Saturday, December 30, 2006 01:40 a.m.

today we had a nice long chat over coffee and dessert at novena's starbucks;
i'm quite ambivalent about the place, having both worked and played hard, laughed and cried, been made to feel welcome but nevertheless also gotten chased away on several occasions.

anyway, photos from wednesday, with genna back from the states.









as weiyan would put it, these were new-found friends now under the category of good ol' friends with specific memories to ourselves which we can officially revisit and make inside jokes about. :)
peachy keen.

you and me
have seen everything to see
from bangkok to calgary
and the soles of your shoes
are all worn down

Friday, December 29, 2006 02:15 a.m.

today at work, i raided the cd stack and discovered gems like lisa ono and les choristes and pink martini - no more christmas carols, thanks.
must've annoyed the shit out of su because i put 'first of may' on repeat at level 12;
but i know she still loves me because no other colleague will ever be nice enough to wake up early just to buy curry puffs and iced tea to share. :)

all i can talk about these days is food.
yesterday was dinner with the 05a21 gang where we ran into daryl lim at sun with moon - what are the odds?! - seated a short distance away.
today saw sarah, tanny, sab, trish, mich and i just next door at cedele for a very limiting dinner with almost everything on the menu already sold out by the time we got round to ordering.

as it is, i can't stomach another of starbucks' cranberry turkey sandwiches, having eaten turkey 8 days in a row...
and i really ought to be sleeping.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 01:59 a.m.

christmas!
everything went as planned and i had the most awesome things to chow on.
think i've eaten a whole turkey's worth of meat in the past 3 days...
anyway, i owe so many people presents that someone really ought to spank this procrastinator;
but if you must know, a late christmas present only means that i've been working on it that much longer. :)
right...

and because on christmas, people tell the truth, let it be said that i was the one who stole the last tiger prawn and that i was also the culprit behind the use of a spoon to drink up our maxbrenner's chocolate fondue sauce (on both counts vehemently denying when questioned) and that all those christmas cards i promised to write/make never came about because of sheer laziness and is not so much the result of high stress levels (an occupational hazard) as oft' claimed.

i'm sorry!
forgive me.
hope you all had a nice weekend.

Saturday, December 23, 2006 11:57 p.m.

i'm definitely growing bigger this christmas;
there's hilton christmas log and truffles from my workplace and marble cake and teuscher's chocolate cake in the fridge, i subsist on starbucks, spinelli's, 3monkeys and marmaladepantry (a diet maintained by our shop's bountiful lunch&coffeebreak fund) and i miss coming online so much so i'm rambling when i do so but i can't be bothered to edit.

what's been up?
shuwei's homecoming along with fantastic motor abilities allowing for escapades to various random hotspots ie. newton and prata suppers with the quintessential game of spades;
sarah and mich's return from the states beckoning more sleepovers;
my grandmother's 70th birthday bash at meritus mandarin with the awesome house band and exquisite dinner;
family members flying home and giving me that warm and fuzzy feeling;
friendly visits at the shop that really perk up my long arduous days;
so many many things amidst pulling long hours at work and indulging in mad-ass shopping sprees around town whenever i score a lunch break or end work before the boutiques' closing hours.

i'm so glad christmas eve is here because i feel like i've been waiting for this all my life.
work tomorrow is till 3pm followed by a gift-exchange with the co-workers and drinks at fourseasons hotel, charmaine's christmas dinner party, midnight mass at ihm, party with the family on christmas itself followed by a sleepover at mich's place with the girls, then bumming all through the night and right into the 26th.
i like planning and drawing up lists if only to make order out of chaos - in itself an oxymoron and in no way possible - but if there's one thing i've learnt from work it's that whatever makes us happy, works.

am i rambling? i'm rambling.
i can't wait for december's paycheck and to attack the prison break dvd from charlene and to see everyone i want to see.
best part is that the hellish christmas shopping season (where people become demanding and frenetic) is officially over so i can literally kick up my shoes and join in the fun.
if you've read up to here, i salute you.
that's all for now, i'm tired, and i need to wrap presents and write christmas cards.
this is where disorganisation takes you.
i'm so happy, the busy sort of happy, the type of happy that doesn't need a specific reason, the kind of happiness that plasters itself on your face in a perpetual cheshire grin (to the irritation of others) and yes i need to stop talking.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 09:44 p.m.

i miss school so bad.



and i miss you girls like crazy...
at least everyone's finally home for christmas!

