wished I have at least gymmed for the past 5 days before coming here. However, the pace was comfortable and we had to slow down most of the time to avoid slipping down the muddy downhill sections and to land properly on the rocks as we ran along the face of the hill. One interesting thing about the trail is that instead of normal wooden bridges that span across the river, there were huge pipe like stone structures instead. One careless slip on it will just send one stumbling down into an abyss of stones and whatnots. But on the whole, I felt this great sense of accomplishment as we ran back into the carpark. At least the fattening food I have eaten over the last five days now have somewhere to escape. Steve sent us to the university area after Bennett dropped us off near the Arts museum. (see I said he's nice) Nadia and I indulged in a Dunkin Donuts' breakfast before heading off home.

My own project

2008-06-27T01:09:00.008+08:00

All the research on social networking and marketing prompted me to think about how to improve the user's experience and the interactivity on my website.I am definitely going to start a blog but what are the topics I can explore? Savings on brands?Let me know if you have any idea!

From http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080625005350&newsLang=en,

Interesting points from 'Consumers Want to Talk to Brands, Finds ExpoTV Survey'

Survey Shows that Willingness to Engage With and Listen to Consumers Increases Brand Advocacy

Fifty-five percent of consumers want an ongoing dialogue with brands, according to a recent survey conducted by ExpoTV, exploring how direct consumer engagement creates brand advocacy. The survey also revealed that positive brand experiences can generate word-of-mouth buzz: more than 60 percent of those polled said they tell 10 or more people about the products they like while a third tell 20 or more people.

Such is the power of word of mouth marketing!Instead of talking down to the customers and guessing what they want, brands should engage their customers in conversations, know their needs better. But is this strategy limited to big brands?

The willingness of a company to engage with consumers directly impacts loyalty and can even lead to increased purchase intent. In fact, 89 percent of respondents would feel more loyal to brands which invited them to participate in a feedback group, and 92 percent of those who have a positive experience communicating with a brand will recommend purchasing a product from that brand to someone they know.

By showing that they care about their customers, customers will certainly feel the sense of gratification to return them a favor by developing loyalty to the brand. Customers feel good as they are empowered in a way.

While consumers are interested in engaging in a dialogue with brands around customer support and pricing, the survey showed that they are most interested in discussing product design.

Survey respondents were also interested in communicating about brands’ efforts to improve existing products and share positive experiences.

In fact, 93 percent of consumers surveyed would be interested or very interested in communicating with competitive brands that expressed interest in their feedback.

We want to be part of the process!

Admit it.. our lives are changing online

2008-06-19T21:22:00.003+08:00

Adapted from http://blogs.forrester.com/Never_Ending_Frieding_April_2007.pdf

It is scary, thinking about how we have changed the way we use the internet, in the matter of 10 years. I remembered how I used to use the internet just to check mails, go IRC or ICQ and visit websites. Then to blog. And now to use networking websites to connect, interact and simply share my opinions and my knowledge. The thing is that I am perpetually logged into those websites. Just imagine, if what I do, what I say in these online places are tagged and logged by some companies somewhere, what would they do with it?
One day, when I was checking out my items on a online shopping website, I was directed to a page asking if I am interested to subscribe to Reader's Digest, my favorite magazine online. Well, I'm not surprised.

Do we still have privacy these days?

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-13T04:59:00.001+08:00

2008-06-13T04:38:00.002+08:00

Have I posted anything about my trip to orlando yet? Anyway, here's the dishes I whipped up there! Looking at them makes me salivate already...

A summary of my life on NOC

2008-06-05T23:29:00.003+08:00

NOC Biovalley— My experiences in Philly

Philadelphia— "the City of Brotherly Love", the first capital in the United States,
the centerpiece of early American history. I have been fortunate enough to be selected for the Jan ‘08 NOC programme and to spend one entire year in this city rich with history and culture. The first few weeks whizzed past in a flash as everyone struggled to fight jet lag, look for accommodation and settle administrative matters. As soon as we get accustomed to our surroundings, it was time to travel! I would not say that we were the adventurous type, as the first place we hit was the factory outlets at Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shopping, as we soon discovered, would become an integral part of our life in United States. Brands like Coach, Guess, Ralph Lauren Polo etc had become affordable to most of us for the first time in our life. The best thing is that it is alright to shop on impulse as one can always return the item and the sales personnel never seems to mind.

Shopping aside, we also visited other cities for the sake of widening our horizons, such as New York (of course!), Washington DC, Boston, Baltimore, Connecticut and Cape Cod. Most of the time we would take a bus, but recently, we had finally gathered enough courage to go on a road trip. What is so unique about each city is that there are always some intriguing stories behind them. For instance, Boston, Connecticut and Cape Cod are located in the region interestingly called the New England, as it has been known that the English Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution in Europe first settled there in 1620. While some people prioritize visiting places of attraction, it is important for me that I learn about the history and culture of the place that I visit. The objective of traveling for me has always been to learn and appreciate more about the differences between Singapore and the rest of the world.

In case you are wondering, NOC is not just about play. It is also about a lot of work. Compared to NUS, the University of Pennsylvania is indeed very different, not only in its type of education, but the characteristics of the professors, the students and the professor-student relationships. While it is rare to see students interrupting the professor and asking questions or presenting their opinions in a typical NUS Chemical Engineering lecture or tutorial, it is the norm over at Upenn. It seems like every student’s primary task is to get the teacher to remember their names by the end of the first week, and failing to do so would adversely affect his or her grades. Unlike NUS, class participation usually takes up a tremendous component of the overall grade. However, as aggressive as it sounds, it is really a testament to their culture of tolerating and encouraging failures as people participate in class without fear of giving the wrong answer. Learning to become more vocal and to think with greater speed and depth are some of the common take away after a semester at Upenn.

