hectic hectic hectic

i’ve been so so so busy. tiring, really.

IPL
i developed some rashes on my forehead. thought it would go away on its own but when it started to get more and more itchy day by day, i decided to see dr yeak on Monday, 4th day after the IPL. she said it was not uncommon and gave me a tube of mild steroids to apply. she also assured me that the freckles will drop off by Tuesday night.

That very night, almost all my freckles dropped off. now i have 2 to 3 freckles on each side of my cheekbone, just below the eye, and also the ones on my nose. the rest… ALL GONE! poof! disappeared… it’s amazing really.

for a while, i couldn’t get used to my ‘new’ face. the poreless, flawless, glowing cheeks. i felt… insignificant. strange right? i felt like i look like any other person on the street, not that i was pretty before, but more like i look really plain now.

of cos by now i’m used to it, and especially when the glow doesn’t last that long… day by day the glow is fading and the pores are returning to their usual size. that’s how long IPL can last. haha… but i’m pretty sure the freckles will stay away for a couple of years at least.

property
so dearest joined the property market 2 weeks ago. i’ve had some interesting times visiting the area which he decided to specialist in together with him. there was a lot of work to be done – designing flyers, collecting flyers, arranging for people to distribute them. downloading contact list and making cold calls to everyone on the list. taking photos and collecting information on the properties which dearest have on hand. editing those photos and putting them on the www for advertisement. and more and more and more…

lots of work. i try to help as much as possible (mostly admin stuff) and have been staying up late quite a lot. it’s not easy. and to top it off, weekends and public holidays are wasted because dearest will have to bring buyers for viewing. so the past few days, i’m pretty much on my own.

a little lonely but i’m adjusting to it. as long as dearest strive on and don’t give up, i’m sure he will succeed! everyday is a step nearer to our common goal. to my dear friends, you can help us too! pls look out for any of your friends or family members who are interested in selling, buying or rent apartments, houses or even commercial space (shophouses, factory, etc), and recommend my dearest ok… he’s new but i assure you he will try his best.

work
i was pretty unmotivated to work in the last couple of months. last thur & fri though, i worked late (7pm & 1030pm) and felt quite good. i guess it’s all in the mind. it was a busy day at work today as well, and i didn’t feel as unmotivated as before. i guess i shouldn’t be rash and keep thinking about giving up a good paying job right? hang on, hang on…

seriously allergic

to work…

the moment i stepped into the main office, i felt cold.
the next moment i went into my office (which had ALL air-vents closed upon my requests), my head felt heavy.
once i sat down, i quickly put on the thick cotton jacket.
moments after the laptop starts up, i started sneezing non-stop.

actually, i experienced exactly the same thing yesterday. and felt shitty enough to wish to go home early for a nap. but i didn’t. and i felt better right after work! LOL

am i allergic to work or what??

i think it’s just me.

woo hoo!

finally, the weekend is here. soon enough.

daytime this week has been not-so-good. received sickening news at work. i’m going to have a new boss. the big boys up there decided to give the finance organization structure a revamp and move the teams around as they wish – like monopoly pieces.

i’m pissed about the developments. and i’m even more pissed about the lack of devlepments. this time round, i am not going to sit around and mope without doing anything. i’ve already highlighted my concerns to one level and if nothing comes out of it, i am going to escalate to the next level.

the best thing out of this is that i spoke to dearest about how i felt about the whole issue and he is supportive. if things do not improve, i might just throw in the towel. i can’t always hang around and be bullied just cos the big boys think i need this job very badly right?

anyway, i know i am being ultra cryptic here and you won’t understand much of it. originally i wanted to relate the whole thing at length and then lock it up but i’m just to lazy to do that. anyway, you are probably not interested in what i have to say about my work anyway. heh.

nightime, on the other hand, was not-so-bad! on wednesday, dearest picked me up from work and we went pak-tor-ing! it’s been some time since we’ve done that. dearest was dressed very smartly that night as he went for an interview earlier and maybe he felt very executive, so we went to marina and esplanade and mingle with the working class. ha.

dinner was at the glutton bay – steamboat in individual claypot style, cooked over charcoal, plus a mini bbq! it was rather special but the slow cooking time disappointed us a little (cos we were sooo hungry!). food is alright, not exactly fantastic but not bad enough to complain about.

