9 roses for eternity

I love attending weddings.

Weddings are such beautiful occasions. They're a couple's testament to love, honour and cherish each other for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, everyday onwards.

But I enjoy some weddings more than others.

Especially weddings where you can truly feel that the bride and groom deeply love each other. That doesn't necessarily translate to endless hugs and kisses, declarations of love, crooning love ballets. But it's really something as simple as the way they look at each other. That look can move me to tears. That gaze gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling and sends tingles all down my spine. But sometimes, I attend a wedding, and wonder if the couple is getting married for the right reasons. Do people really get married because it's time to get married? Do they feel pressured that it's time to do so because they've been attending way too of their friends have wed?  I don't know why it certainly feels that way sometimes. And I really hate feeling that way, because it kills all the beauty of a wedding. 

A friend recently mentioned that she'll marry anyone when she's 28. It's funny, because right before she said this, she was listing a whole list of criteria that she has in mind even before dating any guy. She rambles off her precise criteria - perfect height (11cm taller), perfect age (4 years older), caucasian, physique, religion, intellect... And at the end of it, I was telling her she effectively just eliminated everyone I ever knew. But surprisingly, she wasn't bothered. She looked at me with such great certainty that she won't settle for less....not until she's 28 at least.

Then I got friends who already joined SDU because they're concerned that they won't be able to find any guy to date now that they're working in a female-dominated office (and also because SDU offers wonderful dining privileges... but still...). These are friends that actively proclaim they are single and looking. They tell me every single time we meet where they've looked in vain, how no one even seems to fit the basic criteria. Actually, what they want seems fairly reasonable. They explain that they can't afford to set standards or they'll be left on the shelves. 

I sometimes chuckle when I hear girls talk about their criteria. I've this friend, who's damn loud and rah-rah. She's damn straightforward, can be curt at times, but she'll be out in your face if she has a problem with you. And there she goes saying she wants someone who's louder than her (i seriously can't imagine anyone louder than her)....and later she continues to say that, but then he can't be too loud because she is loud and needs to talk a lot. And in my head i was like -_- ... 

haha.

...

It's 2.34am. I just got home from one of my social gatherings. 

I'm feeling so exhausted. 

It was really refreshing to hear from girls whose experiences are in ways so different from yours. 

But I wasn't in the mood to engage in any conversation.

I smiled absent-mindedly, nodded mindlessly, stared in the distance.

It's been 24 hrs.

Any longer, and I'll get used to it.

Like never before

It's getting overwhelming...
Another phase of my life has begun, and part of me is still reluctant to accept the new changes to my life.
It almost seems too good to be true, the opportunities I've always needed presented right in front of me. Just after proudly patting myself on the back, for taking a step forward, my decision appears to have led to so many more opportunities knocking on my door - opportunities I've been waiting for, for what seemed like a long time.

It would really appear that when these opportunities come, I'll be eager and elated. But I find myself holding on to my past, refusing to take on new responsibilities, face new challenges, take new risks. I really didn't expect changing to be that difficult.

So day by day, I try a little harder to ease into my new responsibilites. Day by day, I try not to excape, not to hate what I have to do. Maybe things will get better.

Still... I hate growing up. Argh.

A Tag

I got reminded of a tag I read on facebook sometime ago, about things you want to say to different people, without explicitly naming them. I was pretty drawn to the idea, so I thought I'll try... The process was surprisingly liberating.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever be friends again.

I'm glad we hugged goodbye.

I've been summoning enough courage for the past 10 years to apologize to you the next time we meet.

I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

Thanks for letting me go.

I owe my success today to that decision you made 15 years ago.

I've never dared to ask you about her because I fear the truth.

Your mistake ruined my dream.

I wish you would see how gorgeous you are to me.

Your expectations crush me.

Sometimes, I think I deserve it more than you do.

 

New friends

Without even me realising it, it's been months since I've first got news that I was selected to be the pioneer batch of young women leaders in a newly founded women society.

From the initially stressful rounds of selection, to the countless bonding outings, to our recent elections, it's been a roller coaster ride.

And I'm growing to love these new friends.

