This is going to be purely personal and nothing to do with the world crisis, Singapore governmental issues or macro/micro economic outlook though I understand how these can greatly affect me. I will just do a simple self reflection on a personal note else this post will be never-ending.

2011 was a very eventful year (I guess it speaks for the world as well), never a dull moment though some down times. I had many 1st-time experiences and still wishing for more. Although I didn't set any resolutions, it will still be a sweet journey to reflect upon the colourful events of the year and make a few resolutions for the new year!

Let's get going...

1) Simon proposed with the girls-will-all-die-for-it-ring contained in that highly overpriced little-turquoise-box. Under much anticipation (everyone is betting that he will propose during Europe trip and true enough he did!) and not much of a surprise (unfortunately as I accidentally picked the little blue box out from his backpack while searching for travelling map, what a lousy place to keep secrets!!!), it was a total flop! I was still happy to be popped the question but fairly disappointed with the way he proposed - no surprise, lack romance, no feeling of "I'm-the-happiest-woman-on-earth" and worst no down-on-the-knees!!! Am I expecting too much because they are fantasies that only exist in fairy tales?

2) We bought our 1st love nest together! A 4-room HDB in Tampines Greenwood at Blk 868B Ave 8, my mum definitely like the 888s. As I have been staying near central region all my life, its almost impossible to uproot me and move me far east/west but I have learnt to make sacrifices in a relationship to make things work. Even writing off the minimum criteria that if a flat is not located centrally, it MUST be within 500m walking distance from an mrt. For that, the husband-to-be has promised that I will be owning my own steering + 4-wheels, we shall see in 2014/15. For now, I am kept busy running through Home & Decor magazines for interior design ideas though it's only going to be ready in 2.5 years, I can't wait to fix-up my 1st nest.

3) Simon and I set up a joint savings account to prepare for our future expenses together, we are facing reality very soon and it has hit us quite hard right after we casually (mind you ONLY CASUALLY) discussed about the cost of getting hitched and homed.

4) Our 1st time travelling half the world away on a faraway trip to Europe! To France, the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris where the husband proposed and the lovely wedding of Ben & Elsa in Montpelier. To Italy, where the rich Romanian history lies. To Spain, the world famous FC Barcelona team plays. I must admit that this trip wasn't as exciting as I imagined it to be. There were many hiccups that caused us to breakdown many times and almost to the point of breaking up. However, there were many 1st times and happy times during this trip too! We took way too many photos to be uploaded as everything just seem amazing to us and we followed the locals to do little "illegal" stuff such as not paying for metro tickets a couple of times =P But we got scared and didn't do it often haha. Simon bought me my 1st Dior Bag as promised and I rewarded myself my 1st Prada wallet. I remembered almost wanting to buy the whole Dior and Prada boutique when I was there but after using them for a while now, I don't think I will be buying branded goods in the near future. Not that they failed on me, I just didn't feel justified for the price tag. Until I come to terms with paying for brands, my encounters with luxury goods for now would probably stay at ads plastered all over shopping malls, newspapers and magazines.

5) Alright so here comes an expected surprise-no-surprise - 2nd Proposal by Simon in Perhentian. I was requested by him to take a day off work though I only just started on my new job which wasn't the best thing to do and it's presidential election weekend too, bad choice. What's more? The proposal, though sweet, was too expected (why else would you want to go for a trip all of a sudden?) and I accidentally caught him in the act AGAIN! Yes again!!! Seekee once told me "Can you not spoil your own surprises?" To that I can only say "If I could and I would!". Simon collected the ring after it was sent for resetting to the right size and planned a proposal underwater while we were doing safety stop after our dive. Pretty cool but I saw it coming =P Other than the 11-hours one-way-only bus journey, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip a lot as the food was damn good and the accommodation very comfortable!

