I AIN'T TELLING *grin*
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Alan Yau
Of Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Wagamama fame has a new noodle bar... and a crappy signature :P Notice though, that all dishes on the menu are £3.50! Which means T, B and I gorged ourselves silly on 8 dishes and 4 beers for just under 40 squids *grin* Where is this place?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Mr&Mrs TOAL
Congratulations!!!
Eternal flame - a perfect symbolism of your love :)
I wish I could've been there.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I almost burst into tears
Tonight I had my first one-on-one dinner with a workmate. He found out what I wanted for dinner and then ordered for me. Without any prompting. I swear, my eyes just welled up. I could've sobbed deliriously...
Nothing to do with the pre-dinner half bottle of white.
You know, it just made me happy to know that there are well-mannered guys out there :D Say what you will about feminism and men being from Mars and women being from Venus; personally, I still love the feeling of being looked after.
I've been dying to post that one up for awhile :)
Nothing to do with the pre-dinner half bottle of white.
You know, it just made me happy to know that there are well-mannered guys out there :D Say what you will about feminism and men being from Mars and women being from Venus; personally, I still love the feeling of being looked after.
And now, a badger badger badger conspiracy picture:
I've been dying to post that one up for awhile :)
The nerd bus
Its funny, last week, I was literally on a bus filled with nerds. For some reason, all the tech companies in the UK are based out in Woop Woop. The only way to get there is by a courtesy shuttle bus. The nerd bus stops at Oracle Park and Microsoft Campus. Hence, I was on a bus filled with nerds. The bus even had wi-fi *lol* I was definitely checking my RSS feeds on the bus :) I tell ya though, after three days at an Oracle workshop, I was dying to cry out, "can someone on this freaking bus please explain to me wtf an Oracle Learning Environment is?"
I guess there was a time when I was in university that I revered Microsoft. It's odd that I wouldn't take a job with them now though. Having spent a couple of hours the other night formatting a friend's 70 page document, I can honestly say I've lost faith in Microsoft products. Don't even get me started on how shithouse Vista is, comparative to Leopard. Wonder if that's how I'll feel about Google one day...
I guess there was a time when I was in university that I revered Microsoft. It's odd that I wouldn't take a job with them now though. Having spent a couple of hours the other night formatting a friend's 70 page document, I can honestly say I've lost faith in Microsoft products. Don't even get me started on how shithouse Vista is, comparative to Leopard. Wonder if that's how I'll feel about Google one day...
Friday, May 23, 2008
Muffin top
Ruh roh... I pulled on a freshly laundered pair of jeans today and noticed... a slight muffin top *wince* I use to see girls with muffin tops, and think, "Why don't you just get one size up?!?" Errr, okay, now I understand it's demoralising to jump a size up. I had to do some squats to stretch the denim out! *grin* Gawd dang it. Why is it so much effort to look decent? Last year, a mate use to tell me, "I need to lose 15kgs before turning 30!" I laughed. My mate still looked good :) Now I understand the pressures of looking good at 30 :( I wouldn't have cared last year. This year I care. So... tomorrow, if Sus calls me, I'm going running. Something I really sux0r at :( *sigh*
Have I mentioned how much salad I'm eating these days??
Have I mentioned how much salad I'm eating these days??
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Dad's love story
Last night I remembered it was Wesak Day and I dropped my parents' an email to wish them a happy wedding anniversary. This morning I noticed a reply from my Dad, but didn't have time to read it before I left for work. So I downloaded it onto my iPhone and read it on the train. I got a little weepy and discreetly tried to wipe my tears away as I read my Dad's words. I blame my dang hormones, it's that time of the month :P Here's what my Dad wrote in his reply:
* Kung Kung == Grandpa
* Por Por == Grandma
* park tor == going on dates
"Wesak day changes every year, like the Chinese New Year. We were officially married (exchanged vows, rings and registered) at the Selangor Marriage registry on 26th SEPT 1970. I think nobody was at the registry except your Kung Kung and one of Mum’s friends. They acted as witnesses. We did not have our formal ceremonial/customary wedding until 9th MAY 1971 (Wesak day) i.e. wedding gowns, tea ceremony, dinner (we had lunch instead because dinners in most restaurants/hotels were booked out), etc. I think the date was chosen by your Por Por.