We started as strangers, from different universities, thrust together, and told to build a society. It was admittedly awkward to begin with. We had to organise bonding sessions week after week, simply to get to know each other, to learn names of 29 others, and to see who had the makings of a president to lead the organisation before the impending elections.

We had meals together, played board games together, went fishing together, and soon grew to be pretty close. Admittedly, it was pretty intimidating just to mingle around with these successful women. Some had their own companies, others had brilliant CVs what swept me off my feet. Discussion sessions were intense and draining, simply because everyone made such great contributions and threw out meaningful considerations that it was almost difficult to come to a consensus. Everyone was passionate about the cause, and radiating with devotion and commitment, it was truly encouraging.

The over-night retreat at SMU that I helped to organise was a great success. And I really do believe that we all got to learn a lot more about each other after that. I was surprised how much you can learn about someone in just a 2D1N retreat - how you can see someone's character ravel throughout the camp. I saw women power, I saw brilliant women strategize, I saw women plot and scheme. All boils down to politics again I guess.

But still, I'm glad to have met everyone of them! I was a little dejected at how my life was turning out, worried about its lack of direction, apprehensive about my future before I met these like-minded friends. And now, everything seems brighter just to know that I'm not alone.

I  love my new friends! :)

:)

I haven't updated this space for ages.

Which doesn't come as a surprise really, if anyone has seen me gone through the past semester in school.

It's been a torture. It drained all my energy, my enthusiasm in life, brought out the skeptic in me and things that I really didn't see in myself for a long time.

The last time I got so frustrated with my studies was probably my struggle with math in JC (trigonometric tsskkk -_-). This semester, those killer modules really made me want to quit on several occasions, and stop trying.  I wouldn't describe myself as a quitter, but I was on the edge of being one.

GAH! I'm just glad the semester's over.

And I'm exceptionally proud of myself for working so darn hard.

Additionally, I've never enjoyed my holidays more!

It's been amazing to say the least

Mopping around the house, waking late, hanging out with friends, reading...

I'm really glad I finally got time to pick up the paint brush too:)

I made a conscious decision not to rush into a holiday job or internship the moment the semester ended. It wasn't an easy decision really and I deliberated upon the issue for quite some time. Simply because there seems to be a fine line between getting a well-deserved break and an excuse for slacking. 

But now I'm pretty thankful for the break :) And I'm ready to take on next semester. 

Killer modules, you all better watch out!!! 

1-month internship in July coming up!

:)

I must be the luckiest girl in the world, ever.

All through my undergraduate days, I've sometimes looked back and my life and lamented at my lack of achievement. Sometimes, I can't seem to fall asleep at night, spending hours reflecting on what I should have done, what I could have done better... 

I end up sitting through the night, trying to think of ways to "turn my life around" and configure plans to reassure myself that I'll be fine.

My lack of success, is perhaps more relative than absolute... But it has always been a concern I wanted to proactively address.

Which was why I was really honoured to be given a chance to prove myself in this young women leader's forum. An event so exclusive, only a few lucky souls like myself were given the chance to attend. So far, I've attended 2 forums, and sat through dialogues with community and business female leaders. Hearing about their success stories were deeply inspiring, exceptionally empowering to say the least. And I walk out of every session  brimming with hope that perhaps, I'll succeed one day. I really got to thank FASS for putting me through this. It's only the beginning, but it's already given me so much hope and faith in the future, a potentially life-changing experience.

Best still, after reviewing my application and after reviewing my performance at the dialogue sessions, I was accepted into the mentoring program and the Executive Committee! They just informed me yesterday!!!  And till this moment, I'm still in a state of disbelief!  Where else can you get a chance to get a CEO of a bank or a prominent community leader as mentors?

AHHHHH! Please pardon my excitement people. I really wanted to share my joy!

Finally, finally, finally, I felt I've achieved something my parents would be truly proud of.

My Valentine

Valentine's Day happens to fall on a Saturday this year.

Supposedly a good thing, because it no longer meant squeezing time for dinner at atrociously crowded places after a long day at school.

And to say the truth, I've been so overwhelmingly busy this semester, with my renewed determination to do well, that it only dawned upon me a few days before that I had absolutely zero plans lined up for the day. 