6) What beats having something exciting to look forward to such as a new job? I got a position at M co. and left P co. with some mixed feelings. Colleagues at P co. are so fantastic, I had a great time working with everyone including the nice bosses but I know I need to do more, hence the decision to move on but I am constantly in touch with those cool chaps I met in P co. so it seemed like I have never left! Joining M co. was a great blessing in many ways and the best one which I cannot emphasize more, is to finally understand the scary financial markets. There is so much to learn that I literally only covered a tiny bit after being here for 5 months but it was sufficient to entice me to find out more and I am enjoying knowing a little more everyday. Right after joining M co., I made my virgin stock investment. How cool is that? They are performing pretty ok in comparison to the volatile south-heading market. I am glad and thankful for a good and understanding mentor. Such pleasure didn't come very easy too! I had to pass 3 gruesome CMFAS licensing exams which nearly made me unable to fulfill my probation terms which equates to losing my job but that is all history. Always wanting to achieve more, I thought of spending some time every weekend to do volunteer work with animals and I ended up with a part-time post instead - Marine Mammal Trainer with D co. The job is exactly what I was looking for as I was always curious to know the real work that goes behind training and caring for animals and upkeeping their enclosures. So far so good, enjoying the days though I must point out that work is physically very demanding till the point that I am always drained after a day at work.

7) One of the saddest event of my life --- Steven's Death. Never have I ever experience the sudden death of friends or someone close to me. 1st time, very painful. Made me realise how vulnerable life can be and how we should not take things for granted. Shan't dwell on it and move on...

8) Went on too many holidays last year with Simon, Family & Friends.
Simon: Guilin was a random trip as we needed a getaway to a nature place. It was very affordable and the place is really nice for relaxation, looking at the scenic mountains and cycling around the padi fields. Yes and to Hong Kong again as Simon was posted there for work and I went there for a weekend to explore new places with him. Anyway I had unused mileages which were going to expire that year end so why not? Year-end trip to Malapascua was the BEST TRIP to round up the hectic year, I guess we both enjoyed it a lot as there was so much time to slack and swim freely in the private beach. Seeing the thresher shark leap out of water is one of the best moments!

WAT babes: Hanoi was really sucky. After I visited Guilin, I don't quite understand why Halong Bay is a UNESCO site seriously well nevertheless, I enjoyed watching "How I met your mother" with the girls in our hotel suite. Luckily we were smart enough to know that we are a bunch of slackers who will enjoy posturepedic mattresses and cable tv more than walking along honking streets of Hanoi!

SWA girls: Taiwan is always the best place to be with friends, GIRL friends to be specific! 6D5N fully-packed with food, shopping, more food and more shopping. I bought myself 10pairs of pumps and heels only because they were screaming out to me that they were way too cheap to be ignored. Bought a bag of clothes too, noticed that I used "a bag"? I didn't really count the number of pieces that I bought and haven't worn any since I came back... What can I say? At least Chinese New Year clothes are settled =)

Kota Kinabalu was suppose to be a business trip but I sneakily turned it to a half leisure trip =P Flew on Silkair (1st time taking silkair) with Lester and Arnold for seminar, they are the main stars while I'm only a free-riders. Main highlight of the trip is scaling Mount KK with Arnold. It was an extremely-cold-at-night, tiring, 3-hr-sleep-only, physically-demanding 2-day experience but I am glad we survived it. Great to discover from this trip that Arnold is quite caring too. If you ask me whether I will scale another mountain again, I would have answered a big "N""O" in CAPs while I was still catching my breath and fighting off my fever, trying very hard to complete the route. However, looking back at what I have conquered, I might be a bit tempted when Benny told me how magnificent the Himalayas was... time to start preparation/training?

Family trip to Batam: As you have already guessed, it was just a leisure trip over the weekends which was easy to plan and affordable through buying online deals. Really nothing to shout about and more of a family bonding experience.

9) Adding on to travel, this is somehow related. I was kind of tired of working and decided to apply for Working Holiday visa to New Zealand together with Stacy. Seem like now this has to take a back seat as I got a new job opportunity which I would like to work hard on. Shall see how my new job work out and I always have a choice until 13 May 2012.

10) Fitness was one of my achievements for the year as I picked up Tennis from Arnold and made a fairly good investment by signing up for Willow Stream gym spa membership. The price was so attractive (only $750 per annum and includes fitness classes + 2-hr parking each visit) that I couldn't resist! What's more? I began learning yoga and am loving it! At first I thought yoga was just some easy feat for the lazy peeps but it proved to work very well for core strength training and muscle flexibility! Unfortunately, I "neglected" Tennis after a few months as I was too caught up with my weekend commitment. Hopefully I will get some practice by organizing tennis sessions soon!

