La di da di da

Had course on Monday, which was good. Took quite awhile to readjust back to the normal hum dum of life.

It's good to be on holiday. You come back feeling zen like and terribly happy.

Since Monday till now, I've been humming songs in my head.

Life is beautiful =)

Fa - I'm surprised that you read my blog. Grin.... Would you believe that now your friend here can actually last 1 whole round of mah jong without asking if such and such a move was allowed? Still remember the time you taught me how to play mj a few years back? That was JC time if I still remember correctly. Time flies......

Goethe - I hope you are not affected by Katrina. Was watching it on CNN while having lunch in Bangkok. The first person I thought of was you and yes, it had nothing to do with aiming missiles at your place.

Junior - Searched most of MBK and the night bazaars. Could not find Baby Milo or Banana Republic. Am really apologetic. I really tried. And you know what, on my last day, I saw one Thai wearing a T-shirt which I suspect to be Baby Milo. Talk abt irony.

Putting the Bang(kok) back into my life

My time in Bangkok as follows:

Wed night :
Packed in haste because was rushing out assignments earlier. Rushed to airport. Flight was slightly delayed as they had to change plane and belt no due to 'security reasons'. Boarded plane. Felt a lump in my throat as the plane took off, bringing me far away from home and friends even though it was only for a few days. Watched The Interpreter on Krisworld. Nicole Kidman is really cool. Decided that while Tom Cruise is blind, Kidman is more myopic to have chosen such a man, but then again, who am I to judge.

Landed in Bangkok. Friend picked us up from airport. Heaved a sigh of relief that his car had enough space for our luggage. Reached his place and we unpacked. His house is almost like a hotel. If only we had the land mass here. Stayed up to talk with friend.

Thur:
Dee woke late, so it was time for brunch when we left the house. It was hot! Our first meal in Bangkok was (believe it or not) Delifrance. [We were hungry, hot and thirsty and people under such conditions cannot be choosers] Took the metro to check out the tailors at Sukhumvit. Walked down to Emporium in the heat and browsed around. Took the BTS to Chit Lom station. Went to the eateries at Hyatt Erawan for lunchie. I paid a short visit to the famous shrine nearby. We checked out Amarin Plaza and Shopping Centre next to Hyatt Erawan. Then we took the BTS to Siam station and walked to MBK. [Big mistake - should have stopped at National Stadium station. Must remember.] Afterwards we walked to Hard Rock Cafe to buy some stuff and have dinner. Wanted to go clubbing there, but was sadly adorned with cumbersome shopping bags. Talked and forgot the time till JT called and asked in a concerned tone if everything was alright. Took a cab back. Had to detour to Family Mart. We saw that the fuel gauge was at E and prayed hard. Went back and found everyone asleep. (see previous post for rest)

Fri:
Woke up early to talked a little to JT and his wife. He recommended us to check out the set lunches at an Italian restaurant in Dusit Thani Hotel. Food was great, service fantastic. The interior of the Hotel blew us away. Took a cab afterwards to the outskirts to find this bootery Bossie goes to. No one there spoke English so we gave up and headed for Jim Thompson House. Took the tour round the house. Excellent decor! It's rare to find a man with both money and good taste. [yes, there ARE some things money cant buy] Shopped at Jim Thompson and bought a couple of stuff. Walked to MBK again to buy snacks to bring back. Couldnt find the shop and paniced a little. Luckily an Indonesian lady directed us. Squeezed some time to eat Baskin Robbins and bought Dunkin Donuts. Took the BTS to Asoke station for first fitting at tailor. Rushed back to go for dinner with JT and SY. Had a short talk with SY while waiting for JT to get back. They brought us to this quaint eatery. Very lovely decor. It's like one of those shophouses at Joo Chiat. Yummy food, lovely ambience. Crowd was a mix of locals and foreigners. Afterwards went karting. The go kart centre is just next to their Mohd Sult area. [note: we intend to check out the clubs there next time round] Had the excellent luck to be racing with the record holders of the day for one of our rounds. It was an awesome experience, especially when they bump into you and send your kart flying into the air. One of those moments, where u feel life flashing past you before your eyes. Went back afterwards as JT had to tee off at 6am the next day. Dee and I decided to check out the clubbing scene. JT and SY prob thought we were mad as it was 130 am in the morning. We headed to Banyan Tree since it was just next door to check out Moon Bar but it had closed. So we hopped to the Met in Metropolitan. They allowed us in, which JT later said was surprising as the Met is a members only place. Unless of cos they relaxed the regulations. Had a yucky Pineapple Martini. Dee took the Pink Ginger which was quite nice. Talked for a short while and left when the place closed at 2 plus. And yes, like Hard Rock, that place looked like a pick up joint.