Marco's been so caught up with school work too... so we decided to deviate from our "norm" this time.

I had wanted to mug the day away really. I thought it was a perfect day to catch up with my work while others celebrate the day. (oops, I'm damn competitive!!). And I proposed that we practice "food-court-disation " this year to save money. But Marco refused and insisted we shouldn't mug despite me bringing up that suggestion more than 3 times. haha.

So, no huge surprises. No lavish plans for the day.

Just a simple dinner at Boat Quay (thank goodness our last minute reservation was accepted), and a budget karaoke session to sing our hearts out. 

And practical presents that we needed for school.

I don't really know what got into me really, but I belted out a wide range of children songs that day. 

"Three blind mice, three blind mice... See how they run, see how they run...."

" One little, two little, three little Indians...."

Silly really, but they really made my day!

And dinner was darn good! I hadn't eaten ribs that nice for a long time! And the meal was surprisingly budget for that kind of ambience. Will definitely visit the place again.

I really enjoyed the day actually. I really didn't expect how well the day turned out despite our simple plans.

So here's a huge Thank You, to you, for being such perfect company, because everything turned out perfect :)

It's Week 4...

But it feels like Week 11 or something...

I'm crushing under the workload.

Maybe Dad's right.

I shouldn't set such high expectations for myself this semester.

I met with someone recently

And that someone really made me change my whole perspective on my life path.

I could whine on and on about how life's unfair.

But life is afterall, a marathon, not a sprint. 

And our talk just made me realise, I just have to work harder to achieve what that someone was given.

I got to thank that someone really. Suddenly, my life for the few years seems to have taken on a clear direction.

Sigh. Back to my law cases. Got no time to be sick... Enough with those long nights  :(

4 Men

Last night, I went to bed with 4 men studying outside my door.

This morning I woke up to 4 men sleeping outside my door, with their laptops in front of them, tired from a whole night of programming. They were really silent throughout the night though, and I'm thankful I still got my good night sleep.

It's so amusing to witness the transformation really. A few years ago, these boys were playing gameboys and playstations outside my door....Noisy little screaming boys...

我的弟弟长大了!

A loss

Almost a year ago, I bought myself a watch from a small pushcart in Jurong Entertainment Centre.
It was nothing fancy, really. Just a really plain, sleek gold watch. 

But it has since became one important accessory in my dresser. 

This gold piece started my love affair with the colour actually, and I soon began to build my wardrobe around it. Clothes. Bags with gold buckles. Sandals with gold details...

I lost my watch while travelling in New York about 2 months back.

And believe it or not, the heartache resembles a painful breakup. The pain never seems to truly fade.

Afterall, there're so many things that remind me of the watch. My outfits never seem complete without the watch. It almost feels like something's missing all the time.

It was made worse with the fact that Jurong Entertainment Centre had to be scheduled for demolition when I was away...

And hence my efforts to buy another one of the gold watch came in futile.

I still try my luck at every pushcart I see now (even those in Batam), but I've never had the luck to see that design again.The closest I ever came, was a similar design in silver. I had to buy the watch. But it was almost difficult to match it with the stuff in my wardrobe. 

Self-reproach creeps in once in a while.

And I blame myself for never really treasuring my watch.

I bought the watch for twenty-six dollars. A tad more than what I'll normally pay for a watch. But now, I'll actually pay much more to get my watch back.

Maybe one day I'll see my watch again... Or maybe one day I'll fall in love with another one..

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Batam

A short getaway to Batam to energize ourselves for the upcoming academic term really does wonders. 4 days 3 nights of taking in the beauty of nature, enjoying the sea breeze, amazing seafood and pure indulgence. A perfect hideaway to escape the city. I'm missing that place already!

Best of all, the whole trip was part of an amazing deal we found online, so it really didn't take much of a toil on whatever's left of my savings.

Cultural performances...



When was the last time you spent lazy afternoons playing chess and scrabble...

We visited 3 shopping centres at Batam with another couple (Jesslyn and Nicholas).... Shopping there isn't worth raving about. But they bought A LOT OF STUFF! Marco and I pretty much settled for window-shopping, cafe-hopping. and hours and hours of great conversation... We had the chance to talk about everything that's been bugging us (thesis, career, school..)... and I really appreciated how we were able to do things without having to worry about time and nitty gritty errands.