Learning opportunities go beyond the classroom, as it is compulsory for us to serve as an intern to one of the start up companies in Philadelphia. I have been truly lucky to be granted my first choice company Orbius Corporation. It is a social media networking company which allows users like us to build our own communities (think NUS Chemical engineers and ChESS) for free. There are several features like the forum, the resource library and image gallery that are provided to enhance interaction among the community members. As my company is very new, I am able to apply most of the concepts which I learnt during my course, Engineering Entrepreneurship. Not only that, my boss is a seasoned entrepreneur who has started 1 other companies and worked for 5 early stage companies like eMoney, which has been acquired by Commerce Bank. It is not difficult to see why he is so successful and each week, he would offer us insights into the web 2.0 arena or motivational stories pertaining to his entrepreneurial background. What I appreciate the most was his insistence that we are given freedom to consider the important tasks we need to do for the company and take responsibility for our own actions. This level of autonomy granted has set free the creative juices that I did not know I had. Moreover, the fact that the majority of the employees are young also means that I have little problem clicking with everyone. In Orbius, I see limitless opportunities to grow as a person and hopefully become closer to fulfilling my dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

The advice for NUS students who are considering the application for NOC is that they should question themselves about how clear they are about the goals to be accomplished for the one year programme. They need to constantly remind themselves that they need to be open-minded, as well as to have self motivation with regards to what they want to accomplish. In Philadelphia, there are countless opportunities for one to learn about entrepreneurship. For example, there are frequent networking sessions for those who hope to enlarge their social circle and learn from the other entrepreneurs who have been there and done that. As long as one is understand what he or she is here for, and plan how they would go about realizing their objectives, this one year in Biovalley would definitely be an enriching and fulfilling one.

Interesting article on economist.com

2008-06-04T04:41:00.001+08:00

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2008/05/continuing_our_weekly_series_o.cfm?Fsrc=glvrnwl

Some really funny excerpts:
• To avoid losing face, some Singaporeans will avoid saying “no” outright. Body language will often provide more clues than what is actually said.

• Singaporeans tend to hang around in the office till late—often even if there is no pressing work to do—because of the traditional perception that late workers are hard workers.

• Food is a very important part of Singaporean culture. The city-state has a huge and rich variety of food, and much emphasis is placed on eating out and talking about food.

• Do not be surprised if conversation grinds to a halt once the meal has been served. Singaporeans are passionate about their food, and many will prefer to enjoy their meal in silence punctuated by food-related comments. So true!

Funny posts from Facebook by NUS Chem engineers

2008-05-23T02:20:00.001+08:00

Hui Min Koh (Singapore) wrote at 2:20am on February 22nd, 2008 Fluid Mechanics is the most sucky course I studied in NUS Chemical Engineering.. Two sucky and boring lecturers and very complicated Maths. But I like Mass Transfer though, because it is one of the most important subject in Chemical Engineering. The two HMT lecturers are good.
Report

YeeKiat Tan wrote at 9:07am on January 6th, 2008 Never get CN2116 because of some corequisite nonsense! What on earth. I hate CORS.
Report

Kung Guangyi wrote
at 10:13pm on December 26th, 2007

Is everyone still alive and well?

Aurora Kwok wrote
at 9:27am on October 18th, 2007

YAY! There's a pic of prof zeng!
He's so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuutttttttttteeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Daniel Ong wrote
at 10:33am on September 12th, 2007

ChE is getting harder.. and harder!

... I like :) hahaha siao already :)

YeeKiat Tan wrote
at 3:51pm on September 7th, 2007

Who here understands Fluid Mechanics???

Kung Guangyi wrote
at 11:43am on August 2nd, 2007

Can't change the group name, cos it is fixed. But i've added 2006-2010 to the group description.

Frederick Chan wrote
at 5:55am on July 23rd, 2007

Do you all need to flood the wall?? lol

anyway maybe you should have renamed the group as ChE 2006-2010?

Daniel Ong wrote
at 10:43pm on April 28th, 2007

i think the problem is that not many people have facebook.

mostly people who go overseas start one, not those who're here.

send out mass mail psycho-ing your friends to join? lol

I miss Sg food!

2008-05-21T04:12:00.003+08:00

Craving for bubble tea now...

And Bak Chok Mee now...

Missing medal

2008-05-20T01:51:00.004+08:00

While googling for pages with my name as the search keywords, I just realise that I got 3rd for the age group category but I didn't know that and didn't collect my medal that day! Hope they still have it with them =(

UNIVERSITY CITY 5K RUN             FEMALE AGES 20 TO 29
  1.Rena Stimmel         Gibsonia,PA        22 F    47      183    19:58   6:26
  2.Madeline Olsen       Hammonton,NJ       20 F    56      317    20:13   6:30
  3.Yee Ling Tan         Philadelphia,PA    22 F    67      304    20:46   6:41
  4.Alexandra Malkin     Philadelphia,PA    21 F    70      112    20:54   6:44
  5.Danielle Estabrook   Philadelphia,PA    22 F    78      221    21:19   6:52
  6.Megan Corcoran       Philadelphia,PA    21 F    80       21    21:37   6:57
  7.Ashley Henning       Drexel Hill,PA     24 F    81      212    21:40   6:58
  8.Elizabeth Kelley     Washington,DC      28 F    94      245    22:18   7:11
  9.Jessica Jaquith      Philadelphia,PA    20 F    98       71    22:20   7:11
 10.Kristi Decarlo       Newtown,PA         28 F   107       28    22:50   7:21

Pisces

2008-05-18T12:07:00.000+08:00

Pisces ( The fish) February 19-March 20

Dominating Characteristics

* They believe that every one should help each other.
* They are talented in music or Fine arts.
* Their intuitive nature helps them solve others problems.
* They face life with philosophical calmness.
* They are broadminded, good natured and peace loving.

Character Analysis

Pisces belong to the watery sign ruled by two planets Jupiter and Neptune. It is symbolised by two fishes in the opposite direction. They have dual nature. They often intend to do a thing but they end up doing the other. They are gifted with wide visionary powers and they are capable of conceiving grand schemes. When it comes to executing them they become timid and lose confidence. They are very romantic, kind hearted and emotional. They lack stability and will power. They need constant reminders and encouragement. Their vacillating nature makes them take up projects and abandon it later. Pisces are fond of comfort and quiet life. They find excuses for shrinking away from duties. They are very fond of children and animals. They are superstitious but if given a chance they turn out to be good psychic investigators and psychiatrists.