At the registry, names of bride and groom have to be displayed in a public notice board for several weeks for any public comments/objections before the marriage could be registered. The marriage certificate meant money, because as army officers we get maid’s allowance, housing allowance, ration allowance, water and electricity allowance, phone allowance, transport allowance, family holiday transport allowance (remember riding 1st class train to Penang?), uniform allowance, etc. Added up together, a married officer would get more than double the salary of a single officer!
And you know what? I could not recognize the registration clerk at the registry, but he recognized me. He said that we had met before playing mahjong at a friend’s place. So he fast tracked (could only be approved by the State chief minister) our registration without having to pay a fee.
After registration, Mum moved out of the nurses’ hostel and I moved out of the army officers’ mess. We stayed in a rented bungalow house paid for by the army, near her hospital. Prior, I’ve visited the nurses’ hostel so very often that the receptionist when she saw me coming in the corridor would call Mum’s room ES109 (I think this was the number) to say that I was waiting. Gosh! You should see Mum’s favourite hair style. Combed fluffy down, end curled and rolled outwards at neck’s length.
By the way, Mum and I met and attended a university ball/dance (annual?? Not sure) on a blind date in 1968. (Believe it or not I was quite good dancer). I think she came with her friend who was the witness at the marriage registry. So we “park tor” almost every day after that. To do that I had a quickie army driving license to prove that I had done an army driving test (which I never did) to get a civilian driving license immediately, driving Kung Kung’s new car to date your Mum. Later, we shared and bought our first car, a second hand Morris through uncle David who was then a manager in a car company (Wearne’s Brothers??).
To think of it, age is catching up, and I think Mum and I should sit down some days and write our childhood stories, so that you guys can compare the type of life our generation had with yours and probably Sage’s too. There’s so much of differences in the lifestyle, particularly the boys. Anyway hope I’m not boring you with the above story but at least now you know how your Mum and Dad met and became man and wife for the last 38 years!
Love
Dad"
* Kung Kung == Grandpa
* Por Por == Grandma
* park tor == going on dates
"Wesak day changes every year, like the Chinese New Year. We were officially married (exchanged vows, rings and registered) at the Selangor Marriage registry on 26th SEPT 1970. I think nobody was at the registry except your Kung Kung and one of Mum’s friends. They acted as witnesses. We did not have our formal ceremonial/customary wedding until 9th MAY 1971 (Wesak day) i.e. wedding gowns, tea ceremony, dinner (we had lunch instead because dinners in most restaurants/hotels were booked out), etc. I think the date was chosen by your Por Por.
At the registry, names of bride and groom have to be displayed in a public notice board for several weeks for any public comments/objections before the marriage could be registered. The marriage certificate meant money, because as army officers we get maid’s allowance, housing allowance, ration allowance, water and electricity allowance, phone allowance, transport allowance, family holiday transport allowance (remember riding 1st class train to Penang?), uniform allowance, etc. Added up together, a married officer would get more than double the salary of a single officer!
And you know what? I could not recognize the registration clerk at the registry, but he recognized me. He said that we had met before playing mahjong at a friend’s place. So he fast tracked (could only be approved by the State chief minister) our registration without having to pay a fee.
After registration, Mum moved out of the nurses’ hostel and I moved out of the army officers’ mess. We stayed in a rented bungalow house paid for by the army, near her hospital. Prior, I’ve visited the nurses’ hostel so very often that the receptionist when she saw me coming in the corridor would call Mum’s room ES109 (I think this was the number) to say that I was waiting. Gosh! You should see Mum’s favourite hair style. Combed fluffy down, end curled and rolled outwards at neck’s length.
By the way, Mum and I met and attended a university ball/dance (annual?? Not sure) on a blind date in 1968. (Believe it or not I was quite good dancer). I think she came with her friend who was the witness at the marriage registry. So we “park tor” almost every day after that. To do that I had a quickie army driving license to prove that I had done an army driving test (which I never did) to get a civilian driving license immediately, driving Kung Kung’s new car to date your Mum. Later, we shared and bought our first car, a second hand Morris through uncle David who was then a manager in a car company (Wearne’s Brothers??).
To think of it, age is catching up, and I think Mum and I should sit down some days and write our childhood stories, so that you guys can compare the type of life our generation had with yours and probably Sage’s too. There’s so much of differences in the lifestyle, particularly the boys. Anyway hope I’m not boring you with the above story but at least now you know how your Mum and Dad met and became man and wife for the last 38 years!
Love
Dad"
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Spark
I understand now, just how important *spark* can be.