The seafood there was amazing though. I'm so craving for the calamari and chilli crab there.

And how could we miss A &W! Amazing rootbeer float!

Cheap steak!

One of my favourite moments in Batam was dinner at the Sunset Beach Restaurant. We were seated at this hut, looking out to the sea, enjoying the seabreeze and yummicious food, while arguing over silly things like whether there were crocodiles in the waters beneath us...

We had wanted to go for a swim at the resort's swimming pool, but it was down for general cleaning. But guess what!!! The manager took us to the private jaccuci/ sauna room, and treated us to a full-body massage for free in a private hut! The massage was damn GOOD okay. It was so refreshing. And I felt so pampered! The whole experience actually kinda motivated both of us to work hard and earn more money in order to afford more of such indulgences. I'm definitely going back for the massage, seriously.


Another day was well-spent doing sea sports like parasailing, canoeing, and go-karting!

There isn't much nightlife to talk about in Batam. So we spent our last evening having a quiet retreat by the beach. A romantic dinner of grilled meat + seafood with a cup of Baileys to top it off! I was totally dreading the return to Singapore actually. It was utter bliss to be able to slow life's pace a bit and enjoy the simply pleasures of life with someone special.

Oh well. it's time to face reality. Back to school! Too much partying and travelling in Canada for a whole semester is not good when it comes to finding the motivation for this semester. It's like I can't remember when was the last time I really mugged. Oh well, I got to get my momentum back!

What goes around comes around...

I spent hours today trying to find THE perfect blogskin.

I googled and looked through hundreds of skins at blogskins.com...

But nothing caught my eye. None was perfect.

So, I made up my mind to customise my own blogskin instead, in my bid to create perfection.

I spent the following few hours painstakingly trying to find THE perfect images, THE perfect layout, THE perfect quotes, colours, fonts....

Time check: 2.13am.

Blog Preview. Click. Stare. 

I give up. Far from perfection. I begin to question whether there's ever going to be perfection. Perhaps...but at least not anytime soon.

I'll stick with the current blogskin for now. I can't believe I spent half a day doing nothing.

HEY PEOPLE!

Greetings from Canada!!! :)

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, I get some internet in my room and I can finally start blogging about Canada.

Head over to " http://www.yourdawnismydusk.blogspot.com/ " to see pictures and updates about me for the next 4 months ahead!

I'm still in the process of uploading photos so I'll blog there within the next day or so lah! :)

I miss you all like crazy!!

LOADS OF LOVE,
from a freezing maymay

Heritage Fest 08

I've always wanted to join an amazing race of some sort.... Not surprisingly, I'm looking forward to the part where I get to work my brains and navigate around.


I couldn't get enough people to join the SMRT challenge last year... and I'll be overseas for this year's challenge.. so when I chanced on the Singapore Heritage Festival amazing race event, I immediately formed my team!
Cheeks was super on, and agreed immediately.
Unfortunately, by some stroke of luck, everyone I contacted were either busy with school/ CCAs/ not interested in national education/ lazy to run/ don't wanna sweat etc etc...
In the end, I roped in my ever enthusiastic little cousin who roped in his best friend to join...
So the 2 pair of best friends joined as Team "Chicks and Geeks". :)

And gosh was it tiring having to choing around all areas of Singapore in search of checkpoints. My whole body was aching for days after that!
The event was a magnificent display of cheeky's map reading/ analytical/ navigational skills.
And my bus guide came in handy too!
But because we were lazy to run all around the island + the fact that many teams cheated.. we had to be contented with just a random lucky draw win of 12 cans of drinks ( thanks to JJ, the sponsor of the event. ) haha!




After that, cheeky and I headed to Swensens, determined to rest our poor and aching feet and enjoying the air con! We're both watching our weight (actually I know a lot of people who are too), she had this fruit yoghurt shake and I had my caesar salad! And we had some serious brainstorming session for Leon and YM's birthday celebrations/ presents!

So thank you cheeky, once more, for joining this with me!! I had so much fun! =) Let's prepare for the SMRT challenge next year alrights? :) Any takers??