then we strolled under the cool breeze, hand-in-hand… it feels great! to be able to spend time with someone you love in the middle of a lousy work week. and then we did something which we’ve never done before in our 7 years together! we went to 爱琴海!

i’ve been to the music cafe before with my ex-classmates but not with dearest. and dearest had always wanted to go. most of the times when we go to marina square together, we will walk pass, think about going in but never did. this time we finally did! yeah! it was pretty enjoyable… i think we might just go back there again.

i was so pleased by the mid-week dating that i slept like really really soundly that night… and… overslept the next morning! wahahaha…

work sucks. but i’m happy when dearest is around.

meeting the old pals later! should be full of gossips and complaints later… yeah! =)

it’s today

the day where my fellow colleagues in the regional office will be told of their fate.

and i’m so sad now because one of the affected is a close colleague.

just days ago i spoke of him to dearest, describing how kind and generous he is to encourage me to fulfil my dream of buying my own home and assuring me that if at any time i run into financial problems, he will surely lend a helping hand. he helped to clear my confused thoughts and urged me to lead a life that i am happy with and not to be overly bothered by what happens in future.

just days later, he lost his job.
damn! he has always been a good performer. why did it happen to him?
to make it worse, today is his birthday

sometimes, life just sucks.

time to reconsider the plan on condo b.

sheena & jackson called dearest after work to see if we are free for dinner.
dearest couldn’t make it as he was rushing for a deadline.
so they came all e way down to tanah merah to pick me up for dinner!
we went to tampines for the yummy curry fish head. a
nd sheena knows i’ve been spoilt by dearest all these years, so she asked jackson to pick e fish meat for me! and then they even sent me home after dinner.
and best of all, dinner was free!

where to find such great pals??!
thank you thank you thank you!!!

————————————————

reached home and had a quick chat with daddy.
and he started telling me about stuffs which happened to his girlfriend’s daughter at work.
i tell you, the feeling sucks.
sucks beyond any description.
i always consoled myself that daddy loves me the most.
maybe i have been deceiving myself all these years?

————————————————

an unexpected announcement was made in office today
something which meant that people may lose their jobs
basically, HQ has decided to consolidate the current many regions in only 3 regions
asia pacific is to merge with middle east
what this means is that 2 regional offices will now become 1
i won’t state the obvious but one can imagine the number of redundancies that will come by soon
will i be affected? i’m not sure.
frankly, i’m not VERY worried that i will lose my job
but i’m pretty sure that i will have additional duties
well well… this is going to be one interesting year…

happy happy things!!

• celebrating 6 years and 8 months!

early in the morning, when dearest and i had our usual morning call, he said ‘happy anniversary’ to me! yippee… he remembered! hee…

 in the evening, we met for dinner as usual. but this time round we went to the newly opened tampines 1 and had japanese food! i think it’s called manpuku or something like that. it’s like marche. the food wasn’t fantastic but i quite enjoyed it… after all, it was spending precious time with dearest

after tat, we actually queued up to go into uniqlo! i saw this really cute t-shirt but dearest felt it was too kiddy for him. so after a long consideration, we didn’t buy it.

 

• bought 2 lovely dresses!

then we walked back to tampines mall (the parking is cheaper there!) and on the way i bought myself 2 dresses from ness and also a belt to go along! both blue but i really love them. total damage $221.45 *phew*

and, totally inspired by the dresses, i went home and ironed them immediately! wanted to wear one of them today but ended up wearing another dress (which is brand-new, rotting away in my wardrobe for like a year?!).

i feel pretty! hahahaha…

 

• on leave tomorrow!

i didn’t mention this before but my company has mandated a 10-day unpaid leave for staff, effective from April. On top of that, we are unable to carry our unused leaves to next year. effectively, this means that i have a total of 33 days leave to clear in the next 9 months – this is about 3 to 4 days per month!

so, basically apart from the first week of the month, i will be taking at least 1 day off every week. 4 day work week! how shiok is that? nah… it’s not shiok at all because it means i suffer a 5% pay cut every month, and is still expected to complete all my projects and deadlines anyway.