Saturday, December 16, 2006 01:26 a.m.

i cancelled the vietnam trip and have decided not to join my family in our annual drive-up to kuala lumpur - got to be a responsible employee during the busy christmas season. :(
this means i'm home alone the next few days.
bah humbug.
worst thing is i can't club or have sleepovers because i still have to work everyday.
sorry for ranting but really...
it's a sad holiday (what holiday?) this month.

Friday, December 15, 2006 01:46 a.m.

tomorrow will be my first off-day in 2 weeks - awesome!
herngliang, weiyan and i went for dinner earlier today but all i can think of right now is my bed...
too sleepy to think straight.

passerby: it's a top from some boutique at stamford house.
aroundtown: teuscher at palais renaissance.

Thursday, December 14, 2006 02:04 a.m.

An Attempt At Jealousy
Craig Raine

So how is life with your new bloke?
Simpler, I bet. Just one stroke
of his quivering oar and the skin
of the Thames goes into a spin,

eh? How is life with an oarsman? Better?
More in--out? Athletic? Wetter?
When you hear the moan of the rowlocks,
do you urge him on like a cox?

Tell me, is he bright enough to find
that memo-pad you call a mind?
Or has he contrived to bring you out--
given you an in-tray and an out?

How did I ever fall for a paper-clip?
How could I ever listen to office gossip
even in bed and find it so intelligent?
Was is straight biological bent?

I suppose you go jogging together?
Tackle the Ridgeway in nasty weather?
Face force 55 gales and chat about prep
or how you bested that Birmingham rep?

He must be mad with excitement.
So must you. What an incitement
to lust all those press-ups must be.
Or is it just the same? PE?

Tell me, I'm curious. Is it fun
being in love with just anyone?
How do you remember his face
if you meet in a public place?

Perhaps you know him by his shoes?
Or do you sometimes choose
another pinstriped clone
by accident and drag that home

instead? From what you say,
he's perfect. For a Chekhov play.
Tall and dark and brightly dim,
Kulygin's part was made for him.

Imagine your life with a 'beak'.
Week after week after week
like homework or detention;
all that standing to attention

whenever his colleagues drop in
for a spot of what's-your-toxin.
Speech Day, matron, tuck-shop, Christ,
you'll find school fees are over-priced

and leave, but not come back to me.
You've done your bit for poetry.
Words, or deeds? You'll stick to youth.
I'm a stickler for the truth--

which makes me wonder what it was
I loved you for. Tell me, because
now I feel nothing--except regret.
What is it, love, I need to forget?

Monday, December 11, 2006 02:12 a.m.

the cutest.
me: so if the chocolate costs 5 dollars, and you give me 10 dollars, how much change are you supposed to get back?
jeremy: 15!
me: no jeremy, 10 minus 5 is...
jeremy: 15!
me: here, look at my fingers. if you take away 5 of them you are left with...
jeremy: gimme a hi-five!
me: okay here just take the chocolate.

the most endearing.
old man: no, these are for my grandchildren, but i'll just have one truffle...no don't pack it up, i'll have to eat it here. my wife will scold if she sees me and for good reason too. i'm diabetic...a diabetic with a sweet tooth. my daughter just opened a boutique upstairs (puce) so i'll come disturb you girls regularly...indulge an old man's sweet tooth and an eye for pretty girls won't you.

the most candid.
man: so how do you deal with the temptation of facing chocolates everday?
me: the price helps.

photos from malorie.



being retards.



just look at weiyan's face.



at four seasons.




divine bar is gorgeous - photos don't do it justice.




back to the hotel.




peace out.