Just a quick blogpost

2008-05-16T00:41:00.002+08:00

Just a quick blogpost
yesterday we got a bday celebration
it was crazy
the guys started ordering jugs of beer
then the bday boy drank till he is drunk and he started talking loudly to bypassers,
shaking hand with them, then we just continue drinking and alll... i din drink though
Then at the end there was a grand finale...
Someone tips over a table full of glasses
and the glasses fell and broke
What a night!
We were chased away from the White Dog cafe =(

2008-05-11T23:40:00.002+08:00

I just realise how dependent I have grown to be on my laptop when I forgot, for the second time to bring my laptop charger home from office for the weekend...
Luckily Huizhi allowed me to use her laptop but I still needed to work with my laptop! So, I have been fighting with people over the library study booths where there are IBM laptops. I've figured out that I could use the charger to charge my own laptop but I really hope there won't be a third time...

Since it has been a while since I posted something more substantial about my life, I shall devote my last 15 minutes at home to blogging. Going to the library again to fight over laptop charger you see...

School is almost out, with the exception of my last final paper tomorrow. I'm like really irritated with myself these days, as I have been really unfocused during my preparations. Maybe not bringing the charger home is a blessing in disguise as I'm forced to study with the absence of a laptop in front of me, beckoning to me. But as I told Darren, I've become someone who needs a sense of urgency to work efficiently. I need to have lots of things planned for me in one day so that I will truly prioritize my time and focus. He said I am someone who perform under pressure but I guess it is something different. I am just conditioned to have no personal time or rest so having more time to myself now really make me feel lost instead.

But at least, I have already my two weeks of no school planned out!
Mon 12 May I'm going to learn cooking from Amin, Huizhi's colleague who drives us to work everyday
Tue 13 May to meet up with Upenn Management and Technology department to help them with setting an orb on http://www.orbius.com (go visit my company's website) and attend Fairmount Runners training as usual!
Wed 14 May Go for work and then attend a talk by David Noteware
Thur 15 May back to work and drive off to North Carolina at night! =)
Fri to Sun Gonna have fun in North Carolina!

Drexel 5K Run!

2008-05-04T06:03:00.003+08:00

I just participated at the Drexel 5K run at 31st and Chestnut street at 11am today. Guess what, I got fifth for women category! I was able to catch up and stay at the 3rd position at first but I think my legs are really not conditioned to run for a while so I slowly slipped to the 5th position. Well, at least I overtook the gal in front of me just before I ended the race =) I must say that this is my first but most pleasant race ever. When we reached at the finishing line, there are chips, cookies, bananas, peach, oranges and drinks greeting us. After we cooled down, there was a marvellous spread of saliva-inducing food after the run. Talk about gaining back the calories I just lost man. Shit haha

2008-05-02T12:12:00.000+08:00

When I am at a crunch point, I must:

1. Stay calm

2. Be confident in my abilities

3. Dare to go forward

4. Get the facts

5. Take control

6. Cut my losses

7. Manage the crisis

8. Communicate constantly

9. Identify my constraints or determining factor

10.Unleash my creativity, any problem is solvable

11. Focus on key results areas

12.Concentrate on priories

13.Counterattack the problem!

14.Generate cash flow

15.Care for your customers

16.Close more sales

17.Keep things simple

18.Conserve your energy

19.Make your connection

20. Character is king

21.Resolve to persist until you succeed

2008-04-29T06:55:00.000+08:00

Shopaholic Confessions

What I've bought at factory outlets and online over the last 4 months:

1. Old navy shorts $9.49

2. Old navy bag $6.99

3. 2 Old navy tank tops $20

4. 1 Urban outfitters pink tank $4.99

5. 1 UO dress $19.99

6. 2 victoria's secret bras $40

7. 1 VS black tube top $15

6. 1 Forever 21 shorts 9.50

7. 1 Forever 21 jeans $12.90

8. 1 Forever 21 vest $12.90

9. 1 Forever 21 earrings $3.90

10. 1 Forever 21 knit top $11.50, bra $4.50

11. 1 American eagle bra $14.99

12. 1 American eagle slippers $11.49

13. 1 nine west high heeled boots

14. 1 Guess high heeled clogs $24.99

15. 1 UO hinged wallet $9.99

16. Lancome sunblock,body scrub, blusher,contour powder

17. 1 GAP jeans $9.99

18. 1 GAP long sleeve $5

19. 1 Tommy long sleeve $12.99

20. 1 tommy cardigan $19.99

21. 1 old navy cardigan $19.99

22. 1 kennethcole down jacket $49.99

2008-04-29T00:21:00.002+08:00

Do you really think that Facebook is earning big bucks? Think again. There is 'no revenue model embedded in its core business'.

Taken from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/125/nings-infinite-ambition.html
"
"It would be very difficult for MySpace or Facebook to shift gears and directly offer a competing service to us," says Bianchini. "They have a huge set of technical challenges just scaling what they're already doing, and we have spent three years building a serious architecture and technology lead for what we do." She says one of her engineers compared that kind of course correction with "swapping out the engine of a 747 during midflight."
By the time Facebook -- or anyone else -- could do that, Ning may well have ridden its double viral loop to impregnability. Because once it hits critical mass, the road is paved.
Then no one can stop it. "

2008-04-22T08:35:00.001+08:00

"Success comes to those that dare to dream dreams and foolish enough to try and make them come true..."

I hope I am foolish enough!

2008-04-17T04:51:00.002+08:00

An interesting article related to my internship company...

MySpace, Facebook: Big not always better

CNN.com says "Forget Facebook, MySpace or any other online hangout that boasts tens or hundreds of millions of people.

Katie Ellis, 23, a tri-athlete, uses Athlinks as a networking site and even finds people she has unknowingly raced against.

For Teresa Munoz, Athlinks, population 34,000, is the place to be."

This lady can't find the people she can connect with for the sport.

This totally sounds out the focus of my company:

"Social-networking sites geared toward hobbies, sports and other specific interests -- alongside those targeting certain age groups, ethnicities or diseases -- are finding growing success as supplements to the larger online hangouts or even as replacements."

Join Orbius today!

Another argument for looking elsewhere for building communities:

"Why not MySpace or Facebook? Ellis said that after seeing her older brother use both, she's concluded "I think it's a waste of time." "

There is certainly a problem of "finding the right groups and identifying the most dedicated members" when it comes to building online communities.