As a singleton in Rondon, I'll admit, any new males I meet, I'll think, "Potential?" However, sometimes, I just _know_ it's not right. The *spark* is missing. Completely and utterly not there. So when a sparkless-guy started messaging me recently, and indicated he was interested in something more than just friendship, I mulled over how to reply. What's a nice way of saying, "I don't like you in that way"? E&E were with me at the time, and I asked them for advice. E&E gave me what I thought was the best line ever:
"I'm sorry if I've mislead you, but I'm not interested"
No room for misunderstandings there, and hey, I'll even assume some responsibility if I had accidentally entranced him with my charming personality :P Only, that line has come back to haunt me ever since! I keep bumping into the sparkless-guy!! He's also telling my friends I was really harsh with that line :P It really doesn't bother me, cause I'm not going to retract it, but I do feel a smidgen of guilt. Nobody likes to hurt other people's feelings.
The more I spoke to this sparkless-guy though, the more I realised how important having the *spark* with someone is. I really miss it. It's been awhile since I've met a guy I really enjoyed having a conversation with. A conversation that ends up being about everything and nothing. A conversation that goes on forever because we don't want to stop talking to each other. A conversation that ends with a smile on both our faces. You know the feeling when that happens :)
Alas, like I said, it's been awhile. The last hopeful contender, sadly turned out to be a twat. I've become a big fan of the word, "twat" :)
The other thing I found out about the sparkless-guy, is that he's BROKE. Fair enough, he's pursuing his dream and trying to make it work. However, he's not going to win me over by saying, "I can't afford to take you out on a date". It got me thinking, at my age, and my point in life, I don't want to be dating anyone who's not financially self-sufficient. They don't have to be rich, they just have to be able to live comfortably and support themselves. I've been there. I use to date someone who was broke all the time (even though he earned more than me :P). I paid for a lot of things, because I wanted to eat out somewhere nice, go dancing, go drinking, etc. Back then, I didn't care. I had a disposable income and I didn't mind spending it on both of us having fun together.
Right now though, I think if I met a guy who's my age and broke, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. I think, especially living in Rondon, I appreciate the value of my squids a lot more. I want someone to be able to pay their own way when we go out.
It seems though, that *spark* and financial self-sufficiency is a lot to ask for these days :(
As a singleton in Rondon, I'll admit, any new males I meet, I'll think, "Potential?" However, sometimes, I just _know_ it's not right. The *spark* is missing. Completely and utterly not there. So when a sparkless-guy started messaging me recently, and indicated he was interested in something more than just friendship, I mulled over how to reply. What's a nice way of saying, "I don't like you in that way"? E&E were with me at the time, and I asked them for advice. E&E gave me what I thought was the best line ever:
"I'm sorry if I've mislead you, but I'm not interested"
No room for misunderstandings there, and hey, I'll even assume some responsibility if I had accidentally entranced him with my charming personality :P Only, that line has come back to haunt me ever since! I keep bumping into the sparkless-guy!! He's also telling my friends I was really harsh with that line :P It really doesn't bother me, cause I'm not going to retract it, but I do feel a smidgen of guilt. Nobody likes to hurt other people's feelings.
The more I spoke to this sparkless-guy though, the more I realised how important having the *spark* with someone is. I really miss it. It's been awhile since I've met a guy I really enjoyed having a conversation with. A conversation that ends up being about everything and nothing. A conversation that goes on forever because we don't want to stop talking to each other. A conversation that ends with a smile on both our faces. You know the feeling when that happens :)
Alas, like I said, it's been awhile. The last hopeful contender, sadly turned out to be a twat. I've become a big fan of the word, "twat" :)
The other thing I found out about the sparkless-guy, is that he's BROKE. Fair enough, he's pursuing his dream and trying to make it work. However, he's not going to win me over by saying, "I can't afford to take you out on a date". It got me thinking, at my age, and my point in life, I don't want to be dating anyone who's not financially self-sufficient. They don't have to be rich, they just have to be able to live comfortably and support themselves. I've been there. I use to date someone who was broke all the time (even though he earned more than me :P). I paid for a lot of things, because I wanted to eat out somewhere nice, go dancing, go drinking, etc. Back then, I didn't care. I had a disposable income and I didn't mind spending it on both of us having fun together.
Right now though, I think if I met a guy who's my age and broke, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. I think, especially living in Rondon, I appreciate the value of my squids a lot more. I want someone to be able to pay their own way when we go out.