----------

Marco had tickets to this Heritage Fest concert at the Esplanade.... And I was super excited over the dress code "Ethnic Chic" :) I was also really looking forward to an opportunity to dress up prettily after being in the routine of wearing formal office clothes 5 days a week...

Haiya! But as usual, everyone didn't make the effort to dress according to theme! Only a few men were decked out in their batik shirts... Women were like in pretty designer dresses lah, which made me (the only soul super dressed to theme ) feel so underdressed!

We went early because I wanted to check out this crazily pretty cafe at Esplanade serving tea. Pretty nice place to just chill and have exotic tea if you feel like splurging..

You know it was funny how Marco was snapping photos with me (a lot of photos), without realising that in the backdrop of the photo was the sign " No Photography Allowed"! heh :P
And nothing beats good zi- char at Glutton's Bay! Free fireworks too! :)

Oh well, I think I'm super supportive of the Singapore Heritage Festival. They should make me their ambassador or something..

Till then.. I got to go pack my bag!! :)

About leaving

I woke up this morning, by the alarm of my handphone...
I stared sleepily at the screen, trying to click 'Snooze' so I could catch a few more minutes of sweet slumber..
But the date on the screen of my phone jolted my memory- a reality that I'll be leaving in 10 days.
I eat my breakfast at the dining table.
And the date printed on the morning papers again reminds me of my impending departure..
I'm so constantly reminded of what day of the month it is everyday by various things and it kinda scares me how soon I'll be leaving Singapore to a far far away land... Its realy a mix of excitement and a bit of apprehension. I told Marco I'm not ready to leave Singapore. And he told me I'll never be.. Guess he's right..

A recent death of a close relative in the family probably explains why I'm feeling all gloomy these days.
My uncle's death was so sudden, mysterious even.
He just left home one afternoon and never came back. 2 days later, he was found drowned in a canal.
I helped out at the wake every day after work. My auntie cried and cried and its the first time I truly understood how someone could cry her voice hoarse... She hugged everyone, with tears streaming down her face. All she said was " He was a good man, a loving husband, a wonderful father.".
Sigh... how heartbreaking.

Maybe its the whole mood of the wake made me truly worry about not making it back from Canada...
I told my mum lets hang out on monday- it be the last time we go shopping together if I don't get back.
"CHOY" my mum said, and started nagging at me for saying stuff like that.

"Let's not quarrel from now till I'm back", I told Marco, " I don't want the last memories of us to be littered with petty quarrels, in case I don't make it back..

Gosh, this are some seriously gloomy thoughts... . Okay lah, I'm sure I'm just being silly and I'll be OKAY! I should psycho myself to start thinking positive thoughts, like how Canada and her cold winter winds are beckoning me :P

Oh, I saw my primary 6 form teacher, Mrs Lim, at the wake!
She was a good friend of my uncle's daughter and I haven't seen her in years and years and years!
For all who doesn't know, I really enjoyed my days in my neighbourhood primary school and the Primary 5/6 days were particularly memorable because of Mrs Lim. It was on hindsight that I realised how inspirational and how pivotal she was in shaping me to what I am today. And it was also her that made me want to be a teacher since I was young, because I realised how good teachers really made adifference in the lives of children and their future, like how Mrs Lim changed my life.. Her lessons were never boring- she played games during classes, told us nice stories and also brought our class to win every single singing competition / storytelling competition/ sports event organised by the school.

She first introduced me to Vincent Van Gogh in primary 6 and my interest in art started ever since. I remember her playing "Starry Starry Night" in class, twice, and the assignment was to draw anything we wanted after hearing that song.. In fact, it was also her encouragement that gave me the courage to pursue art in secondary school all the way till JC. It was an emotional farewell as wthe class left school after PSLE. We cried, she cried, and not long after she left to teach in HK..

My mum went up to Mrs Lim at the wake today. Mum had tears in her eyes as she held Mrs Lim's hands, and thanked her for moulding me into what I am today. Mrs Lim was hugging her and telling her that she has a wonderful daughter. Super eotional! But my mum always wanted to thanks Mrs Lim and like almost a decade later, she finally had the chance!