Someone who is interested in joining few craft-related groups, tried doing that on Facebook but "found participants "all really young, immature and not very knitting-literate.""

2008-04-10T02:48:00.002+08:00

Really happy yesterday and these are the reasons why:

-got 10 bucks for participating in a behavioral experiment
-joined the Fairmount runners for my first track training in USA ever and made friends!
-Got a starbucks mocha frappuccino on the house when my PNC linked Upenn card cannot be used to pay
-Had a good meeting with Upenn's Weiss Tech House to organise an Engineering Day for children between 7 to 10 years old
-Lots of new orders for Shopaholic!

Quite Happy today too because...

-Had a good idea for how my Bioethics class can use Orbius as a platform to discuss about relevant issues
-received all my online shopping items!
-Had a really fruitful and enjoyable lunch with Andy, my colleague at work!

2008-04-06T02:35:00.001+08:00

Interesting extracts from my readings for Bioethics and Responsible principles for Engineers module:

"Biophysical characteristics are sometimes associated with
a consumer’s ability to recognize and protect one’s self from
persuasion attempts (Laczniak, Muehling, and Carlson 1995)
and the ability to understand the implications of marketing
messages (Laczniak and Murphy 1993; Rittenburg and
Parasarathy 1997). Sometimes these biophysical characteristics
are used to advance the “dumb consumer model” (Calfee
and Ringold 1992), which posits sellers can deceive consumers
and consumers are helpless to resist. At other times, populations
with these biophysical characteristics are used to
advance the notion of a “smart consumer model” (Calfee and
Ringold 1992), where the consumers recognize that sellers
are trying to stimulate a purchase and they are active agents in
their own consumption decisions. Calfee and Ringold (1992)
believe in the “smart consumer model” more than its alternative,
but the alternative does allow for the possibility that
there may be times when consumers truly are unable to be
“smart.”

Beware of what advertisements could do to you!

My recent online purchases!

2008-04-04T22:58:00.008+08:00

Been shopping a lot online.! here are my bargains:

From Victoria's Secrets!

From Forever21!

Apple iPhone Ad: Facebook

2008-03-27T14:11:00.001+08:00

2008-03-18T12:51:00.002+08:00

40 Tips for Better Life - 2008
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree..
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. GOD heals almost everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36. Call your family often.
37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

2008-03-16T08:50:00.002+08:00

I dunno what possessed me to make a trip down to Baltimore on my own but there had been an invisible force pushing me to come down here to find my friend Lynn. To tell the truth, we were not even that close, because we had known each other since the track and field days in Hwa Chong and later platoon mates in army but we are not those friends who can discuss heart to heart matters. However, after 1 and a half days with her, I realized that we have more than these memories in common. Not sure if she felt the same way but I think we could become really good friends.

So in good faith, I went to the greyhound station alone, cursing my courage to go Baltimore alone and feeling intimated by the sheer numbers of strangers around me. The queue to take the bus to Baltimore was really long, unexpectedly. I hopped onto the greyhound bus 5 mins after my arranged departure time, feeling fortunate that I wasn’t left behind. One thing I really thought greyhound should improve on is that way of doing business—to print more tickets than there are seats on the bus.

As I had been sleeping 4 to 5 hours for the 3 days prior to departure, I felt really drowsy on the bus but common sense tells me to not let my guard down and I was actually half conscious all the way there. Can hardly call this catching 40 winks as I felt more tired when I reached Baltimore after more than 2 hours. I felt even more insecure when I alighted as I was the odd one out there. Luckily I met a nice taxi driver who asked me if I want to take a taxi and directed me to the next driver who comes along. My first impression of Baltimore is certainly a very good one. This is like my third time taking the taxi here but the previous experiences seemed so horrible compared to this one. I chatted happily with the driver, who appeared to be in his late twenties until I reached Baltimore, downtown.

I was greeted by Lynn and her friend, Nancy, who looked Singaporean though she is a Chinese. I felt a little self conscious at first but just reminded myself to open up, which I didn’t regretted. We took a short walk around the area, allowing me to take in the beautiful sights of the place. It’s highly built up but has the peacefulness one would find at a sophiscated and modern place. I noticed the cheesecake factory and coincidentally, Lynn and her friend also recommended the place to me. After walking around the mall, I just decided to pop into the restaurant to get a Kahlua cheesecake to try. It tasted rather different from those I had in Singapore in that it is softer and smoother, and the crust hinted of kahlua and coffee, rather than the usual greasy cookie.

We caught the shuttle bus back to John Hopkins University half an hour later to return to their hostel. I was amazed by the number of historical buildings in the area, and I realized that coming to USA has fueled my appetite for the history and culture of country. I had a good chat with them, learning about the differences in Baltimore and Philadelphia. As much as I know I would be accused of thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, I think I truly prefer Baltimore. These are many similarities in terms of the social make up here but the people and their behaviors towards other people are so different. Pardon me for zooming to the next day when I was making my way back to greyhound station. I met this old African American taxi driver who is so nice. I wished I got his name. I forgot that I left my computer with Lynn and he had to u-turn and drive me back to where he fetched me. He waited for me legally by the road and asked me what time is the bus that I am trying to catch. I told him that I only have 20 mins left to departure and he just tried his bus to fly me to the station. He took an alternative route to avoid the St Patrick’s day traffic, and was honked at when he had to brake for the red light but he braked slowly so that I would not lurched forward. When I tell him how I love his service, he told me that he is just giving me himself, behaving as who he is. He said that this applies to business, do onto others, what you want others to do onto yourself. And that the good service will come back to him when he gives others good service. My respect for him and people like him just hit a high. I think Obama and people like my dear taxi uncle are really movers and shakers of the society, we need more of them everywhere.

So yup back to my first hour in Baltimore, I reached Lynn’s hostel really exhausted and found it really hard to fight the zee monster. I wanted to do up all the stuff in my to do list but I was very spaced out and unfocused. Ended up taking a shower and soon her friends came by to play wii. Lynn has just purchased her Wii set recently and it’s my first time playing it despite hearing all the hype about it. I saw Wii in a different light—it’s not just a brainless playing tool, but one that brings people together and even network. Such is the future of games. Arcade might just be put out of business man.