Saturday, December 9, 2006 01:23 a.m.

for rememberance sake i'd like to write about the stories i've acquired, the people i meet and the silly things i do on the job - but the morning alarm is as unforgiving as ever.

an overdue post.


checking in.

prepping.

waiting.

people-watching.

8 in the maxi cab.

four seasons hotel.

dinner special.

rare shot of zara.

blah blah.

typical.

at the drinking hole.

the table.

bubbly.

back to mandarin.

scrub-a-dub-dub.

foam stings.

drunks.

pillow-whacked in the morning.

the end.

Friday, December 8, 2006 12:52 a.m.

my hard drive is going to implode with the influx of prom photos but work's been consuming all my time, energy and cash (i know, the irony).

i apologise beforehand for posting the following image.



urm, stay tuned?

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 02:12 a.m.

i've so much to say!
to cut the long story short, work life has been treating me well and i'm so glad i actually enjoy my job stints (although it is still nice to take a breather once in a while);
that's partly why i'm on leave tomorrow (boardgame session + class dinner) and wednesday for the stayover at meritus mandarin - my uncle got us a room despite it being fully booked!
i'm ecstatic.

today was my first day at the chocolate shop and yes i made a multitude of clumsy mistakes.
but i love it all;
little instances like getting a kick out of slotting my employee card into the clock-machine (for lack of a proper name) and printing my check-in and check-out time on it, spraying hermes perfume all over the shop as an air freshener, and listening to the jazzy holiday cd that they play with the christmas song i love so much - 'zat you, santa claus?
i also get a little skip in my heart everytime i tie the perfect double bow or manage to balance chocolates in little heaps without them toppling over.
did i mention that chocolate-tasting is part of the training?
:D
best of all, customers don't get to touch the chocolates, so the anal-retentive part of me is safe knowing that my meticulous arrangement of the chocolates on display won't be mussed up by itchy fingers;
obsessive-compulsive behaviour at its finest.

well, i've said enough.

sim jiaying: thanks for dropping by! even the way you look at chocolates in the display window annoys me. you've reached the pinnacle of irritatingness! master! teacher!

xmod: i miss you.

geri: hello! i'm at teuscher, but i must say, the building isn't exactly the most friendly hangout in town. :( i have nightmares about my 'a' level grades...but people say the dreams that you remember don't come true, right? haha, study hard so that you won't be as jittery as slackers tend to be during this wait for the results. :D

Sunday, December 3, 2006 12:29 a.m.

1. i need a change of job - it's boring as hell (and there are humsup boys).
luckily it's good money with good company and only lasts the weekend...

2. ...really looking forward to my first day at the chocolate shop.

3. good luck in doha, lynette!

4. i want to buy this granny dress from a hole-in-the-wall in fareast but i've no time to head down this weekend;
then again i needn't worry about someone else picking it up because it really is quite hideous...

5. i have a cranky guestbook that has disallowed me from posting anything the past 3 months.

6. thank god for the phone.

one more smile i fake
and try my best to be glad
one more smile does the maker make
because he knows i'm sad

Saturday, December 2, 2006 12:27 a.m.

my favourite christmas song!

'zat you, santa claus?

gifts i'm preparin'
for some christmas sharin'
but i pause because
hangin' my stockin'
i can hear a knockin'
'zat you, santa claus?

sure is dark out
ain't the slighest spark out
pardon my clackin' jaws
who's there
who is it
stoppin' for a visit
'zat you, santa claus?

are you bringin' a present for me
something pleasantly pleasant for me
that is just what i've been waitin' for
would you mind slippin' it under the door

four winds are howlin'
or could that be growlin'
my legs feel like straws
my, my, oh, me, my
kindly would you reply
'zat you, santa claus?

louis armstrong