11) I guess this is going to be one of the best gift I have given myself, where I will continue to enjoy at least for the next quarter of my life? The world is so clear now after the amzing technology --- LASIK. I think the last time I was free of any spects or contacts on was at a tender age of 8? Woah! 17 years of needy friendship on visiual aids! My sudden declaration of independence is as good as China opening up their market to the world, what a wise choice =)

12) The year ended for me torn between my family chalet and the bimbos JB hotel suite. Luckily it ended well as I was able to spend time with both. Hopefully the Bims can countdown in Boracay next year!



Now that I am done reflecting the whole of last year, let me set some targets for this year!





2012 Resolution

1) Establish better relationships with my loved ones i.e. Simon, family & friends

Simon: I am glad I didn't give up on us although there were too many times of exasperation. I am very convinced that you are the one, I don't know how I realise it, maybe just wake up one day knowing it. Reflecting back on our relationship, I truly know how much you mean to me and I hope we can walk our life journey and travel the world together hand-in-hand =)

Family: Unfortunately the most taken for granted and neglected but most depended group of people, I hope for harmony within the family and to bring my mummy for an overseas trip this year, maybe Beijing? The last time we travelled far was in Oct 2010 to Korea. I am glad we managed to at least visit Batam in 2011 together with my brother and his family.

Friends: Mixed feelings due to different priorities and maybe it's just the introvert-loner-me at play again. Sometimes I just don't feel like hanging out with anyone at all and want to be left alone which is impossible if you have an ongoing friendship to maintain. Time is needed to nurture a good friendship though activities like meeting up and b*tching about life. I hope that I can manage my time and emotions better to accommodate all my friends so that no one feels that I don't treasure them or don't give them priority.


2) Grow my wealth by 2x from now through investments and savings

Investments: With the current job, I am in the best position to learn about financial markets and investments. I hope to take the opportunity to make wise and well-planned investments to aid my wealth growth target.

Savings: The most obvious but often overlooked way to accumulate wealth. I ought to cut down on unnecessary indulgences such as
a) massages - I did at least 1 massage (sometimes even 3 or 4 times) per month last year. Way too much! Budget this year: Any kind of massage, once every 2 months only!
b) mani & pedi - Due to working with marine mammals, I am not allowed to wear nail polish. Great rule for me!
c) eye wear - I bought 5 pairs of spectacles in the last 18 months. Time to enjoy my investment in LASIK and stop spending a single cent on any visual aids!
d) apparels - My wardrobe consist of 2 cupboards with 4 doors which cannot close properly due to contents in it spilling out, 1 large travel luggage and a huge plastic box. ENOUGH!
e) footwear - I bought 10 pairs of heels and pumps during the Taiwan trip in July last year and had only worn one pair. My 2011 x'mas gift from Simon was a pair of black Aldo heels. NO MORE for 2012!
f) alcohol - It is expensive and doesn't do good to human body but I still love it! Guess I will have to shop more at DFS =P
g) expensive meals (defined as more than $50 per pax) - Will be good to limit to just special occasions and not more than twice a month


3) Better health and stronger body - Exercise at least 3 times a week (does not include yoga classes), drink a cup of milk and eat fruits everyday, make vegetables my best friend during meals, reduce munching on snacks


4) Take on more task at work
M co.: Hope to start producing and presenting research reports and learn to do equity sales.
My long term goal: Be a featured star analyst on the hottest financial magazine, take on fund manager role and be a sought-after banker =) Sounds good!
D co.: Hope to be a good presenter for shows and start handling dolphins


5) Be more knowledgeable
I realised just how much I don't know... so!!! in order to be in the know, I will need to further my studies! Lazy as I am (I thought that passing CMFAS was an achievement, how myopic can I get?), I definitely need to look beyond my current educational level and maybe purse Masters or CFA? This shall be one of my 2012 resolution to make a planned decision (work out finances and timeline) of what I really want to achieve. Hopefully I can then get down to doing it by 2013!