I played a few rounds of bishy basy like games with them before surrendering myself to sleep and I slept despite the loud laughter and noises from the Wii.

I slept well in polo and shorts, the first ever in USA since I came here in the middle of winter. Woke at about 8.20am, washed up and started tidying up some stuff in Shopaholic and signed up for mail account for it, called shopaholic@singapore.com. =) There are so many things that I have yet done yet but I just had to leave it to some other time. Baltimore here I come!

At 9am, Lynn and I walked to Pete’s grille for pancakes and along the way, there was a Waverly market. It was like pasar malam without the lights and strong smell of cooked food. There are the usual European styled fruits stalls and those selling flowers, finger food, coffee and accessories. A very interesting and colorful sight indeed.

There were lots of early birds at the very restaurant (Pete’s grille) where Michael Phelps had his pancakes breakfast when he was training here. We ordered pancakes and egg to share. It gave me a homely feeling to enjoy thick fluffy pancakes here, unlike the microwaved ones I ate at Wawa (aka philly 7-eleven). However, the bill came up a shocking 3 bucks more cos the waitress said we shared. She could have told us! It’s not that we are trying to save money, but rather, trying to save food. But I was determined not to let this experience ruin my trip. Lynn kindly brought me on a campus tour, pointing out to me the different buildings in her school. It reminded me greatly of Harvard, due to the uniform red bricked buildings. A really nice campus. The large stretches of grass just made me want to just lay down there and watch the world go by. But I guess this is a trade off for the time I would learn talking to people, learning new things and getting enlightened.

We chatted as if we are old friends and I felt this weird connection to her. It would be called chemistry between a male and a female but I just felt I finally found someone who could emphasize and understand me in USA. We discussed a lot of things, from the lessons we learnt in USA so far, the independence and liberty that people enjoy here and how we could make Singapore better. I told Lynn that if she could move onto the civil service, I would support her cos we certainly need people like her to bring Singapore forward. As I blogged here, I was fully conscious of who would see my entry here so please feel free to email me at unresolvedd@gmail.com if you want to know more or discuss about related topics.

We went to the John Hopkins bookstore where I contributed to my collection of postcards again. Got Amin a shirt to thank him for driving us to work and always inspiring me.

At 12noon, we caught the shuttle to Peabody institute then walk around to explore. It really looks like the filming place for Step Up 2. we walked uphill to a nice café where I grabbed my first cappuccino for days cos I was feeling that my actions were rather uncoordinated due to fatigue. I saw a Le cathedral de Notre Dame lookalike along the way too. How I miss France!!

We walked to Lexington Market to take a look at the numerous food stalls there. It’s so totally like Fanueil/Quincy market in Boston. Then back to the Inner Harbour where I visited when I just arrived. It looks so beautiful and bustling in the day. We walked out to walk toward Little Italy and went into a restaurant where Lynn knows it’s famous for the Italian food in the area. We order lasagna and prawns on bread with cream(forgot the name!) cos I had the idea of comparing the real Italian lasagna to my impression of it. I applauded myself for the choice as the cheese they use here is so different as they use ricotta cheese, not so much mozzarella. The thing that enhanced my experience there is that the waitress would come up with the mozzarella cheese grinder and spread the cheese flakes onto the lasagna before me. Yum!

It was a hearty meal, complemented by the thoughtful discussion we had about her future plans to open a restaurant. In retrospect, I was really glad that I took the chance to approach her and talk to her back in the jc days. In Facebook, my fortune cookie say makes friend before you need them. How eerily true.

We took a long stroll to the Pilango Gelato place where the gelato ice cream, to quote Lynn, makes me raise my level of expectations for gelato ice cream. I had tiramisu and hazelnut favours while she had granny smith and another fruity taste. And my tastebuds started to doubt if I can find any better ice cream, especially in Philly. My trip at Baltimore ended there but I left, knowing that it is a place I would definitely visit again. And in good faith that Lynn and I would form meaningful friendships in this land of the free.

2008-03-16T08:48:00.005+08:00

My online shopping and shipping website has launched at http://www.shopaholic.spruz.com. Please support me by going to and provide me with feedback at shopaholic@singapore.com :) help me spread the word too! My partners are my good friend from NUs chem engine, Huiling and my bf, Zj.

Circumstances do not make Man; they merely reveal him to himself. I got to create my own success by exposing myself and leveraging on the opportunities that present to me.

2008-03-16T08:48:00.004+08:00

More than two months into my journey in US—a bittersweet mixture of emotions has been evoked upon that thought. Like how Robert Frost felt when he took the road less taken and look back and wonder what would have happened if he had taken the other road instead. But one thing I’m sure about is that I had done and would be achieving things I would never think or dream about achieving before here. Maybe it’s how much more we value our time here, since we only have one year here. When you know you gonna lose something soon, you tend to treasure it more.

The week following my birthday had gone extremely well. I simply had a new perspective of the life here, looking at things in a different light. Sometimes I wonder why hadn’t I felt that way earlier. Maybe I was focusing on the closed door in life that I failed to notice the door open behind me. Now that I found it, I gonna make a dash for it before it closes on me. I just felt that my real potential hasn’t been developed fully just yet and I felt thrilled at the thought of the possibility of proving my worth soon.

What have been life changing in my life: My experience at internship— the freedom and responsibility I am bestowed upon; the limitless possibilities that I'm exposed to; my realization of the incredible power of teamwork.

If I could pinpoint one single moment in my last 2 months here that had been exhilaratingly life changing for me, it would be my breakfast encounter with Marc Kramer, my mentor. CH, my boss is right. Behind every successful person, there is a mentor who has guided and motivated her. Marc encourages me to participate in networking sessions, introduces me to successful people whom I would like to meet. He was almost like a godsend, considering that I had just conceived a business idea one week before my birthday. I told him about it and instantly, I was enlightened by his suggestion of how to scale up my business. Like ZJ, he encouraged me to write a biz plan on it and that inspired me to create another milestone for my new business, to win business competition and expand it as quickly as possible in my remaining ten months here.

I think I mentioned it earlier but for the past weeks i really realise the importance of managing interpersonal relationship. But sometimes all it takes is not to worry about it. Sometimes, things will have a way to work out itself.