but well, looking on the bright side, i’m off from work tomorrow! and i have many activities planned…

 

• planning to perfect my eyesight!

first up! i have decided to pamper myself and go for lasik treatment!

one fine day, a colleague stopped me along the corridor and asked if i’m short-sighted. cos on somedays i’m wearing spectacles, and some days i’m not. then he asked casually why wouldn’t i go for lasik? and he shared the success stories of him and his wife who were like serious myopic before, but now enjoying perfect eyesight!

so he recommended his doctor and i did a research for feedback on dr lee hung ming and he has got fantastic reviews!

so i made up my mind and will be seeing dr lee tomorrow for my lasik evaluation, which is just a series of tests to determine whether i’m suitable for lasik. excited!!!

at the same time, i have made another appointment to see the gynae for a regular pap smear test. both doc are at gleneagles… so convenient!

 

• meeting besties!

and then… after my appointments, i’m going to meet J&J! looking forward to hearing how recharged jackie is after quitting her job and also to cheer jaslyn up! we are heading to a fren’s restuarant at bugis… yummy avocado milk, here i come!

 

• getting bonus!

and… last but not least, today i received the bonus letter from my boss! this further confirmed that i have sufficient funds to do lasik! haha… and buy a few gifts for dearest, and more! hooray!

are u home yet?

sigh… my poor love is working too hard.

it’s just 4 days and he’s working overtime (unpaid) for the second day today. the last time he worked till 11pm without dinner. it’s 9.30pm now and he’s still at work.

痛。心痛。。。

learn to drive. at work

one day, my boss walked into my office and saw car brochures lying around on my desk.

boss: so, you are buying a car!
me: i was, but not anymore, cos my bf says i need more practice first
boss: so, how are you going to practice if you don’t have a car?!
me: oh, i can drive his car when he’s around
boss: so, tell me, if you display the p plate, do you need someone to be beside you when you drive?
me: nope
boss: oh! so why dun you drive my car during lunchtime?

*nice of him to offer right?*

continues…

me: erm… but your car is so huge (honda odyssey)
boss: but the size of the car doesn’t matter when driving on the road. it’s only parking that is more difficult
me: erm… so after i come back from lunch, i’ll ask the security guards to valet park for me? (jokingly)
boss: *seriously* oh, u can always call me and i’ll come down to park for you

*wah… gam dong sia*

me: oh… thanks a lot, but i think i’ll skip the offer…

wahahahaa….

sidetrack: this reminds me. sometime last year, i was travelling to and fro another office very frequently and had taxi claims of about $500 per month. boss left me a sticky note when he approved my claims: “buy a car!”

Protected: work rant #2

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it passes in a flash

and i mean the weekend…

i tell you… my dearest has been a gem. again.
he picked me from work on fri and we rushed down to suntec to search for the elusive pair of stockings.
and so he patiently led me through the mad crowd to endless shops and thank god we finally found it.

on sat, dearest picked me up from my place and sent me to the hairdresser and again patiently waited for me while i had my hair washed, cut, blown, cut again and blown again in preparation for the dinner and dance later that night. and needless to say, he also sent me to the hotel.

and so… presenting to you my outfit for dinner and dance 2008:

ok, i know this is not exactly a very flattering picture due to the helmet looking hair (urgh)… but i’m pleased with the outfit and i must share that the whole outfit is sponsored by dearest!

from top to toe:
hair cut – $22
diamond necklace – $1k+ (birthday present lar.. but purposely bought for the occasion)
black dress – $119
black stockings – $15
black killer high heels – $29
and oh… i just thought of this… the perfume which i wore – ralph lauren romance – priceless because it’s the first present which dearest bought for me. yeah… more than 6 years le…

once again, dearest, you are the best!

the dinner went well. oh, did i say i was performing? kind of anyway… i had to assist the GM in a magic show. i actually get into a tiny box and the GM slides half a dozen of swords into the box. i didn’t have to do anything but it was pretty fun to be involved in the performance.

this morning (sunday), we went for our usual badminton practice. sweated a lot because dearest make me take care of the back of the court rather than the front which meant that i had to run around more than usual. but it was a great workout.

then we headed for lunch at jalan kayu and then to partyworld for sing song session!!

