Stock-taking 2008

Haven't been posting for an oh-so-long time! As I logged into my account, I realised that there are several draft postings which I had started but not completed.. ARRGGHHH.. Procrastination and Sloth at work again!

Below were the resolutions I set for 2008:

• Stop my procrastinating nature and aim to pass my driving! (PASS on 4th Apr! YEAH!)
• Lead a healthier lifestyle - exercise more.. (failed miserably; haven't started on any exercise regime)
• Eat in moderation - have to understand that every meal doesn't need to end with cakes or ice-cream and that stomach doesn't have a separate compartment for desserts!! (still struggling with this)
• Reduce intake of red meat (though I still love my morten's) and increase fruits and vege (no and yes respectively)
• Cut down on hobbies like shopping (sort of,.. except that I shop more when I'm overseas due to busy weekend schedules..) and bingeing (err... need I say more?!) - Save more!
• Adopt a positive attitude in every task I undertake (still trying)

Resolutions for 2009:

• Be more prudent. Gloomy economy ahead~ (i.e. no more unnecessary cab rides, more food-court lunches and less lunch appts at fancy restaurants,...)
• Adopt healthy-living.. Exercise more.. have more home cooked food instead of dining-out all the time
• Spend more time with family. Go on holidays together..
• Make good use of time.. as Benjamin Franklin puts it, 'Lost Time is never found again'
• STOP being a Procrastination Queen!

Journey to the Land of the Rising Sun..

My long anticipated trip has finally ARRIVED!! Had been hoping to fast forward time since we booked tickets in May.

Flight was pretty decent except for this super-duper-uber annoying SQ girl whom I believe should have all her KPI failed. She didn't seem to be enjoying her job and was rude to almost all the passengers she had contact with. These people should just quit their job.. no one owes them a living really.. *roll eyes*

Despite having great ambitions to complete as many movies as possible, I fell into slumber at least 4 times throughout Sex and the City. It tooked me more than 6 hours to complete the whole movie! Its an awesome movie I must say (and I meant it!)!

Ivan getting all excited about the trip.. My first snack in Tokyo before embarking on a 1h30m trip from Narita to our hotel in Shinjuku

Savoring a bowl of piping hot at this humble eatery in Shinjuku. Though its only priced at 510yen, its the best ramen I had tasted so far!

The one on Good Friend's wedding

Been looking forward to Xiaocui's wedding luncheon this coming weekend, since the day she had announced the good news to me. I certainly share her joy and feel happy that she's finally marrying the man of her dreams.

Made wrist corsages and matching pens for her wedding from the leftover materials of my own wedding. Was so glad that she liked them!

Out of whims, I had posted these pics of corsages on forums and actually had people asking to order them. Clinched my first deal yesterday and will be making delivery on Friday. Fun~! :)

The one on Teacher's Day

Felt really appreciated receiving cards and gifts from the piano kids over the past weeks. Nothing beats knowing that you had gained the trust and respect of these children and they are learning and enjoying a skill you are imparting to them.

My fondest Teacher's Day memory took place few years back in a music school I was teaching. This 5-yr-old boy bashfully took out 2 muffins wrapped in cellophane plastic from his bag, handed them to me and whispered 'Happy Teacher's Day'. When asked where he bought those muffins from, he replied 'I made them myself'.

Awww.. I was completely bowled over..

Its been an oh-so-long time!

I admit I had officially contracted the sloth virus. Received queries from friends on my lack of postings lately - or rather none at all. Even had an exasperated colleague declaring she will stop visiting my blog until she knows I have updated something.

August was a month dotted with hi-teas and dinner meet ups with the girls - Kelly is back from Canada. Not sure when we will get to meet again after her embarkment on a new career in Chicago. Its been a year since the last extravagant dinner at Humble House when we had full attendance (with Kelly of course). Everyone made an effort to turn up. It was an enjoyable evening filled with girly chit-chats and great companionship. Drove to Wild Rocket (yes, again!) for dinner and Prive bakery by Keppel Bay for desserts. Kudos to Chiuyen for organising every single gathering all these years since graduation! She's definitely played a major role in keeping the group intact. From coming up with a date for the outings, to consolidating responses and even sending out reminder emails with driving directions and maps of meet up venue. Totally awed by her organising skills!

Planning to arrange for one before Kelly flies off in October. This time doing something somewhat different - horse betting at Turf Club~! :)

The one on Bangkok Trip

Not surprising, happy moments always sped past before you can savour them to your heart's content. My long awaited bkk trip with Jen just flew by so quickly I wished we had planned for more days.

The main highlight of the trip we both agreed was definitely the stay at Phranakorn-Nornlen. Being a sucker for atas hotels (like the one we stayed in Siem Reap - Hotel De La Paix), I was initially quite doubtful putting up at what I had assumed to be a humble hotel; what's more, a hotel that serves organic vegetarian food... sounds too healthy for my liking.

BUT I was proven wrong! This home-stay hotel far surpassed any hotels I had stayed in. The minute we set our foot onto the premises of the hotel, we could tell that everything here was set up with so much love and pride.. from the decor of the hotel, the service provided by the staff to the food that was served to us. In fact, part of the breakkie came from their rooftop organic farm! It was so yummy that I was secretly looking forward to waking up every morning. Very unusual for a carnivore like me~

Room 215 where we had spent our resting hours in bkk. The hand-painted walls add to the cosiness of the room..