For those of you who read the newspapers will know about the president candidates coming to Philly to campaign. Some of my friends had asked me about the political climate in US. To be honest, i dunno much about the current situation. From what little I think having Obama as the president will be life changing for the african americans here. Well, at first i wanted clinton cos i think it'll offer a new perspective for U with a lady president. No matter what happened, I just wish the best for the future of America.

The Best day of my life

2008-03-12T04:13:00.001+08:00

One day after my birthday... The best day of my life... Will elaborate more later...

Ski Trip in Poconos!

2008-03-05T13:02:00.001+08:00

2008-03-05T12:38:00.002+08:00

I wonder if anyone still reads my blog other than my loyal sister... Anyway, if that's the case, I'll just bare my soul here... as if..

It's weird how things change as quickly as the weather here... The temperature was hovering around zero last week and it rises up to 17 degrees this week... It was so hectic last week, but I suddenly feel so relaxed these days... And I was well last week, but down with a high fever this week =( at least we're going Boston this weekend! Let all the worries stay behind in philly...

I can't help but wonder if I was in NUS now, instead of here on a chair in an apartment in Philadelphia, would I be feeling the myriad of tension, fear, anxiety, confusion, hope and envy that I feel right now? And if I was in NUS, would I so eagerly seek out learning opportunities? Would I reflect as much as I do these days? I hope at the end of all these, I can look back in hindsight that the trade offs I've made are entirely worth it...

Alright something less melancholic... As promised, I will launch my US clothes and accessories shipping business on 10 mar, my bday!! Anyone who is eyeing anything from the US now please email me the picture and website to unresolvedd@gmail.com! Satisfaction guaranteed!

2008-02-28T03:04:00.003+08:00

I taught it will be an entrepreneurial talk like all others, generic and boring. The only difference about it is that I actually conducted a detailed research on the speaker before the class, just so I can prepare the questions I need to hand up.

The moment I saw Andy in class, I knew the talk is going to be different. One thing is that he is not caucasian, he is a chinese. American born chinese most likely. I was hooked from the moment he mentioned to us that he was a chemical engineer back in Upenn and that he hated it. Yeah, I hate Chemical engineering but being on NOC has presented me a new perspective of this major and the opportunities it would provide me. There are really a lot of entrepreneurs who majored in Chemical engineering and a lot of industries hiring Chemical engineers. Loreal, for example, hires Chemical engineers for its R & D efforts, which I learnt from the Society of Women engineers dinner that I attended at the Inn at Penn.

So Andy was a normal person who joined the workforce after graduation. But what I really admire about him is that he had the courage to move out of his comfort zone, when he had a stable income, enjoyed his relaxing lifestyle and had all his needs met. He simply felt that he needed more challenges in his life and he just went out to strike out a business on his own. Somehow I share his sentiments, as I have never seen myself as someone who would stay on a single job all my life, unless I own that company. I would simply be bored stiff simply doing the same old stuff day in day out. When he mentioned about his enlightening experience when he visited an entrepreneur's home and realising that he want to live the life of a financially free entrepreneur, I realise that is my dream too. Deep inside my heart, I want to prove to myself that I can do something like that, and give my parents something to be proud of and a good life for their old age.

From the experiences which he shared with us during the talk, I learnt the importance of finding a niche for oneself and leveraging on the strengths she has to make meaningful changes to her life and in what she does. I had no idea what my strengths back when I began college but I have a better idea these days. One thing for sure is that I learn fast and I could make connections between different things to make sense of the situation quickly. Sometimes I may not be able to see the whole picture as I am someone who pays attention to details. Yeah, I'm still in the middle of a self discovery.

It seems strange but the last 3 days seem to be specially arranged for me to become a person who is less risk averse. Like I was telling everyone, the most important lesson that I had in skiing over the weekend was about confronting my fears and overcoming them. Today's lesson was a reminder that if I fear failure, I will never be able to get to the other side, where my dream comes true.

First Few weeks in Philly

2008-02-17T10:42:00.001+08:00

New York trip!

2008-02-17T10:26:00.001+08:00

2008-02-17T01:50:00.003+08:00

Updates to my life so far...

I admit that I have been lazy... to update my blog... But the procrastination has also been buoyed by the long list of things I need to complete each day, of which includes entertainment and travelling haah anyway, today's like the day which I've spent the most amount of time alone at home.. wanted to go sing ktv and skipped the dim sum session with my peers to catch up on my reading but the ktv session was ultimately cancelled... darn

The last two nights had been quite extraordinary indeed... yesterday was as usual a tiring day at work but at least I feel that I'm more in control right now, as I am much more aware of the problems associated with our website... the fun began the moment I landed back on home ground, Trina, Huizhi and I are going to watch our first basketball match ever in US! The match was between Upenn and Brown and it's apparently quite a big thing. I din realize that right next to my Ethics lesson building that is the famous Palestra, our huge, spectacular indoor sports stadium. There're popcorn, hotdogs booths much like those at the national stadium in Singapore. But it's actually a special event for Upenn students today cos for a small price of 10 usd, we get a green shirt as junior students, hotdog, pretzel and a drink and entry for the basketball match. The crowd and atmosphere inside the stadium could match those national interschool basketball or netball finals in Singapore... a rekindling of those fond memories indeed

As the game began, adrenaline started to pump through my blood and soon I was like screaming my head off, as if I had been a part of upenn all my life. felt that strange sense of belonging and proud feeling that I'm actually part of the ivy league, the big five... It's an unbelievably tough fight between Brown and Upenn but Brown was clearly stronger from the start... But the reluctance to throw in the towel was most admirable of the upenn team.. the funny thing that happened after that was we decided to go gym at 10pm! It's like the latest time that I had ever visited the gym and yup I was like trying to fight the g monster as I cycle... Upenn certainly has a gym to boost-- 4 floors of aerobics and weights machines, dance studio and there are even punching bags, gym balls... u name it we have it... what's even better is that we all get to go in for free!