Sat:
Went to tailor's again for final fitting. Took a cab to Lumphini metro station. Taxi driver snorted and laughed when we told him our destination. But hey, it was really way too hot to be walking under the mid day sun for 10 plus mins. It was Dee's idea any way. I told her she would have the honour of telling the cab driver where we were heading next time and hear him snort.

Headed for Soi Sukhumvit 63, which JT said was like their Holland V. Ate Jappy food. [yes I know, 3 days in Bangkok and we had yet to eat any Thai food. Was quite sad.] Hopped into a cab and drove down the whole stretch, which was a good decision, as the road was long and the heat terribly scorching. JT asked us to check out Playground and Javenui which he claimed were interesting. Only manged to find Playground. The stuff there seems pretty avant garde but freaking expensive. Then began the great hunt for this quaint European garden. JT called to reserve a table for us. We stayed for over an hour, had tea and talked. Dee and I agreed that this place will be our little secret garden in Bangkok (ie we will bring friends there, but will not give out the address. please dont voodoo us for this, but we really like the place a lot) Emerged feeling very zen-like. Went to Central Shopping Centre at Chit Lom station. Shopped till JT called then rushed down to MBK to meet them. JT apologised for not bringing us out to the riverside eateries due to the Spurs Chelsea match. So we headed to this seafood place which Koizumi had gone when he visited Bangkok. Food was really solid - especially the pepper crabs and my favourite tom yum soup. Yummy!!!!!!! They dropped us off at the night bazaar where we practically had to tear ourselves away an hour plus later. Reached back shortly after the match ended. Won 100 baht from JT. We had taken Chelsea to win, give 1.5, and he took his beloved Spurs. Played Mah Jong till almost 4 am Bangkok time.

Sun:
Woke up early. Headed for the garden cafe again for brekkie. Love their rose tea. Dee likes their coffee. Wanted to eat the chocolate cake again, but didnt want to die from sugar overdose. Emerged feeling very zen again. Rushed to Emporium afterwards to buy stuff. Jim Thompson didnt have a new piece of the bag I wanted. The Audrey Hepburn back up bag didnt look quite so nice. So bought the display piece. [yes, that was how much i loved the bag]. By this time, we were totally out of baht, other than the 500 baht for airport tax. Had to cash in our metro and BTS cards to get enough to take a cab back. Pathetic eh...grin! Frantically packed and flew to the airport. Had lunchie with them where I ate my last tom yum soup in Bangkok for this year.

The sign on the TV for flight went from boarding, to last call to final call. Had the unceremonious honour of being paged 3 times via the system. Luckily we were the last 3rd and 4th people to board. Flight departs at 1600hrs, we boarded the plane at 1558 hrs. Some mis-comm amongst the traffic controllers saw a Thai Airways plane was turning into our path. Got back to Singapore. Watched Maid In Manhatten on KrisWorld. Saw the words Singapore Changi International Airport and felt happy to be back. Friend of mine was playing pool. Suddenly missed playing pool. Got back, dumped luggage, passed parents their pressies and ran out again in bedraggled state to play pool.

I miss Bangkok.
Anyone wants to go with me next year?......