I saw my Primary 6 Chinese teacher too! memories of endless chinese comprehensions and spelling tests came to mind! Attending wakes are like attending mini-reunions huh? (though i really don't wish for more wakes). Anyways, I'm still in awe at at impeccable mastery of the Chinese language!

Heh! and more good news! As I am drafting this entry, ITS MY LAST DAY OF WORK!!! *jumps, screams, hops and flips*.. Finally finally finally, i have time to pack my lugguage, sleep late and wake up even later! :)
going off for a mini-celebration tonight!
Eating at the Shokudo (is this even spelt right?) restaurant at the basement of Raffles City, then heading for some super duper nice crepes! Caaaaaaaannnnnnnnn't WAIT!

I'm slowly warming up to the idea of having to drag myself out of bed when it's still dark, get out of the house at 6 plus, hop on a packed bus with (too many) students and other working adults.. rush to get on the lift with many others, and then plonk myself in front of the computer for hours and hours and hours, freezing in my seat and waiting rather impatiently for 6 o clock to strike.

My office's pantry has a really nice view! It overlooks the Singapore Polo Club so I see horses everytime I look down! :)

This is my first office job, and I'm so NOT loving the fact that I have to stare at the computer screen for what seem like decades, till my eyes tear, in a bid to complete my work. I now swear by the eye exercises taught to us in primary school. They were once thought to be really silly, but now these eye massages are my saviour!!As some of you may know about my spine/back condition, my back isn't coping so well with the heels and all the sitting around in the office for hours..

A few days before work, I opened my bursting closet and stared hard at my collection of clothes (which I've carefully colour-coded! yay)... And to my horror, I only found ONE shirt that could pass off as being formal.. Serious shopping needed..

Thank goodness This Fashion didn't close down and Cotton On has a super super sale... cos most of my formal clothes were picked off their racks with gusto. Its still feels weird to be wearing a buttoned shirt tucked into my high waisted silky pants or skirt and then strutting off to work, not in my beloved Charles and Keith Sandals, but in my heels! here's me on my first day of work! =) marco treated me to ajisen for dinner that day! hoorays!

Probably due of my limited collection of office wear, I actually have to use the weekends to try out all the outfits first, rate them out of ten, then plan what to wear for the following week.. a safeguard against being late for work every morning. Seriously dislike the attire restrictions!! Which is why I make it a point to deck out in shorts and casual stuff during weekends. Am I becoming one of those so-called sloppy singaporeans? heh.

I was on the brink of dozing off during the first week of work, just because I slept at 2am the nights before to watch my CSIs.... and what nots.. I was so terribly sleepy I had to resort to catching some sleep in the toilet a couple of times :( I think I'm old..

On the other hand, I like the feeling of working independently among the rest... listening to the conversations that go around the office, replying emails and public queries, I even like pretending to work when I'm really just slacking.. It's also quite cool to receive work-related emails when you check your mail the first thing in the morning. Suddenly, you feel important, with a sense of mission even!

I kinda have the "best" seat in the office- in front of all my big bosses (all thanks to the marvellous hexagonal structure of the building), which means it's a true challenge to find opportunities to slack (aka: MSN/ surf random sites like stomp.sg/ blog). And hotmail is disabled lah!

I'm missing my freedom!!! Office jobs are so not for me, and so not me... I can't talk loudly, I can't move around to much, I don't have any other form of entertainment other than my walkman (which is supposedly not a problem, cos I'm not supposed to be entertaining myself during work anyway). I really don't understand how one can sit in front of the computer and work and work for so long!! Which is why the best thing about work is 6pm- the end of all the boredom, cold (cos my office's freezing), and rigidness( i can't exactly prance around, sing and dance...)..I'll wait till like 6.10 (so that it won't be so obvious I'm desperate to leave) and then strut out of office quietly because I'm always the first to go! I feel kinda guilty and slack for leaving first all the time.. but Marco argued that interns shouldn't set the benchmark for leaving the office too late, cos the bosses are supposed to leave after me... But I don't have that much work to stay overtime la!

Quote of the day, by my boss to us, poor employees : " Enormous problem, fight fight fight!"