6) See more of the world
Do a 10km/half marathon in a foreign land to experience and see the country in a different light. Hopefully find a place with great dive sites too! Probable destinations: Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, Lombok
I hope to visit one of this legendary land - Sipadan for diving heaven, Seychelles for the nature and marine life, Christmas Island for animal migration


7) Gadget Desires
(*not important at all) I haven't set my heart or eyes on any yet but I wish to e a proud owner of a new camera with underwater photography ability (or separate device is fine)
Definitely going to get a new phone, just torn between waiting for the in-hard-labour Iphone 5 or get the current 4S or try something different with the Samsung Galaxy Note


Cliché as it may sound, I shall end here with a short note for myself "Life is an adventure, a gift that you should truly enjoy"

Steven's iPhone whatsapp
23 April 2011 10.54am
The wake for steven will be held at blk 204 Marsiling drive from today(sat) 23/04 to tue 26/04.


In my mind I was thinking "Is he pulling a prank on me or something?" I was thinking if I should call him to verify and I called my sis instead to ask if she heard about anything of him. She said no and I called the whatsapp mobile no. back immediately.

Couldn't get through after a few tries, and every moment of delay just make me feel uneasy. I can't wait any longer and called his other private mobile no. which only his close friends know of. As it starts ringing, the fear in me was overwhelming enough to make my hands tremble but I was still hoping to hear him say "harlow, what's up?" to me again.

To my greatest regret, an unfamiliar voice said hello to me. I couldn't help but have to give it one last try "Hello Steven? Where's Steven?". My hands were trembling even more. "I'm sorry, he's no longer with us", the guy's voice started to break down, and so did I.

It's just too sudden, it's hard to swallow... But we have to face up to the fact that you are no longer with us anymore. That's physical but you will always be on our minds. The good buddy you are to so many people around you. Always willing to help anyone in need. You will be missed very very dearly.

I will never forget how nice you were to me throughout the whole time we know each other. You are always there when I needed you, without fail! Accompanying me through my rough patches in life and making me smile all the time. Even when I didn't ask for you, you will somehow still miraculously appear to cheer me up! Thanks for the special last gift you got for me. This blue dream-catcher, though didn't help me get over my insomnia, made me feel warm in my heart and that a true friend like you care about me sincerely.

Lastly, you have the coolest bikes in the whole world!!! And I'm glad you left the world riding on your dream and your love.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
I love you Steven Ang Mia Soon and I miss you very much.





結伴騎大型摩哆車遊泰‧http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif新加坡男大馬翻車死


与车友北上泰国途中翻车 新加坡骑士魂断霹雳

骑越野车征泰国　狮城独子撞死

Only son dies in motorcycle accident

9-day leave APPROVED! Western Australia journey starts as of 26 March to 11 April =)

Simon and I had decided on WA as our destination as Perth was the cheapest "non-asian" city to fly to and they have great diving spots too! I had initially wanted Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rocks really badly but decided to give them a miss and travel within our budget. Simon had also offered to be the one to pay for all expenses on this trip as a gift plus to fulfill his promise of bringing me on an all-expenses-covered-by-him trip. Greatly appreciated =)

Something different this time:



1) I decided to take Tiger instead of SQ - $400nett VS $720nett per tix. Which will you choose? Some will probably take SQ for comfort as it is a 5-hr flight plus there are extra perks like food and in-flight entertainment but for me, I thought we could have better spent the extra charge on something else e.g. car rental or good food.
2) I backpacked instead of the usual trolley-luggage travel so I can move around easily and save on check-in cost too! (Tiger check-in is an extra $15-$25) Yeah I know it's cheap but we had to do a budget travel this time as Simon is paying for everything which wasn't easy for him.


Day 0
I left work in the afternoon to catch my 3.50pm flight at Budget Terminal. It was a total mad rush as I had to hand over many work matters and issues while I am away for 2 weeks! We got there slightly early and had time for a meal at Mac before boarding.

5 hours of compressed air is no joking matter! Hence the need to care for my face =) I was comfortably lying down occupying 2 seats as the flight was pretty empty!



We reached Perth International Airport at night, approximately 9pm and took a cab to our host, Ken's house in Kewdale. It was merely the beginning of our holidays in Australia and we experienced 1st-hand of what everyone has been warning us about --- discrimination. Our cab driver was trying to navigate on his GPS to get us to the correct house and stopped by the roadside to double-check the road sign. It was really dark as there weren't any street lights and really quiet. Suddenly, a car from behind starting honking and drove pass us shouting vulgarities at the cab driver with his middle finger pointed at him. We were pretty shocked as I never had such explicit experience before, even after months of travel in US. The driver, who is from Iran, explained that it was very common here and all he have to do is to "be fierce back" to let them know that he's not a good target for bully. We were glad that we made it safely to Ken's house and what was in for us was a comfortable double bed in a private room!