Long live the King

It is now 0021hrs Bangkok time or rather 0121hrs Singapore time. Dee and I just got back to JT's hse only to realise everyone had gone to bed. JT called my mobile at 12 midnight to ask if everything was ok. Dee and I were at Hard Rock and did not realise how late it was. Talk about time flies when you're with good company! 'sheepish smile'

Finally handed in my assignments. After many late nights, gallons of water, bricks of chocolate, million of calories, and numerous pool games later, I finally summoned enough will power to complete and hand in assignments before the deadline. Wahhhhhh

Goethe left me a post on his blog talking about burning out. Thank you for taking the trouble. It cheered me up to read what you wrote. What was stressing me out was actually a combination of assignments due, busy period at work, dinner and dance and couple of other minor stuff. But a tonne of it is off now since assignments have gone in, work is ebbing and I'm on holiday. Hopefully you feel as cheerful and carefree as I do right now.

Pinky...grin...I knew I could always count on you to leave something original inside. It'll be YOUR head I'm digging my heels into when we meet up for Duck's birthday.

Have tonnes to write about Bangkok but that will be for another post. Am now waiting for Dee to bathe then it'll be my turn to use the bathroom. Tomorrow will need to wake up early to make amends for our accidental and unplanned late night out tonight. Heaven help!

Hard Rock really rocks in Bangkok.......

A series of unfortunate events

This is quite funny.

The following things happened yesterday and today:

- Lost balance whilst on mrt and had to apologise profusely

- Was walking out of office cubicle and knocked into steel cabinet

- Came back to desk and bumped into desk

- saved file into wrong folder

- saved filenote under wrong name

- Lost balance whilst on bus and had to apologise profusely

- Guy was running for the bus like it was the last bus on earth. He was carrying something, which looked like a steel cylinder, slung on his shoulder. It hit me shoulder hard as he flew past. Was stunned for a few seconds. Sadly no one apologised profusely to me.

- Walked into wrong lecture. And wondered since when did Chinese lecture morph into an English business lecture

- Spilt a cup of tea over a lady. It was hot. Apologised profusely. Thankfully she was ok, was wearing brown and most of it landed on the chair

- Fell while walking. Hurt left knee and madly decided to walk up the stairs instead of using the lift

Grin.......It's quite funny now that you look back.
Mentor and Squid think I'm starting to suffer from burn-out.
Have never suffered from burn-out in my entire life.

DnD tomorrow. *happy smile*

Splash Splash

Busy day at work today. This will be a busy week. DnD coming, so things are heating up. Yes, in case you didnt know, I'm part of the DnD committee, and quite enjoy it. Its a welcome distraction from the hum dum of normal work, though normal work is pretty interesting too.

Emailed Ghosties my blog. Tianlongbabu asked why the comments functions dont work. I think they do dearie, since jade falcon writes comments inside.

Tianlongbabu (the serial and not my friend) ended its run last sat.... but they are showing the legend of the condor heroes next. yipeeeeeeeeee

EPL season has started. Finally!!!!!!!

Ok, will go work on assignment.......discipline discipline discipline!

The Sun back in Sunday

Talked till 2 plus with a friend last night. He's off to reservist. Yeah, those rush sand rush sea kind of reservist. Apparently some people still do get tasked to such training. Just when I thought reservist for guys post NS are those relaxed go back camp, surf net, drink coffee kind.

Went back to office to work today. Its surprising how much one can accomplish when there are no distractions. Came back and practiced blading. Cant quite get the balancing right. But the happy news is ankles hurt no more. Guess am no longer balancing on the inside of the blade. *happy smile*

Woke up in time to flip through the papers.
I resolve to sleep early and wake up early now. (xxx fingers)

Mentor is very sweet. She said if my flight clashes with the escort, she will do the whole stretch for me. That's like 4 whole days. Jeezzzz... and I know how little time she has to spend with her 2 girls already as it is. Now I owe mentor a huge pressie from Bangkok. However, all the warm fuzzy feelings towards mentor dissipated a little when she msged me today whilst I was in office pounding away at the keyboard, to say she was having a leisurely brunch at Marriotts.

Tomorrow going swimming with mentor. May consider dunking her in the water. *cheeky grin*

Lana Heaven

I am in lana heaven.... grin....

One thing about watching a show like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is that one leaves it with a deep craving for all things chocolate.

Squid suggested dinner one day at Greenwood. Squid, I think the next time we can manage to get ZS and PY to find a slot for us in their schedules will be during your bday...so it'll be your call.