and i promised myself that we must take some pictures today. and so we happily took out the camera and snapped…. and then… the camera died on us. i have forgotten to charge it after the dinner and dance.

luckily we managed to take 1 picture:

ok… it’s another not so flattering picture and i think dearest will kill me for putting this pic up… but that’s the only picture we have!!

ok… good night… back to work tomorrow…

ARGH!

just came back from a mini but important company event at changi village. took pains to dress up as it was supposed to be a formal event. beside me is a dear colleague turned friend cum sister. well, she’s actually from my department and over the years we have looked out for each other and became close confidantes.

after the event, both of us took a cab home together. the moment i got into the cab, i felt this dull headache creeping up. by the time i reached home, i was feeling really tired. must be that time of the month soon.

but i forced myself to put a week’s worth of clothes into the washing machine for laundry anyway. and then stayed in bed for a nap, feeling feverish. finally, when an hour passed, i went to check on the laundry.

AND FOUND THAT THERE IS AN “dE” ERROR AND THE WASH CYCLE IS STUCK AT A RINSE CYCLE! WITH THE WATER FULL!

ARGH…. ~!@#$%^&*()*^$@#%&(!

so i tried all sorts of methods – turning off the machine, changing the cycle pattern, draining the water from the ‘tube’, taking some clothes out of the machine, etc etc.

AND NOTHING WORKS!

damn. now i’ve just switched off the main power and hope that after 20 mins or so, the toopid washing machine can wake up its idea!

the machine is only a few months old! how can it break down like that???
and what am i going to do with the wet clothes? i don’t feel like hulling them out and wringing them dry, not in my feverish state!

bleh!

where is the weekend?

i have a zillion things to do. but i absolutely need to rant. or else i will go crazy be depressed.

work and deadlines are driving me crazy. and my emotions are starting to go haywire.

i dunno why i have become like this. in the past, work never frazzled me. i have lots of stamina and i could go on and on and on. going home at 11pm and starting work at 8am the next day consecutively for several days merely brings about casual complaints from me but i do not lose my motivation.

but now? i start work at 9am, leave work at 6pm. and i don’t even have to do all the boring technical work myself. but i feel… lousy. totally drained of energy.

can anyone tell me why i am feeling all these?

to make things worse, on and off colleagues just piss the hell out of me. is it them, or is it just me?

i used to daydream about quitting and taking time to ‘find myself’, to retreat and just do nothing for a while. my finances can surely allow me to do that for quite a period of time. but being the practical me, i know i will only dream about it and will never action on it.

now, with the economy turning into recession, i wouldn’t even think about quitting, let alone dreaming about it. yet… the motivation to strive further just isn’t there.

i desperately need something to perk me up. problem is, what is it?

i come home and have things to complete. but i become sleepy and had to sleep early. even going out after work isn’t that enticing anymore. i just feel like sleeping away. where have my energy levels disappeared to?

when i think all of these, i am upset at myself. for being so hopeless, for thinking so negatively. and then i think even more negatively, and then my mood changes, and then dearest will have to tolerate me and try to cheer me up. it’s not good for me, not fair to dearest, and very bad for the relationship. oh my…. can i get out of this?

actually, it’s not even as bad as it sounds here, but the negativity is making me exaggerate things. i dun have the answer as to why.

my only guess is… i’m burnt out? from what? i dunno.

well, the consolation is that dearest has always been there, loving and patient. so i should be thankful, yeah?

i just want to weekends to come quickly, and never go away… is that too much to ask for? i guess i know the answer.

ok, back to work.

Protected: work rant #1

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a new week ahead

it’s monday. again.
was feeling quite blue in the morning. didn’t want to wake up. didn’t want to get to work.
thought about taking leave again some day this week. full day.

made it to work eventually.
and surprisingly, the day was alright.
colleagues at work pissed me off a little but it’s manageable.
completed several pieces of work.
not bad not bad… haha… optimisim at work here…

ok. quick update on weekend.
for the first time in 6 long years, i saw dearest play ‘competitive’ basketball!
by ‘competitive’ i dun mean like a full basketball match, but well, at least it’s more than 1 man, more then just shooting hoops.