Day 1

Ken brought us to the mall in the morning so we could buy some groceries. Totally felt like US again with the big billboards and spacious parking lots. One thing we realised was that in Perth, it was common to park head-in, while we usually do reverse parking in Singapore - maybe it's to fully utilise the spacious lot. We were on our own to explore Perth after getting home, the good thing was that there was a bus stop right in front of Ken's house which makes it really convenient! TransPerth has a unique way of charging fares hence it requires some understanding to fully comprehend how to get the best fare for your public transport. We did on some occasions foolishly paid much much more than we should =( I must say Perth's public transport is very well-planned with timetables of bus routes clearly printed with simple maps and quite affordable. However, it would be good if the frequency can be improved and they can operate until a later time. Do you know that their last bus/train on weekends ends at 6 or 7 pm? This means that you can forget about going out if you don't own your own vehicle!



We had arranged to meet Angeline at Fremantle hence took a bus to Burswood to take a train down to Perth before changing to another train line further to Fre0 (that's what Australians call it). Lunch at Gino's, although yummy, didn't come cheap - 2 plates of pastas shared among 4 of us cost a whopping AUD42! We were warned that food in Perth is really expensive, which explains why many people cook and eat-in most of the time! It may also be due to the fact that everywhere in Perth closes at 5pm(especially on weekends)?



After lunch, we walked around Fremantle market and bought fresh grapes and an organic choco doughnut! Damn good! We visited the tourist spots such as the Fremantle prison and hopped on the free CATS bus to visit the Fremantle chocolate factory! Love the free choco tasting =P



Next up was to Shipwreck Galleries, the usual kind of museum visit except that this time round, we were not looking at red indian tools and history. They had fairly interesting sea-related equipments, mostly recovered from the sea with divers going deep into the waters to retrieve them. The day was exceptionally cold and windy hence we decided to have early dinner to seek shelter from the harsh winds. It doesn't help that all of us were in summer clothes! Angeline and Kelvin said it was an unusual day as it was usually very warm.

Anyhow, dinner was decided to be Fremantle's habour-famous Cicerella's Fish & Chips! As we were still very full from late lunch, we bought one portion to share among the 4 of us! Excitingly, I went to order but was taken aback when they told me that tartar sauce will be charged at AUD1.80!? I always thought that condiments are FREE?



We ended the day missing our bus and hiding at Esplanade busport to seek warmth for an hour plus before boarding the last bus 39 home to Kewdale. The suburbs were totally pitch dark at night and it was so easy to miss our stop if not for the friendly bus driver who will inform us when we are suppose to alight! I cannot imagine if we had missed this last bus or our bus stop!


Day 2

It was a blessing that bus 39 extends its service to King's Park on Sundays hence we decided to visit the park with a family rider pass which only cost AUD8.80 for up to 7 pax with unlimited rides on TransPerth services. Good deal right? A family-friendly pass for big groups travelling on weekends or public and school holidays! Perth's King's Park is New York's Central Park equivalent! It overlooks the city and is a nice place for jogging or picnic.



Next up to Cottesloe Beach! Nice beach with many kite surfers doing really cool stunts but it was so chilly that I didn't dare to take a dip. There were so many seagulls around and they were really huge in size - that of my head? One of them even came very close to my hip (refer to photo below), probably to pick up scraps of chips we dropped.



We ended the day with Mc Donald's family meal as dinner (refer to photo below). It was the most value-for-money meal for 4 pax plus one of the very few restaurants opened at 5.30pm that day. Yes we were searching for a decent place to have dinner at 5pm but not many places were opened. As usual, we were charged for requesting for extra sauce. I mean how can we enjoy nuggets w/o sauce?


Day 3

A healthy holiday starts with light jogging at Tomato Lake near Ken's house. The breakfast & Mac dinner photos was taken the day before. Breakfast for us were usually toast and milk we bought from the shops. One interesting fact I found out was that our host stored his bread in the freezer and toast them only when he wants to eat them. Many others (Angeline does that too) also do that to preserve their bread for a longer time (as long as weeks!) as a loaf of bread is quite big. I miss freshly baked bread...