More lovely hand-painted walls along the corridors of the hotel~

The pavilion area where Jen and myself will spend hours accessing the internet before turning in..

The mini kitchen where our glorious breakfasts were prepared

and served to us with so much love..
The roof-top organic farm~!
Unlike the boring international breakfast buffet served at the usual hotels, the breakfast menu hung on the pillar beside the cafe serves as little surprises I woke up to every morning. Type of breakfast served will be dependent on what the chef feels like cooking for the day.. they are so delicious they never fail to cheer my day..

Unfortunately, we had to miss breakfast on the last day as our flight was too early in the morning.. was actually feeling quite sore about it..

On the shopping bit, Senada Theory was quite a disappointment. Only managed to get a couple of items despite the initial determination to bring back at least half a rack of her collection. *Haha, ok~ some exaggeration here..* But she was indeed the main purpose of my bkk trip. Just adore the quirkiness in her designs.

And of course we didn't miss pigging out at our all-time favourite restaurant Lemongrass in bkk. Puh-lease don't attempt to compare this Lemongrass to the one in Singapore which is sadly out of the league! Food in bkk is so cheap by Singapore standards which is why we always order so much cos we just wanna try everything!

Bangkok trip is never complete without spa and massage! Am an ardent fan of Healthland Spa.. and their Thai Herbal Compress Massage is just brilliant! Massage was a compulsory item in our daily itinerary. We just felt the need to pamper our legs badly abused from shopping..

I have always enjoyed girly trips; Jen and I made a pact to come here again next year!

My Love-to-Hate Relationship with Animals

Love-bite from a friend's sausage dog when I went to his place for a BBQ session. This definitely ain't gonna help my already non-existent love for doggies. If it weren't for my friend, that poor dog may be grilled on the pit like one of those yummy cheesy-sausages we had for the BBQ.

Anyway, the good food coupled with awesome company provided by the hospitable hosts far made up for the not-so-pleasant incident.

(More) Recent Updates..

Too tired to blog so am doing the lazy way of listing everything else in point-form (haha~). Afterall, isn't this what we have been taught in school - 'If you do not have time, just put everything in point-form!'

• Confirmed my trips to bkk and Japan!
• My boss and a close colleague in the team had resigned :(
• Adopted a new nickname - Percy
• Had my debut dinner at the much-raved-about Prive at Keppel Marina
• Received news that a close friend has problems with her marriage :(
• Crashed my car :*(

Recent Updates..

Haven't been updating my blog for quite awhile. Not that there isn't much to blog. In fact, these 2 months have been rather eventful.

My dear friend Joreen had passed away 2 days after I visited her in hospital. Until now, it is still painful thinking of her departure. It seemed all so recent that we were both teaching piano at Ossia; it wasnt too long ago she attended my wedding; it was only months back we attended piano teaching seminars together.. Flashbacks of these encounters kept coming back.. it hurts so much knowing that she is no longer around.. Few weeks following her passing-on, time seems to have come to a standstill. I guess, subconsciously, I still wanted to keep memories of her fresh in my mind. In fact, it is only until the recent couple of days that life has become slightly more 'back-to-normal'..

Seeing how hard she had put a fight against her illness and eventually her departure had definitely made me treasure life and health more. In the past, I had always wanted to utilise every minute of my life only doing things that will value-add to myself. Even sleeping was considered a waste-of-time.

In recent weeks, my life seems to have taken a drastic change. I am starting to spend quality time with people whom I care.. beginning to treasure and appreciate the people around me.. eating heathily and taking exercise more seriously.. I try not to let anything keep my spirits down for long.. I am no longer trying to rush from places to places for piano lessons like I have been doing for the past years.. afterall life is too short to be spent in a rush.. and I am slowly but definitely learning to smell the flowers along the way..

Reflections..

This weekend isn't the most fantastic. Have been out of sorts after visiting a close friend in hospital diagnosed with cancer. Things haven't been looking good after her relapse - so she could only receive pain-management treatment to relieve her of the discomfort.

I can't help but start to recall how we first met. I was sec 2; she was only pri 5. It was during a dinner treat from our piano teacher. Being the bitchy me, I didn't quite like her too much then as I found her unneccesarily-giggly and thought that she was trying too hard to be nice. Sub-consciously, her big-hearted and selfless nature just endeared her to me after I got to know her better overtime. Her nice-ness just puts me to shame. I had finally understood why she was our teacher's favourite. She's undoubtedly the perfect student/friend/daughter/sister/girlfriend...

Life is never fair, I know - else everyone would be born just as gorgeous-looking and rich. Still I just can't accept the fact that an angel like her will be struck with such a dreadful illness. This mishap made me feel that many things are just transient in life. Should we compare ourselves base on the glamorous job we hold, the amt of money stashed away in our bank accounts, the fancy designer dresses we wear, the branded bags we carry? All these 'achievements' turn meaningless when faced with unfortunate situations like these.

I think its high time I re-evaluate my values and priorities in life...