yea that's for friday and valentine was one heck of day... we-the 4056 girls- had class in the morning, where we distributed personalized cookies which we had baked and decorated the night before.. to think we did that the day before a quiz.. yea and after my class at 3pm, I joined trina, kenny and vijay at 15th street, the city centre of philly... i went to bath and body works before that, on a mission to hunt out sales for my sister, who wanted some lip gloss from there... i din regret buying it cos it's really good! i'm using the methanol one and everytime i apply on my lips, i can smell the candy cane scent and it jus set me in a good mood... it tastes sweet too haaha

I also visited H&M and as usual, there are some pocket friendly hunts... bought a pink tank top for my sis... finally tracked down vijay and trina at 16th street and vijay shocked me with his generosity by buying a jacket with a hefty pricetage of 130 usd...i think the most expensive item i bought so far costs on 50 usd and it's a coach wristlet haah... we went to shop around, waiting for huizhi to join us before proceeding for dinner... basically designer stores lined walnut street, while restaurants and high street brands dot the chestnut street in the city hall area... we decided to try fast food called five guys on chestnut street, cos acclamations from zagat etc lined their walls... it turned out to be just slightly than macs though.. the servings are huge though and on top of that, the drinks are refillable and there are free peanuts for all... quite interesting in fact...

after dinner, we took the subway to 2nd street, where the bars and clubs are located... we went past Blue Martini, where we dined, danced and drunk two weekends again... but the clubbing scene in philly is almost nonexistent, though there is certainly enough crowd to boost the attraction of the area.. compared to NY, i certainly prefer philly night scene cos it's friendlier and more bustling as the pubs are jus side by side... okie back to the point, we went to the ballroom dance studio BRASILS and I was again reminded of my desire to learn salsa in US... i guess i;ll get my chance next tue, where there is class for beginner in salsa! =) cant wait!! there're no pple dancing yet as it was the buffet session at that time so we went across the street to Hookah Relaxation. As the name suggests, there is hookah, or shisha, besides the turkish coffee and delicacies that the store offer.. my friends opted for peach and lemon shisha and started puffing away... i tried to smoke a few times out of curiosity but it was rather disagreeable... yea and that's how i spent my rather unique vday this year... miss Zj's presence very much but I guess we can have vday everyday when he comes over to florida this summer =)

2008-02-12T05:49:00.000+08:00

New York trip #1
A list of what I did =)

went to ice skate in central park
watched broadway RENT
Clubbed at Duvet, 21 street
went times sq and the signboards are like everywhere damn bright
Stayed over for free at a 4 star hotel
ate yummy food at Greenwich village
went central park n saw horse carriages
Went on the carousel at Central park heheh... so giddy!
visited natural history museum where a night at the museun is showed

2008-01-22T12:52:00.000+08:00

Drowing in homework today.. now I knew more about John Stuart Mills and Aristotle than I ever did in my life... haiz... Help!

2008-01-19T10:41:00.000+08:00

...Exactly one week since my arrival in Philly...

What I have done so far:

Attend my classes
Took photos at City Hall
Gymmed at Upenn!
Cook... eggs with onions, eggs with tomatoes, Spaghetti!
Shopped at factory outlets and bought Gap, Coach, Guess, Nine west at unbelievable prices!
Washed and cleaned the toilet
Unpacked my luggage
Seen Snow!
Grocery shopped at Kmart, theFreshGrocer, China town shops
Called home free
Spent 500 usd already
Got a phoneline with 333 incoming and outgoing mins
Ate Dim Sum buffet
Travelled to the other state New Jersey
Had diarrhoea again but luckily just once
Got irritated by someone
Late for school cos' I got lost in School... Upenn is huge!
Opened two bank accounts at PNC and Commerce
Obtained my Upenn card and ID

yeah and list goes on hhaha... shall put photos on my blog when I'm more settled in this house since there are so much readings for the two modules I take: Engineering Entrepreneurship and Ethics and professional responsibilities for engineers! both require me to write essays after essays... haiz... used to dun mind writing but engineering modules had really make me into a number crunching and formula wrenching person... anyway, shall slog it out on sunday.. =( wanted to go new york on Sat but decided against it, in the face of so many sch and stuff to do... going Ikea instead to get household stuff =]

2008-01-15T04:13:00.001+08:00

Our first dinner tog!

My first dish in Philly-- Egg with onions!!

2008-01-15T04:12:00.000+08:00

Hey all! Yup, I'm finally in Philadelphia, Philly for short... it's freezing cold, like 4 degrees and below all the time... It's like only my 3rd day here but I've been to quite a few places like Macy's, City Hall, Upenn itself and those places on Chestnut and Walnut street... Philly isn't what you call a tourist attraction I guess since the university city where I live pretty much centres around the Universities-- Upenn, Drexel and Temple University. Only been to the centre city once and did some shopping, mostly groceries I guess. We had hell of a time trying to shop for food and household stuff, one thing cos we dunno where to begin and the other, the stuff are damn heavy to lug around! Tried to shop for groceries and shop at the same time yest and it was so damn tiring la.. hahah I've been to VS and Nine west and those branded shops but I can't say it's really that cheap... I need a trip down to the warehouse man! to satisfy my shopping craves!

oh, just some advice for those going US:
-Use pfingo.com to call anyone for free back home! it's free for the first 3 months and really cool... no lagging and stuff, but the voice sounds a bit funny though
-weather.com for the weather forecasts anywhere...

Yea... other than that i'm really a newbie in US.. still feeling my way around... I jus hope it will snow soon and everywhere gonna be cover in a lovely white!! hate the freezing feeling in my fingers though =( the piercingly cold wind man... damn sian... hahah guess pictures speak a thousand words so here are the stuff!

2008-01-15T03:55:00.000+08:00

Photos of City Hall in Philly

The interior

Within the four walls of City Hall

The exterior

I'm here at Chinatown! Home away from home...

2008-01-15T03:35:00.000+08:00

There is foodcourt over there! surprising man..but the food they serve are all western food haha sianz

You can get neutrogena from a vending machine!