We explored the city of Perth and took the short ferry ride over to South Perth. Did you know that Coke in Perth cost AUD3plus per can? We were so glad to find AUD1 Mountain Dew at Esplanade Busport!



There were loads of interesting shops with nice designs at South Perth. We also went for Outlet Shopping at Habour Town and got myself a pair of shades and pumps =) Good Buy!




Food, especially good ones, plays a paramount role in our holiday. Lunch was at Red Rooster, a fast food chain which is only found in Australia. I love Red Rooster's fries! They taste like seasoned chips, very yummy!

Later in the evening, our 2nd CS host, Elise and Russ, picked us from Ken's house and brought us to their nice house in Bassendean. We once again got a private room with double bed (refer to photo below) and even have our own toilet and bathroom! We took one last photo with Ken and his beloved bike before leaving. He is an avid biker and a very adventurous/active man - skydived more than 600 times!

Elise and Russ introduced us to Alfred's Kitchen which Simon and I totally LOVE!!! They serve really good burgers and there is a fire place where you can sit around to keep warm while you dig into your meal. Elise and Russ also brought us to see King's Park as they wanted us to feel the difference when we are there in the morning and at night. It's nice to just relax on the grass patch and see the twinkling stars.




Day 4

We took a train to Perth City the next morning to pick up our rental car. It was supposed to be from Baywater but their service was really bad hence we changed to car2000. We had a reservation with Bayswater (I think we paid an online deposit too!) and they told us that they ran out of GPS when we were there to collect our car. Instead of offering us an alternative, they simply snapped at us with a "take-it-or-leave-it" attitude without any trail of remorse at all! Do they even know what customer service means? We can be bothered as we do not want to ruin our holidays and paid a cancellation fee of AUD10 to shut them off. Car2000, located right opposite Bayswater was a whole load better! Their staff offered us additional maps in case the GPS go bonkers and gave us a wire to plug in our ipods for music during roadtrips!

We headed straight to Caversham Wildlife Park right after. It's a highly recommended place to go if you would like to have close interaction with animals. Check out our kangaroo-feeding photos below =)



Ahahaha I hear your laughter... Now you know why people always say 马脸? The gums and the jaw is really hilarious! The pig and little lambs are really cute too! Check out the retired camel farm owner sign.



The Molly's Farm Show is a good way for city dwellers like myself to know more about farm work. They demonstrated the use of whip to crack, swinging of pail for tea and herding dog at work. There was even a "live" demo of how a sheep is sheared! In case you are wondering why I was touching the freshly sheared sheep, I was frantically trying to gain cosmetic benefits from it! We were told that Lanolin, a natural oil found in the sheep's fleece and produced when sheeps are sheared to keep their body moisturised, is the main ingredient used in women's expensive beauty products. So how can I miss out on this bargain =) for FREE? Haha and I also got a chance to milk a cow for the 1st time in my whole life!





My 2 funny encounter with animals: The cow pee-ed rightaway when Simon tried to milk it! So funny, it was as though he squeezed the wrong part =P The deer was poo-ing as it was walking away from me and I thought its waste look very much like hershey's chocolate kisses =X



It's rare for city dwellers like us to be in close contact with animals hence I just have to play with them for a while more! The furry bear-seal-like grey creature is called a wombat. It's really cute and lazy but Russ told us that there was a recent news report abotu a wombat attacking a camper as he accidentally stepped on it when getting off his vehicle. It was so unbelievable as wombats are know to be mellow...



After Caversham Wildlife Park, we headed to Swan Valley for some wine & cheese and chocolate tasting. Love all of them! When we got home, Elise and Russ were so nice to have prepared BBQ dinner for us which included Kangaroo steak... Yummy =P It's lean and fat-free!




Day 5

A day trip to a nice town called Kalamunda in Perth's Hill and its surroundings. There was so much to see! We drove up the hill and through the zigzag road which we were told that they sometimes hold racing events there. We visited the interesting bee farm where I finally understood how honey is harvested. We also visited the beautiful lake and the important dam. One of the most interesting sight was the bibbulum track which stretches from Kalamunda (Perth Hills) to Albany (South Coast), nearly 1000km long!



The town had an evening market (equivalent of our pasar malam) going on that day and we returned to Perth after taking a walk. Dinner was with our host at a Chinese resturant as there was a CS gathering.