I think the most stressful thing about the job is not exactly the work that I'm doing, but social relations. Like how I'm always worried I won't make friends in school on the first week of every semester, I was a little apprehensive when I first stepped into the office..
I'm working in an all female department, with the exception of my big big boss and another male staff..Contrary to my expectations that my office would be full of mature, older employees, I was surprised to find that most of my colleagues are young and trendy 26-27 year olds! Colleagues are really nice and friendly people...But that doesn't really translate into me being able to really truly click with all of them. It's really times like these that I really appreciate all my good friends- and how we can easily be tuned to the same frequency when it comes to conversational topics, humour, activities..

I remember one lunch time topic with my colleagues was on the different types of cheese and how to cook tomatoes.Hmm...
--------------
Things were ok initially I guess... Nothing really exciting or worth raving about... I went for lunch with a few fellow interns, but my days really got better when a fellow intern from my department came back from leave.

Her name's Melody. And it was REALLY REALLY coincidental that we share the same surname! Actually she's the first friend of mine to share my surname! She's a PSC scholar, studying medicine! Despite her being much smarter than me, we get along pretty well, and I'm really thankful she's around to brighten up my hours at the office! Everyone's so serious around here and seem like they got mountains of things to get done, it's almost difficult to find someone to lunch with cos everyone packs lunch back to the office! But I absolutely refuse to spend another minute in the office unless necessary! So, I get out of the office all the time with my ten million toilet/ slack breaks...

As I'm completing this entry, it's Melody's last day at work.. and i'm so gonna miss her..

P/s: Its kinda scary to know I'm leaving Singapore for Canada in less than a month...

Kockee

It's probably about time to dedicate an entry to a really really good friend of mine whom I've known for more than half my life - yenlin :)



I don't really remember when exactly in primary school did we start call each other "kockee"and where the nickname came about , but the name has stuck with us since, for 9 years and counting... And so the entry shall be dedicated to Kockee!

Beginnings

We first met in Primary 4, in a speech and drama class that our parents sent us to. I didn't really have tuition when I was in primary school, but I remember being sent to loads of enrichment classes- abacus, ballet, yoga, drawing, poetry..... Anyways, we two were randomly chosen to be a group (which we named, The Smarties) and tadah, memories of our friendship pretty much started ever since.


A Common Passion for Fine Arts

We were both in the Young Artists' Club for many years and so we met every Sunday for art lessons at Boon Lay Art Centre. She was really good at drawing and painting, and its really through her guidance that I've improved so much during the years.

I remember our teacher bringing us out to paint landscapes during the school holidays. He would have a list of dates and outing timings written down on the board, and we would choose any 3 to go to.. It was kinda like an exam for us, because our grades for these outdoor painting sessions determined if we could advance to the next level.

Me and kocke would choose our spot in a park, or at the void deck, roll out our picnic mats, lay out our painting stuff neatly in front of us and begin painting, while curious passerbys stare at the big crowd of us in our yellow shirts. Anxious parents would sit with their children, either to fan them or to buy snacks for them when they're hungry.

After completing our masterpieces, we would join the LOOOONG queue in front of the teacher, to let the teacher grade our pieces. The teacher has a habit of walking around the park/ void decks to check on us, and he's always not an a fixed place, and so you'll probably see us scrambling around the flats to look for him ...

"LONG SI TING! " My teacher would boom when it's my turn at the queue.His voice still brings shudders down my spine. He would stare at my painting for a while, while other kpo parents stand behind him to look..And the aunties would already begin to mumble comments behind me..

It's almost impossible to get the teacher to grade your painting at the first try. He'll probably scream comments like " why did you draw the ugly dustbin in?" or "why is this corner so empty", shove the painting back to us, (which is a cue that we must run back to edit it before bringing it back to him again, which means REJOINING THE LONG QUEUE). :P I remember cursing him again and again cos he made me run around back and forth all the time.. And it was then we started calling him " lao3 yao1 guai4" (old monster)..and we've referred to him as that ever since..

Sigh, so nostalgic..

Our 1 mark difference in PSLE score led us to different secondary schools. Luck was seldom on her side.. I got an A for Math despite struggling with the subject all year round, and her grades would have been straight A+s if not for her B in Maths, which was surprisingly unexpected. And so she ended in Nanhua, me in RV..