jaslyn was nice to invite dearest to join in the game with her hubby’s friends/colleagues.
for the first time, i get to see dearest dribbling past other men, defending, making fake passes etc etc! hahaha… (pardon my lousy language on basketball terms – not very familiar with the game)
i think it was a great workout for dearest.

then we went to jalan kayu for breakfast/lunch. ya… so fatty right…
i didn’t know roti pratas are soooo expensive nowadays!
a cheese prata costs $2.70! cheese, flour, and oil! more expensive than chicken rice!

and dearest caught a cold over the weekend.
recover quickly ok!

hope the week will pass really quickly…
hmm… maybe i should apply for leave. wed maybe?
i’ll sleep on it tonight. results will be revealed tomorrow.

nite!

3 days and counting

tuesday, wednesday and 6th year anniversary! yippeeee!
14 August. we won some money from this lovely date: 1408. lucky number…

this is going to be really random:

• we kicked off sunday morning with breakfast at CMC. custard buns! yummy…
• two hours of badminton for dearest and i (sheena & jackson had something on). non-stop except for two 5 mins break. dearest said i’ve improved!
• went home with plans to study with dearest for his exam. on the way back, dearest needed to honk at the car in front of him. *h~o~n~k* it came out weak and airy. lao4 hong1, you know? hahaha… was so funny. i told dearest it must be because he used up the quota already.
• from 3.30pm to 8.30pm. guess what we did? for 5 long hours, we watched the olympics! i didn’t know we were such hard-core fans. haha…
• went to grab a quick curry fishhead dinner.
• watched olympics again. from 10pm to 12.30am. gosh…
• dearest patiently waited for more than an hour for me just to have a quick lunch with me. sweet dearest.
• my boss spoke to me about my annual appraisal (kind of). got quite a good rating. we discussed about my aspirations. frankly, i wasn’t very prepared for this. but i think the session went well. i gave some suggestions about changing my current role to something bigger. and even thought of some impromptu plans for the department. i think he was quite convinced. now it is up to him to bring it up to his boss. let’s see how it goes. not pinning much hopes on it. but at least i said my piece.
• met up with sheena for dinner tonight. first time without the guys. had a good talk about our ‘open-secrets’. am really glad that i finally got it out and shared with sheena. luckily she was really supportive. learnt more about her as well. short dinner, but definitely fruitful.

oops…. i just remembered. the whole aim of coming online tonight was to help my dad search for the walkthrough for an xbox game (yeah… my dad loves the game). better get on with that now before i forget again.

that’s all for now! really random stuff.
tomorrow will be a great day. great week ahead!

tuesday, wednesday, thursday… … …

i must blog about this

actually, it’s nothing exciting – not to you anyway.

it’s 2am in the morning and i need to get up at 7am in 5 hours’ time but i feel i should blog about some things before it gets too outdated.

i have been absolutely busy this week. attended a meeting from 8.30 to 6.30 on Monday, non-stop except for a 40 min lunch break and a couple of 10 min toilet break. then headed to sg flyer where we arranged a get-together with the senior managers and only reached home about 11.30pm.

the next day, started work from 8.30. worked non-stop in isolation and with concentration, and only knocked off at close to 8pm.

and the best thing is, despite my neglect for dearest, he showed me that he truly understands. and he not only waited for me patiently while i worked on tue (he waited for 2 hours! in the car! poor him…), he also encouraged me, brought me to dinner, and helped me run errands! i was really touched and deep down in my heart, i appreciated him a lot. unfortunately, i didn’t quite expressed how i felt to him because i was just so tired and stressed from work. thank god you understand, my dearest.

dearest needed me to help him with something. and he patiently waited for me to make time for him, without realising that i have another company event on wed night. when i told him about it on mon night, he was shocked. but he was so gracious that he didn’t make any fuss out of it and even encouraged me to attend, knowing that it will help to relieve my stress.

today i woke up at 6 and attended a meeting from 8.30 to 5. with a 35 min lunch (1 slice of warm pizza!) and three 5 min toilet breaks. before attending the evening event, he called me several times and reminded me to take care of myself.

that’s my dearest. so ever considerate, so ever loving and so ever encouraging.

tomorrow i am finally taking half day leave to help my dearest. although i won’t be able to see him tomorrow afternoon, knowing that i am able to be of help to him drives me on.