Day 6

Hilary Habour was a good place for tanning and a dip. It's a mystery how they can keep the waters so clear even though it's a docking port for all the yatch! We did many jetty jumps and also took many lonely-planet alike photos at the fabulous beach next to it! Since we had the luxury of driving, we took the scenic route along the beach all the way to Frementale and ended the day with Fish & Chips at Kaili's - wanted to compare which is nicer at Freo Habour!

Looking forward to my trip to Perth, my next post will probably be a review of it!

I have to admit that I am kind of having mood swings or just emotionally unstable these few days. Well, maybe not? But I am missing the feeling of falling in love =)

Remember the time when you lay your eyes on someone special and just can't take your eyes off him/her? At any moment that you can afford, you will just take the chance to steal glances at him/her?

And then you realise you want to know more about him/her so you start digging info from your friends or find out his/her schedule and personal details? You will be overjoy to even know that a friend of yours is a good friend of his/her so there is some kind of "connection", so that maybe it can help to pull you closer to the special one?

When you know that you both are somehow related in some ways, you will try as much as possible to make "coincidences" happen e.g. bump into him/her along the corridor or join the same activities in school or hang out at the same club/ resturants.

Maybe you all have talked, maybe not, but miraculously both of you exchanged contacts like maybe email? So you can't wait to check him/her out on facebook and hopes that he/she keeps a blog then you pray that the email works for msn as well.

After some exchanges on such online social networking tools, both of your mobile phones are stored with each other's number but nothing happens. The best part that comes along would be to see that special someone's name appear on your phone! Either an sms or a phone call can make you go crazy!

And then you all start to meet up, and go on dates. During all this while, you feel shy and inhibited. You only present your best front and put on your best whatever you can! You can just smile to yourself without any specific reason all the time, just because you are having that someone in mind.

Everything is perfect as you start to explore someone you are so attracted to! Such sweet moments only happen once and for a short time and I am sure everyone enjoys it so much. You feel that you can spend your whole life with him/her.

All these thoughts came along while I watched the trailer of "New York, I Love U". Guess it will be stronger when I watch the whole movie!

I hope to fall in love all over again...

Yeah!!! I finally got my well-deserved bonus today after close to 1 year of hard work =) As I am not entitled to AWS, this little bonus means a lot to me. Although amount is not substantial, it's just enough to replace what's missing in my salary package. Did I mention that I got a little increment too? Wish me luck for more to come. Huat ah!!!

It's a season to be jolly lalalalala la la la LA~~~ Yeah it's time of the year again where people take a whole long break period to go on holidays or simply just celebrate. As for me, I kept it simple to just a short trip to KL during X'mas and steamboat countdown at Elaine's house.

Baby and I decided to visit KL since I haven't been there before, yeah I know very sua gu but I just didn't get the chance. I managed to purchase the last few return bus tickets at the Lavender bus terminal (haha just opposite my office) for $57 per pax. At 1st we were worried that last-row seats are not comfy but it wasn't too bad. We set off from Singapore at 8.30am, arrived at KL about 2.30pm and were both so hungry that we immediately went on our food hunt right after we checked into Equatorial Hotel!!! I must say that our efforts to hunt for this Hakha Yong Tau Hoo wasn't wasted - The Food is SO GREAT! I like the unique Chee Cheong Fun taste, it's like dry skinny hor fun made salty with crispy bee hiam. We also love the fried dumpling!



We decided to watch a movie to kill some time and decided on "Sherlock Holmes", great movie I must say. Our itinerary for the rest of the trip was all just about shopping and eating... I am so surprised to see Krispy Kreme there and can't help but had to let darling try what I had experienced in the states. We had planned to visit the Petronas Twin Tower very early in the morning on Day 2. Unfortunately, as holidays should be, we only managed to wake up at 7.30 am and reached the lobby at 8.30am. By that time, the crowd was crazy beyond imagination (check out the photo on bottom left). Hence we could only continue our hunt for good food haha and we tried Sister Drunken Chicken Mee. The wine taste is very overpowering and it's really subjective - I liked it but Simon didn't.