It seems though, that *spark* and financial self-sufficiency is a lot to ask for these days :(
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
New law
In fact, I'm downright puzzled as to why some of these people are even bothering to add me as their "friend". They don't even bother to contact me in any way once I've confirmed them. No writing on my wall, no personal messages. So what's the point? So tonight, I'm freaking doing a cull. As mean as it sounds, I think it's stupid to pretend to be friends with someone you're obviously not friends with, just for the sake of being "polite".
I'm capping my number of friends to 100. As much as I'd like to think I'm Ms Popularity, I don't believe that I have that many true friends IRL. If you haven't spoken to me lately, if I don't have the occasional ketchup session with you, if you don't contact me in some way within 10 days of adding me to facebook, YOU'RE GONE. Don't get me wrong, my profile's as public as can be. Feel free to stalk me and find out what I've been up to. However, it really doesn't bother me if that "pretend friend" disappears into oblivion again. I never knew about their life pre-facebook, I don't need to know about it post-facebook.
Oh, here's an example. Not that I hold a grudge or anything, however, here's someone that added me today:
Who is he? Approximately 10 years ago (*yikes*), I thought this guy was hot. Eurasian (who said I don't date yellow? :P)! I asked him to be my date (as a friend) to the university ball that year. He accepted, and he made my night an absolute HELL. He could've said no, I would've rather had gone without a date than go through a miserable night of him looking downright unhappy to be there. You know what the first thing he said to me was? "I didn't actually want to come". Second thing? "I was going to buy a new jacket, but my friend told me it was a bad idea". Oh yeah. Great start. I couldn't wait till he left. From that moment on, I had nothing to do with him.
Now he wants to be friends with me on facebook?!? How did he even find me??
One good thing came out of it. I learnt never to fall for a guy just cause of the way he looks :P Let the culling begin!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Who me???
Nein, couldn't possibly be...
AH: "You can give me sexier than that!"
AH: "You can give me sexier than that!"
After a litre of Austrian beer, did you expect much out of me? I burst into a fit of giggles as I seriously tried to clamber ontop of the Kompressor. I almost rolled off it in laughter :P
More like a Drunken Aussee, I'm afraid :(
Thursday, May 01, 2008
F*cked up
Next Tuesday, I'll be starting work on a new project back at my previous workplace. Yay!
I am now required to provide character references for the past five years of my career. Five years. Wtf? What I don't get is why I'm required to provide any character references this time round since I've already worked there. What I don't get is why I can't provide referees from my last project. People that I have worked with who are from that same company. You know who can vouch for me? The company's Global Head of L&D in Human Resources. HUMAN RESOURCES. However, that apparently doesn't count for anything.
Bl00dy Engrish and their obsession with paperwork.
You know what's worse? This week, I decided to clear out my old documents. So written references I had from IBM, GT and SIFT -> rip rip rip -> They're currently lying in pieces in my trashcan. My thinking was, "Man, surely I won't need these Australian ones anymore. They're pretty outdated."
How wrong I was. I'm almost tempted to sticky tape them back together again and hand them in to the manager, just to make a freaking point. Five years ago! Different country! Ask your own people what I'm like! Get over it!
Poop. Fck it, I have time, let's bring out the sticky tape.
Edited 11:18AM:
I just remembered, I hate jigsaw puzzles :( Rummaging through my trash, I'm grateful I haven't had a snotty nose the past few days.
I am now required to provide character references for the past five years of my career. Five years. Wtf? What I don't get is why I'm required to provide any character references this time round since I've already worked there. What I don't get is why I can't provide referees from my last project. People that I have worked with who are from that same company. You know who can vouch for me? The company's Global Head of L&D in Human Resources. HUMAN RESOURCES. However, that apparently doesn't count for anything.
Bl00dy Engrish and their obsession with paperwork.
You know what's worse? This week, I decided to clear out my old documents. So written references I had from IBM, GT and SIFT -> rip rip rip -> They're currently lying in pieces in my trashcan. My thinking was, "Man, surely I won't need these Australian ones anymore. They're pretty outdated."
How wrong I was. I'm almost tempted to sticky tape them back together again and hand them in to the manager, just to make a freaking point. Five years ago! Different country! Ask your own people what I'm like! Get over it!
Poop. Fck it, I have time, let's bring out the sticky tape.
Edited 11:18AM:
I just remembered, I hate jigsaw puzzles :( Rummaging through my trash, I'm grateful I haven't had a snotty nose the past few days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