dearest, for all your love, i will definitely reciprocate in other ways. what will i be without you? you will always be my one and only love.

ps: dearest got an A- for both CCM & MRP. wonderful isn’t it! continue to work hard!

sweet dreams all…

i passed!

remember my earlier post about taking the cpa exam?
according to ICPAS, candidates will be receiving the results in 6 to 8 weeks from the day of exam.
last week was the 8th week. and i didn’t receive anything! wah… so worried that i have failed.
checked with phyllis on mon and found that she is also anxiously waiting for the results.

today alice asked me about it. and i said i have not received the results yet.
and guess what, when i opened the letter box just now, there was a letter from ICPAS!
really quite anxious. tore the envelope and pulled out the letter… and flipped it open… and the word shows: PASS.

YIPPEE!! woohooo….
i think alice is my lucky star!

but here’s the catch. i passed the exam. but i am not a CPA yet.
seems like i will need to apply to ICPAS with the results in order to be a CPA officially.
oh well…

i passed!!!!

—————-

have not seen dearest for 2 days le. may be 3 days if i don’t see him tomorrow as well.
missing him lots. sigh…

edited:
just half an hour after this post, dearest showed up miraculously in my room! last weekend, i gave dearest the key to my apartment so that he can let himself out if i fell asleep etc. so tonight he surprised me by appearing unannounced. with presents! dearest darling bought me a lovely baby g watch. it’s an old model but he knows i love it. so he bought it for me – no reasons (except that he loves me? haha). i also get a new addidas sports tee to match my green shorts!
dearest left quickly since it was quite late le… and, well, i am still missing him…

of motivation & …

i used to be a person full of dreads. i would wake up in the morning and think “oh no, another boring day”, “sigh, another assignment to work on”, “gosh, life sucks” etc etc. then i would be moody for the whole day and put on my “go away”, “leave me alone” face.

back then, life is meaningless. i was really quite pessimistic.

corny as it sounds, life slowly changed when i met dearest. you can’t deny that the spark of new love brings excitement and hope to your life. of cos i didn’t change overnight – there were still little things that set me back. i still fret about being alone at times, still complain about things. but as the weeks turns into months, my perspectives changed. i learnt to find joy in little things, learnt to look forward to silly enjoyable things that will happen in the next hour or so.

for example, i will wake up unwillingly, but encourage myself by looking forward to stealing some sleep on the bus journey to work. or i will be stressed about work but motivate myself by thinking about the gossip session during lunch later. these little things keep me going, hour by hour, day by day…. year by year.

it has worked perfectly, until recently again.

not sure what is the reason. work perhaps? why is it no longer fun to work? the past 2 weeks were really tough for me. work is piling up – progress on projects were slow. close colleagues are leaving and the workplace is becoming less cosy. time is never enough, to be shared between work and dearest, leaving little time for myself, daddy & doggies. in the morning i assume my fm role, in the night i assume my gf role. there were less time for favorite past times and tension builds up. thankfully dearest has been patient and forgiving towards my changing tempers.

i have not been sleeping well. because i have so little time for myself, i squeeze every min doing the things that i love. i spend too much time online, catching up on my favorite forums, one of my joys. and then i feel tired the next day due to lack of sleep. i have 2 presentations to prepare this week and i totally dread them. don’t ask me why. i also worry about dearest’s coming exam and wish for him to do his best.

and guess what? 1 of the presentation is over today – it was well and boss even said thanks and complimented on the good work. and dearest’s exam will be over tomorrow. and i’ll be heading to a sing song session tomorow evening. and best of all…. dearest is bringing me to bangkok on fri!

hopefully all these will cheer me up and bring some energy back into my life.

dearest, these few weeks were tough for you as well. forgive me for showing signs of irritation at times. pls understand that they are not directed at you – that i merely needed some avenues to vent some frustrations. sems like the tough times will be over tommorow. let’s switch back to our relax mode and enjoy 100% this weekend. i’m sure this getaway will bring us even closer! and when we are back, i will revert back to the same me you have loved all these years.

i want my life back!!! it’s painful to be full of dreads!

bangkok, here we come!!!

sneak preview of the 5 star hotel