Shopping at Times Square was good for girls out on the prowl for blogshop dresses. I got 2 dresses and a top for myself at a steal! Cost of 1 dress: RM25, top: RM10. Of course there are more expensive ones but as you should know, Ms Jasmine only loves the best bargains! Haha =P We also visited ChinaTown which wasn't to our liking at all. It feels like HK's Ladies St so we simply sat down at a resturant for dinner to pass time. The service sucks although the food was not too bad. Can you imagine having to call out more than 5 times for someone to clear your table and another 5 times to get someone's attention to take your orders? Wells, maybe my expectations are too high!

WanPing happen to be on family trip to KL and Sunway Lagoon hence we met up for a drink at the bar of Trader's Hotel. I simply love the stunning view from the bar at level 36! Look at the photos and you will know what I mean. WP's family came with us too, only reason being that PIG didn't bring any identity out with her and her family is worried that she might be checked by matas(police)! From what I heard, it is an offence not to produce any form of identity upon request by officials and they can lock you up to 48/72 hours immediately and there is no way for you to contact anyone during this time. I also heard (no prize for guessing who I heard it from) that there was a famous case in Malaysia whereby a girl was locked up for 18months as she didn't have her ID and didn't have the chance to contact anyone, oh my!



We had a whole lot of time on the last day as our return bus to Singapore was at 10.30pm, no choice. Simon wanted to go to Batu Caves very badly but unfortunately, we never made it there. We asked for directions from 6 different people and got 6 different responses! In the end we decided to just sit down and have a slice of Secret Recipe cake each. We also went to the sky tower but didn't go up as the resturant was fully booked. We then proceeded to KLCC for some shopping and I bought a bra from La Senza =P 15% off for UOB cards!



Oh did I mention that there was free shuttle service from the ground to the base of the tower? You can choose to walk but it's quite a distance plus it's elevated! We planned to have dinner at Nandos as baby kept saying that he must eat it! The food is really good but it brought upon us a nightmare later on as their service is really slow and their cashiering machine was down. Anyway, Nandos is coming to Singapore so it won't be too long before I can enjoy it again!



We nearly couldn't make it back to SG if not for bolt's smart idea and my strong stamina! By the time we finished our meal and rushed them to settle the bill, it was already 10.20pm. We hurried to take the tram and changed tram and finally reached the puduraya bus terminal and we ran and ran like no one's biz! We finally found the booth and asked for the boarding stairs no. but was told that chances are slim as the bus probably left. We bolted right down the no.13 stairs to the lot where buses are parked to pick up passengers only to be told by drivers there that the KL-SG bus left and this bus is not for us. Simon and I was very sian and he suddenly just said "the bus is in front, it just left!" So we chased after that moving bus and stopped it, only to realise KL-IPOH. Oh MY... imagine my disappointment. Then suddenly Simon said the most brilliant sentence of his life "go to the main road!". The beauty about this terminal is that it has only one blardy entrance and one stupid exit which explains the congestion but the design has finally prove its usefulness for our case. We ran and banged through the crowd and finally got to the main road where buses exit and Simon stopped one of the bus which was about to filter out to the highway road. I was actively catching up with his speed and you cannot imagine my joy to see KL-SG!!!! Oh my, my heart finally came to a relieve when I went up the stairs and saw that row 3 was empty - that was our assigned seats.

What a way to end our trip =)




Tadang!!! Sumptous Steamboat for the New Year! Took a half day off work (my company doesn't practice half-days =( sad!) to join Bimbos in getting food. We had bimbotic times preparing the food and getting ready.



I remembered we took a smiliar photo years ago... here



We still had our norm to do x'mas present exchange! We also had fun with card games and the oh-so-funny Monopoly! Elaine is as her job title suggest, the best with keeping cash! Seek and me were struggling to keep afloat and Stacy is the funniest! She kept offering collaborations to help the poor but doesn't benefit herself too much. Shows how suitable she can be in doing business. In the end she got so fed up that she said we should just end the game, and we DID! haha =D



We also identified our characteristics at work with the Bad Boss card game seek brought.
Elaine: MC King, Uptight Bitch
Me: PIG aka SOB (i.e. office bulldozer who'll do anything to get things done), Gossiper
Seek: Pantry Thief
Linda: Micro Manager
Stacy: Mental Case, Nervous Wreck

The game is suppose to end with a player losing when he/she is left with the BAD BOSS card. However for Bimbos to play, the player who gets the BAD BOSS card gets to sleep on the bed! Haha so bimbotic!



We started our day with a brunch fondue! A happy start to a new year!!!