Me posing in front of the beautiful paintings along the path to our transit lounge

weiwei and I at the airport of Minneapolis St paul airport

2007-12-27T09:36:00.000+08:00

Happy belated Hari Raya Haji, Belated Merry Xmas and Happy New Year! It's been a long time since I blogged but so many things had happened, good or bad...of course the good one is my results, having achieved second upper finally. hope it's to stay, now that I officially have a year of school left in Singapore. But I won't worry about results for a year, cos I'll be going Upenn Wharton school of Business to study for a year! yea! The sad thing about? I gonna miss my family, Zj and my friends so much... And I've been really touched by the things they've done for me recently. Like my uncles and aunt who gave me money and my jc friends who are so eager to organise a get-together b4 I go. And not forgetting Zj who whipped up a sumptuous lunch and wowed m with a diamond necklace (however small the carat)

Yea, and almost everything has worked out well in the end for me, for that I am really very grateful. Like the DS documents that arrive just in time before the christmas break, how my parents suddenly had enough money to tide me over the 1st month in US. I'm so lucky! Yea and I gonna leave on 12 Jan 0600..

Maybe the not so nice part is that I had to work. I wouldn't say it is tough approaching people to buy the products but try asking at least 50 a day before you get like 3 to demonstrate your product to and finally left with 1 who is interested to buy your product. It's damn tiring... of course miracles do happen, like the aunt who bought 600 plus for her nieces and the grandma who bought 1340 plus for her grandchildren... these children are so blessed!
After this gruelling week at suntec, I proceed on to work at Tangs... It's not that tiring in comparison and I finally hit my sales target-- first ever in Tangs haha... yea but I'm afraid I'll spend more than I earned yesterday at Isetan sale later... Watch out for more Updates!

2007-12-14T20:20:00.000+08:00

My Xmas wishlist:

Lancome Teint idole ultra 03
Shiseido brightening eye treatment
Elizabeth Arden 8h cream
A new suit from G2000
Olay total effects 7-in-1 antiaging cream
Knee high boots!
Hair extensions at fabuloushair
A smudge proof liquid eyeliner (but not from MAC)
Eyeshadow palette

2007-12-14T20:04:00.000+08:00

I can't imagine why I would suffer again from food poisoning... AGAIN! Dun ever eat hokkien mee from the Hawker centre near Outram Park...unless u wanna run the risk of food poisoning.. =(

Wed was supposed to be a good day for me... hit more than 200% of the sales target at Lancome and everything proceeded almost as planned... But the queue outside phuture really put me off... Imagine 45mins of waiting just to get into somewhere packed again... Wed mambo sux... haha we had a bad experience with the baggage counter at first, cos all three counters: zouk, phuture and velvet were all full! But somehow zj was about to squeeze my big bag in =] *so zai* we tot it's time to have fun but it took us so long just to squeeze onto zouk dance floor. The worst of horror is that we found ourselves right next to the blasting speakers-- each boom sound set our eardrums and internal organs vibrating! After a while, we decided that we can't take it anymore and went out to have a drink. we decided to explore zouk but the songs are really bad, like those of nursery rhymes and lullaby... Hell, mambo sux to the core!

But I guess nothing is worse than being sick... I went to work and nearly couldn't go home cos I was very sick... I diarrhoeaed 5 times in the span of 2h, vomitted nothing but water since I couldn't eat anything... pissed off my counter manager quite badly too... and the best thing? my colleague is sick as well so both of us got to go home.. the counter manager has to arrange for another gal from vivocity to travel all the way to woodlands... haiz... wat a day

Restful sunday

2007-12-09T22:12:00.000+08:00

Finally a slack Sunday...

I can't believe I woke at 1pm when I supposed to meet Charlene at 1pm in town! heard the alarms ringing all around me but the sounds were the melodious kind and I was listening out for the shrill one when I set. Apparently, the shrill alarm either already rang or failed me... When I decided to wake up, it's 1pm alr.. sigh... had to get ready in 5mins and dash down to town in my dad's car... Sorry Charlene for all the waiting!

It was a day of coincidence... I ran into Shanping and her bf at Lido.. It happened that we all parked on the same floor... =] Finally reached wheellock after making Char wait for 40mins =( we zoomed in on the shopping. got our stuff and went to eat lunch at Wisma foodcourt.. I tried the Scissors curry rice for the second time and had to conclude that it's just like any other Cai Fan... Char's fried fish noodles seem so much more tantalizing haha I can't resist sipping her fish soup...

We hunted around wisma first floor for clothes.. I tried on all the long sleeved tops and finally settled on an orange one from forever21... hope it will come in useful when i go philly... Call me slow but I finally stepped into Cotton On, after hearing so much about it... It really lived up to its reputation for cheap clothes.. 2 for $20 for those forever21 and topshop lookalike clothes! If i wasn't going to US, I would've bought quite a few... Can't wait to shop in forever21 in US.. the tops like cost ard half the price in Singapore! hehe.. USA, here I come!

The irritating rain kept going on and off.. had to go back to the car for my big trusty umbrella and I ran into Shanping again haha... We braved the rain to get to far east but I was soon disappointed by the price of the boots at Mondo. $99 for a pair of knee high boots!20 bucks more ex than those in Charles and Keith! I think I shud just try my luck in US... boots r just too ex in Singapore... With that, I shall end my shopping quest for winter clothes =p

outta the hse

2007-12-08T11:24:00.000+08:00

Remedy for stye in the eye:

1. Hot compress-- take a bowl of warm water and dip your towel in and press against your stye for 10 mins at least, repeat 3 to 4 times a day
2. Apply antibiotic ointment
3. Keep your hands clean by washing with soap
4. Go out and dun think abt it!

Yup, that's what I did yesterday and my stye has reduced by quite a lot... lots of love from your friends help too :) going to watch enchanted with clara later! rather excited cos I was watching the trailers on youtube yesterday and the songs are so nice! I replayed the song "so close' again and again... hehe... It's a fairytale come true =] yup, hope to really enjoy my time later before going to teach tuition. This tuition is pretty high paid but I always feel so stressed when I go there cos I felt I am not qualified enuff to teach. Esp physics, I sometimes can't answer his questions... Chem's not so bad haha...

Anyway had my first tuition lesson with my new student yesterday... Thanks to Shihan for recommending it to me =] The student's quite nice and her house is quite huge for a condo... quite envious of her in fact, esp when her mum kept coming in to ask her what colour she likes for the curtains... the curtain materials are so colourful and she chose this shade of purlish blue, kinda mysterious... I like it too! anyway, it was quite a fruitful first lesson with her I hope...