Was very sleepy last night. Cancelled dinner appointment with friend to come back home and sleep. Yes, on a friday night too! Slept from 8 pm till this morning 11 am. Phew!

Ventured into Ah Neh Land today. Bought my punjabi suit and matching bangles for less than 50 bucks. Its orange and dark green. =)

Squid msged to say that DnD is just one night and not for eternity. Well my wonderful citizen of the deep ocean, I fully intend to wear the Indian outfit out on normal days as well. Preferably with ya... wink!

Colleagues want to go Thumpers after DnD on Friday. Think will bring an extra outfit along as well. No way am I going to step into Thumpers in an ORANGE punjabi suit though it would be fun. Imagine the look on people's faces. Hah! *cheeky grin*

Wanted to eat kambing soup, but dad said the best kambing soup was found in Geylang and refused to share. Wanted to eat Indian food, but mum was with us. So ended up eating carrot cake at Tekka Market. Yummylicious.... except now I have craving for kambing soup and indian food. arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Never mind, shall wait for WT to return from Bangkok. Maybe I can persuade bro to meet up and eat Indian food instead of Maisons @ Bugis. Failing which, there is always wonderful Junior..... =)

Have yet to reply Duck's, JT's and BlackJack's emails. Procrastination procrastination procrastination.....

Man U won......... This is heaven on earth indeed!

Chocolate and the other usual stuff

Watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with squid on ND. Went to play pool afterwards. Got back at 2 plus, and crashed out at 3 plus.

Had this huge craving for chocolate after the movie.... Squid and I ordered lana cake the next day. Collecting it this sat. Heaven!!!!!! =)

The movie was ok, but did not quite do justice to the book. Why did they do that to Willy Wonka. Mentor said Johnny Depp had great complexion. So did another colleague. Oh well, I much prefer him in the other chocolate themed movie though..... Perhaps should go read the book again (the chocolate factory book ie, and not the other one)

Have yet to progress much on assignment. This weekend, I need to get down to it seriously. 2 more weeks to the deadline, before I'm literally dead. =p

On course tomorrow, and a meeting in the pm. Time... I need more of it. To finish the work in office.

Shall go Ah Neh land this weekend to buy punjabi suit. *reminder to self*

Its 1230 am. Just got back from dinner and pool with friend. Could not resist ordering the brownie. *groan* Have yet to read course materials for course tomorrow. Yikes!!!!!! Colleagues and I meeting for Mac brekkie tomorrow morning.

Whole world seems to be going bangkok. Friend just went, WT is going this fri, and colleague just returned from the land of the smiles. Anyone wants to send me their shopping list, besides junior?

Congrats Goethe on your graduation. Welcome to the working world. Oh yeah, is the 'A' in your blog who I think she is?..... grin!

Am still paying the price for karting in terms of the muscle aches and all. But give me a choice, I'll do it all over again...... *wistful smile*

Is karting a sport???

Does karting count as a sport?

If so, I would have burned many calories. 'happy smile'

Wanted to wake early today to practice blading. However, man proposes and heaven disposes. Slept like a baby till 11 plus in the morning.

Started on my assignment last night. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, except that I was seeing a million stars too. Have you ever tried typing using Chinese software?

Meeting Squid later to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while the rest of the nation indulges in nationalistic fevour. Checked out Cathay's and Shaw's time slots. Shaw's site was so packed that I could not enter. In the end, we booked at Cathay's. The 3 plus show was fully booked, which only left us with the 5 plus time slot. Jeez!

Was checking out the hotels in Yogyakarta that PY and colleague recommended. One of them has a go kart park next to it or something. Shall go find out more. If it's true, then you know which hotel I will pick. 'happy smile'

Squid, you wanna reconsider your decision about not visiting me there? =)

Need to find a slot to meet Junior for dinner before I fly off to Bangkok. Junior, you can also pass me your shopping list then.

After Bangkok, I think I need to go on an austerity drive. WT has offered to keep my credit cards for me. 'bleah'

Shall go flip through the papers. Have yet to read papers for awhile. I miss the leisurely pursuit of reading the papers early in the morning over brekkie.......

A happy weekend......

I love the exercise. It was interesting, solid, awesome and power!!!! Encore! Encore! Encore!