We made an effort to keep our friendship going and so wrote loads of letters to each other then.. and till date, I've kept hundreds and hundreds of them.. She's never forgotten my birthdays, and presents are always accompanied with a hand-drawn card, with long heartwarming messages.

We catch up once in a while now.. and most of the time, she's introducing me to good food, it's almost impossible to diet when out with her. Deserts after steamboat, ice-cream after buffets..

And the recent outing with her to swensens had a big nice chocolate fondue after dinner! To think I thought, for once I could be healthy and just eat my SALAD in swensens!

That probably sums up our long friendship....

7 x 3 = 21

I was at grandpa's house for my little cousin's birthday!
My grandparents cooked up a feast, I tell you. I counted 13 dishes altogether- with fish, chicken wings, pork,pepper crab, chilli crab, lamb, a lot of different vegetables... And then there was jelly, sago and the cake for desert! Its so ruining my fitness plan!!

I'm on a serious mission to cut carbs just in case I gain weight over in Canada, so I've been eating super healthy stuff and exercising everyday (to prepare myself for a marathon too..)
So I'm eating loads of salad these days.. with yoghurt dressing. (cos i've banned myself from mayo! )and for the first time my yongtaufu has so much veg!

Oops,I've digressed! Back to the birthday!
My cousin's only 7! I feel so old already! My 7th birthday seemed like centuries ago!can the cute carebear cake make me feel any older... The loads of birthday presents. The kid feels rich with $10! I'll be feeling so broke with that amount..The birthday boy! =)

The gang of us! =) We can all solve rubik's cube!!
On a side note, I think I bought a lot of cheap stuff from Cotton On this GSS-! Like this top! And a lot of tees! All for $5 only! And all the $10 shorts, skirts, cardigans! Not that big a hole in my pocket this year..

Grandpa..
He suddenly seems so much older than I remembered him to be...

Snapshots

A few random snapshots of my life.
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Father's Day :

Dad wanted to go to this Teochew Restaurant at Bukit Batok, but it was still packed at 8.30, so we headed straight to IMM! I was like secretly super happy that Dad chose to eat Aijisen cos I was so so so so so craving for the crayfish ramen there then!
Haha, its weird how I only eat the crayfish ramen at aijisen, the pure chocolate ice-blended in coffee bean, only the chicken mcnuggets meal in Mac, the sotongfish head in Old Chang Kee, the Chicken Royale Baked Pasta in Pizzahut and almost nothing else in these places.

Ordered this chestnut desert with vanila ice-cream there that was super yummy! But everyone agreed it looked kinda gross. haha =)
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Cousins

The cousins went out for a boardgames session at The Pitstop Cafe, and Marco came along! Really fun!It was difficult trying to find games to accomodate to my little cousin though!
Note Jonathan's hairstyle- his hair got chopped off when he went back to reservice, and let's just say its erm, controversial. hah =)

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Outing with Sharon

I went out with Sharon that day, for a simple meal in Toa Payoh...

Guess she enjoys the company and someone to really hear her talk about her life- a life so simple, she practically repeats the same thing to me everytime we talk.. And its been almost 2 years and nothing has really changed.

She'll talk about her school, how people not play with her sometimes, or about her Sundays at Church. And my response would somehow be the same,but it seems she enjoys telling me about them anyway..

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Swimming at JE Swimming Complex

Went swimming with Marco that day as part of my fitness plan! Haha, I wanted to act cute and young that day, so I plaited my hair! A little bimbotic, but who cares. haha.

My skin's becoming more tan, despite the sunblock! I think I like myself a little whiter.

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ANYWAYS!!!!! I'M SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER HAPPY, and i wanted to share my joy with you guys! =)

NUS sent me this letter to inform me I've received the Wee Mon Cheng Bronze Medal cos of my academic results for the past sem/year! =) So i'm due for a prize presentation before I leave for Canada! I'm super happy, cos its so unexpected! I'm thinking of what to wear.. hmmmmmm

Oh ya, I booked my air tickets already.. I'm leaving for Canada on 24th August and I'll prob be back on the 31st of December or something! =) Eeks, suddenly its down to 2 months before I leave Singapore..