Colleagues and I went to Boat Quay to eat zi char afterwards as part of our celebration plans. The shop didnt have yam basket..... or the oat cereal prawns..... double sadness

Went Eski afterwards (shiver shiver shiver). Was surprised to see that Circular Rd also had its fair share of THOSE pubs and lounges. Jeez.....We passed one karaoke lounge. San and I looked at each other, mouthed TCSS and giggled to ourselves.

Their volkas were pretty cool. And finally I got to try the chocolate martini. Was surprised that Eski carried it, since not many places do. Verdict - chocolate and martini are both too strong to be a combination. Lychee martini still rocks!

We hopped to Mohd Sul afterwards. Wanted to go Double O, but there was a long queue, and those who were in the queue looked half our age. Yes, THAT young.

Called another colleague for suggestions, and he offered to get us in MW without cover. God knows how he did it, or how many girls he had to kiss to do so. Had to down one glass of remy martin with him later though. Yes, your truly didnt get drunk or high - at all, believe it or not. 'bright smile'

First time I saw colleague in action. I was suitably impressed. He had a chick hanging on his arm, and she was one hot babe. Wah, I shall never look at him in the same light again. Power!

Was too stoned in the morning to go for blading class. Woke up with a pounding headache and dropped back for another few hours snooze. Lost voice for most of Sat due to too much alcohol and smoke....Sounded either very shrill or very softspoken.... 'shudder' It was so bad that think I told myself mentally if my normal voice came back, I'll be a good girl for awhile.

Played pool with friend on Sat. Zipped to Malaysia and back. Saw a bike race there, Got back at 4 plus in the morning. Half stoned today but still had to go office to clear work.

PY called tell me abt the perils in Indonesia. Sounds pretty adventurous. Maybe I'll bring my blades there....... 'happy smile'

There lies my happily productive (or unproductive, depends on how you look at it) weekend.

Tomorrow I'm going karting in Malaysia........
Yet to work on assignment..... arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

kebaya vs punjabi

Will be shopping in Ah Neh Land for a punjabi suit to wear to DnD in a few weeks.

Now contemplating going to get a kebaya.


2 friend's weddings to attend in September, and wondering what to wear.

Have a vague idea what colour I wld like punjabi suit to be, and the design. Shall give some thought to the kebaya.

*happy smile*

Look on the bright side of life

I love my country but I wish my country will love me a little.

Am terribly tired and worn out nowadays. Busy period coming right up.

Still, I have the following to look forward to:

- seminar tomorrow and fri on a very interesting exercise (yes it'll be interesting, and I'm looking fwd to it)

- dinner at some zhi char coffee shop with colleagues this friday (believe it or not, the menu's planned already. ;) )

- drinks at eski bar to follow (cold cold cold.....)

- blading classes (god help me)

- drinks on sunday (phew)

- karting on monday (may have to cancel it due to too much work piling in office)

- charlie and the chocolate factory with squid on tue (yes! yes! yes!)

Lastly, how can I forget, trip to Bangkok and up coming trip to Indonesia.
Will be missing the Presidential elections, since that's the period I'm away in sunny Thailand.

Any one wants to visit me in my one month sojourn in Indonesia? grin

My boo boo in office

Put my name up for escort duties way back in June. Clean forgot about it. Now my bangkok trip clashes with the seminar (read my escort duties). Colleague was sweet enough to agree to cover me for the one day that I will be gone. Director sent me a mail on how I shld not repeat this. He was disapproving but yet kind.

Sigh....felt lousy the whole day.

I shall not whine too much. It takes a genius to whine appealingly someone once said. God knows who, cant quite remember now. Any one willing to help me out here?

I love public holidays

G asked me who was jade falcon. A friend lah duh! Who else do you think read my blogs?
Anyways, I hope you're having fun with your Russian chick....... 'evil grin'

Still trying to figure out the links. Will not bother today. Got a headache. When I've figured it out, shall link Junior's site to mine.

Going eski with colleagues this friday. Drinking on Sun. Am morphing into an alcoholic.
Cant wait for thur and fri to come.

Next tue is a public holiday. Yipeeeeeeee